Personalized Christmas Cookies such a cute gift idea!

Oh my word, oh so late but yet still worth it :-)
I'm the one who makes all these incredible lists...about %10 of all things on the lists get done. These cookies were one of the projects that got done before Christmas.
I got the idea from one of my favorite blogs "The sweet adventures of sugarbelle"
who had featured these lovely cookies on Glorious treats I love both these blogs, the ideas they come up with are amazing and the cookies just ooze with charm...
These were so cute I couldn't resist! the little faces with the Christmas hats were adorable!
they were fairly easy to make, just took a butt load of time. I didn't post the step by step pictures but Sugarbelle gives a step by step walk through on how to decorate these cuties. Click here for step by step tutorial.

I had mistaken the rum extract in my cupboard for the almond extract (don't worry I caught myself before adding it to the cookie dough lol) but the cookies are so much better with it. Also add some clear almond extract to the royal icing, it makes all the difference. I also found that the ideal thickness for the cookies was 1/4 inch thick. I used my regular rolling pin, but I know that the fondant roller works really great with the added rubber-bands. You can buy the rolling pin here  and the bands here or you can buy the set in walmart.
This time round I used sugar-belle's recipe for sugar cookies and her recipe for royal icing.

Royal Icing

 
Ingredients 

• 2lbs (1bag) confectioner's sugar 
• 1/3 c. plus 1Tbsp meringue powder 
• About 3/4 cup water

Instructions

1. Add the dry ingredients first. Use your mixer’s whisk attachment to incorporate the sugar and meringue powder. 
2. Add the extract to the water and slowly add it to the dry ingredients while mixing. At first the icing will be very liquid-like. 
3. Continue to mix it at medium-high speed until it is fluffy and stiff peaks form, about 7-10 minutes. Mixing times are approximate, keep your eye it icing and stop mixing as soon as it becomes stiff. Over mixing and oil-containing extracts can keep the icing from setting up, so keep this in mind as you work.
4. This recipe makes enough icing to decorate at least 9-10 dozen cookies. Royal icing will keep at least a month. I prefer refrigerating it, but it can also be left at room temperature.

Sugar cookies

Ingredients

• 1 c. {two sticks} of REAL unsalted BUTTER, softened
• 1 1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 scrapped vanilla bean
• 2-3 tsp flavoring {pick what you like, I prefer almond}
• 2 1/2-2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Instructions
Cream together softened butter and confectioner’s sugar.  Crack the egg into a separate bowl, and add the flavoring and the vanilla bean.  I use emulsions, but extract also works well. Add that to the butter sugar mixture and mix until the egg is thoroughly incorporated.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then add little by little to the mixture.
I can tell the dough is ready when most of it sticks to the paddle.When I touch it, it has a little give, but does not stick to my fingers.
Roll out on parchment to about 1/4 an inch thick, use flour for dusting as necessary.  Then, cut and bake at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes.  This version makes 2-2 1/2 dozen, doubled, it makes 4-5 dozen.
When they are cool, they are ready to decorate.

A few notes about sugarbelle's recipe…

• The dough DOES not need to be refrigerated.  That’s why I liked it she is truly a genius  
• The dough needs to rest a little after mixing, it will firm up a little bit after a minute or two
• The recipe doubles well
• Baking times are approximate.  You must KNOW your oven.  Watch them the first few times you bake them. Get a thermometer, and do not over bake.  If the cookies are browning you have gone too far.
• This dough can be flavored any way you like.
• The cookies freeze well
• There is a lot of leavener in these cookies.  This is not a typo.  The general rule is less leavener so they don’t spead, but I’ve never been one to follow the rules.
• This recipe does spread a little.  If you don’t like that add a little flour.
• Speaking of flour, start with 2 1/2 cups.  Add another 1/4 of a cup if the dough seems to sticky.
• If you don’t like salt, leave it out altogether.
• If you only have salted butter, use that and reduce the salt.
• I prefer decorating day-old cookies.  They are less likely to leach oil back into your icing if they have had a day or two to “dry out”.  They are still soft, however.

Again these recipes were adapted from "The sweet adventures of sugarbelle"