"Birds Of A Feather" Cookies
An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella
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85 g/3ozs butter, softened
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140g/5ozs white caster superfine sugar
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1 egg
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1 teaspoon vanilla
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180g/6ozs all-purpose flour
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1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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Food colouring gels or liquids in various colours
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Royal icing mixture (see below)
For Royal Icing
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1 egg white (30grams/1 oz)
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1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
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150grams sifted icing sugar
DIRECTIONS
Step 1 - Make cookies. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour and cinnamon. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Step 2 - Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with the bird shaped cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment paper. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.
Step 3 - Make Royal Icing by beating egg white with lemon juice until foamy on low speed increasing to medium speed. You want two textures for the Royal Icing, a stiff one to pipe the outline and a runnier one to fill in the outline. Add sifted sugar by the spoonful while beating until desired consistency is reached. You want it a little stiff in order to pipe the outline however, if it is too stiff, add a tiny little bit of warm water. Always cover your Royal Icing with cling wrap as it dries out easily.
Step 4 - Spoon some of the royal icing into a piping bag or a strong ziplock bag and pipe a fine outline around the bird cookies. Allow to set a little for 20-30 minutes. Add a little water (not too much and using a small spoon, fill in the edges. Then with a contrasting colour, pipe three or four lines of icing across the still wet icing in the centre. Take a toothpick and drag the lines down to create the feather effect. Place aside to set for several hours (or overnight).