Donut Sugar Cookie Decorating Tutorial
Brittany Bly
Make sugar cookies that are perfect for rolling and then decorate them into cute donuts! This is a beginner friendly cookie decorating tutorial.
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Chilling Time 2 hours hrs
Total Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
For the Sugar Cookies:
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter
- 1 cup White Sugar
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 Eggs
- 2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour you will need extra to flour your surfaces
- 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt don't skimp on this!
For the Royal Icing:
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar
- 3 tbsp Meringue Powder
- Room Temperature Water as needed
- 5 drops Baby Pink Gel Food Coloring Chocolate Brown Gel Coloring Optional
- Long Pastel Jimmy Sprinkles
To Make the Sugar Cookies:
In a standing mixer, cream together butter and sugar until mixed and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and eggs and continue to beat until all the ingredients are blended.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix but only until the ingredients are combined.
Wrap the dough in cellophane and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Overnight is even better.
Flour a large flat cutting board and roll the cookie dough to 1/2 - 1/4 inch thick. Thicker dough will make softer cookies.
Flour your donut cookie cutter and punch the shapes. Place the donut shapes on a cookie sheet lined with parchment.
Continue to roll up any unused dough and roll again to punch as many donut shapes as you can.
Bake for 9-11 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
Allow to cool completely before frosting.
To Frost the Donut Sugar Cookies:
In a stand mixer, combine the sugar and meringue powder.
Add 8 tablespoons of room temperature water, using the whisk attachment, beat for 1 minute on low.
Continue to add water one tablespoon at a time until the icing slowly drizzles from the whisk when lifted.
Once prepared, if the icing is too hard, add more water. If it's too runny, add more icing sugar.
Separate the icing into small mixing bowls and add desired food coloring. Start with about 5 drops and blend it thoroughly.
Use a spoon to scoop the icing into piping bags or icing bottles with a round tip already attached.
Line around the edge "flooding" the edge of the design with icing. Your lines can be wavvy unique and uneven. Make a line around the outer edge and inner edge.
Let the flood set for a minute.
Then fill in the rest of the icing. Use a toothpick to poke bubbles or direct icing into spaces as needed.
While the icing is still liquid, add the sprinkles evenly across the entire cookie.
Allow the icing to finish setting.
Keyword cookie decorating, decorated cookies, donut cookies, Party-worthy Sugar Cookies, royal icing decorations, sugar cookie recipe