Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together using a hand mixer (or stand mixer) on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  1 cup granulated sugar
• Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
  1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Turn the mixer to low speed and add baking powder and salt.
  ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
• Gradually add flour and mix until combined.
  2 cups all-purpose flour
• Form the dough into a ball and wrap it tightly in plastic cling wrap. Freeze for 30 minutes or refrigerate until firm (at least 1 hour, up to overnight).
• Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• Line a half sheet baking pan with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
• Remove the dough from refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it is ¼-inch thick. Use an egg-shaped cookie cutter to cut out Easter egg cookie shapes. Transfer the cookies onto the lined baking sheet, placing them one inch apart. Re-roll any scraps and repeat to cut out more cookies.
• Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the edges start to turn golden brown.
• Let the cookies cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
• In medium mixing bowl, combine confectioners' sugar with meringue powder. Add water and vanilla extract and beat with a hand mixer on medium-high speed, until smooth. If you find that the icing is too thick, add a little water (a teaspoon at a time). If you find the icing too thin, add a little more sugar. To colour the icing, add gel food colouring. You can also use liquid food colouring, but this will have a slight effect on the consistency of the icing. You may need to add a little more sugar to get the consistency right. Use a no. 5 piping tip to outline the base colour on the sugar cookie, leaving about ⅛-inch from the edge, and fill in the inside. To get the icing completely to the edges, use the back of a spoon to spread the icing to the edge. Allow to dry about 20-30 minutes before decorating with a thin no. 1 round tip to add patterns such as lines, squiggles, and dots. Allow the icing to set completely before storing.
  3 cups confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons meringue powder, ¼ cup room temperature water, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, gel food colouring