GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota — Get ready to unleash your holiday baking creativity.  

For a lot of us, Christmas cookie cutouts are hit or miss.  

Sometimes they break or the frosting is the wrong color or consistency.

A baking pro, Amy Smith, creator and owner of Cakesmith Baking Company, joined KARE 11 Saturday to offer tips and share a recipe for sugar cookies and royal frosting.

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2-3 teaspoons flavoring (almond, vanilla, vanilla bean, citrus, citrus zest, etc)

• Place butter and sugar in a large bowl of electric mixer and beat until incorporated. Add egg and flavoring and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add dry ingredients and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Form dough into a ball and let rest for 5-10 mins while you clean up your bowl. 
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Dust the counter with flour and roll the dough out to the desired thickness. I don’t measure I just do it by eye. Go as thick or thin as you wish. Cut shapes out and place on a parchment-lined pan. Bake for 10-12 mins depending on your thickness. I bake until just the edges get a light golden color.

*Cookies can be decorated once cooled or placed in freezer bags and frozen until needed. Extracts or emulsions can be used for flavorings. Vanilla bean paste or marinade is also a great option for a more intense vanilla flavor. 

2lbs bags of powdered sugar

5 tablespoons meringue powder (I use Genie’s dream) 

2-3 tablespoons of flavorings (vanilla, almond, butter, citrus, etc.)

• Mix powdered sugar and meringue powder in a bowl of an electric mixer. 
• Add water and flavorings and mix on low speed with paddle attachment until well combined. Scrape bowl, and mix for another 3 mins on medium speed, or until frosting is light and fluffy (frosting should form peaks when a paddle is pulled out of the mix.) 
• At this point, you have a great consistency for piping (outlining and detail work) to thin frosting out add the amount desired to a bowl along with your coloring of choice (gel food coloring works best!) and add ½ tsp of water at a time and fully incorporate. BE CAREFUL it will thin out fast!
• Leftover frosting can be kept in an airtight container on the counter. Just remix with a spatula when using it again.

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