Sugar Cookie Place Cards

My cousin got married this past weekend, and I was in charge of making place cards for the bridesmaid's luncheon.

Let me start off by saying that this was my second batch of cookies. I don't know if it was due to lack of sleep or stress, but I was a complete dummy when making the first batch. Who puts saran wrap on wet icing? Who does that? Me, apparently. But thankfully Romans 8:28 holds true even when making cookies. The Lord totally worked this out for the good. Since I messed up the first batch, I decided to be daring and make a completely different cookie and royal icing recipe. So.... my second go-around, I made a batch of the one I've made before and a batch of a new recipe. They both turned out beautiful as shown below. Since I've never drawn with icing before, I was too scared to write the whole name with icing. Therefore I just wrote the first letter of the first name.

It's hard to say which cookie recipe I'd rather make. The original dough recipe that I made was so much easier to work with than the newer one. However, I prefer the almond taste in the newer recipe. Maybe I'll add almond extract to the original one next time I make it. I really loved the royal icing recipe that I tried, and it will be my "go to" recipe from now on.

So... now for the recipes:
The original recipe I used is here.

The new one I tried is below:

Ella's White Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups sifted flour

Directions:
Cream butter. Add powdered sugar. Blend in egg, almond extract, vanilla extract, salt, and flour. Chill dough until firm. Roll to 1/4-inch thickness on WELL-FLOURED surface. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375-degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cookies should not brown. Frost and decorate when cool.
Source: Annies Eats


Royal Icing
Ingredients:
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tablespoons meringue powder
5 Tablespoons water

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance (about 7-10 minutes). Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to an air-tight container. This will be the stiffest consistency of the icing, and at this point it is still too stiff to use for decorating. Add water a very small amount at a time and stir by hand until fully incorporated. Continue until the icing has reached a consistency appropriate for piping. (Remember, if you are having difficulty piping, it is still too thick. Add a little more liquid and try again.) Using a pastry bag, pipe around the edges of each cookie. Let stand so the icing will set. Make sure to keep the leftover icing covered at all times when not in use so it does not begin to harden.

Use the remaining thicker icing for piping decoration as desired. Gel icing color is best as it does not add a significant amount of liquid. Liquid food coloring can be used as well - add powdered sugar as needed to compensate for any thinning that occurs.
Source: Annie's Eats