food coloringI used Wilton sky blue & no-taste red
Instructions
For cookies
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix flour and salt; add to butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition.
Divide dough into 2 balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball into a circle approximately 12 in. wide and 1/8 in. thick. Dip cookie cutter in flour before each use.
Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet 6-7 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Let cool before frosting
For buttercream
Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl, adjusting water and powdered sugar as needed to achieve desired (thick) consistency. Mix until fluffy.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a small circle tip (e.g. #3 or #4) with buttercream frosting, and set aside. Alternatively, cut a very small hole in the corner of a plastic bag and fill (note: I haven't tried this but people say it works).
Using the buttercream frosting in the bag, pipe an outline around the border of the cookie. Allow to set up for about 10-15 minutes.
For the royal icing
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and beat with electric mixer until smooth. Consistency should be that of a thick syrup, similar to molasses. Adjust water as needed.
Put some of the royal icing into two smaller bowls. Mix in food coloring to make blue in one container and purple (red & blue colors) in the other.
When ready to flood, use extra piping bags or a small spoon to drizzle different colors of royal icing onto each cookie starting with a large circle of white. Drizzle a smaller circle of blue in the center of the white and a still smaller circle of purple inside of that (see picture above).
Use a narrow pointed object to drag icing to the edges, without allowing it to spill over.
Swirl if desired.
Allow to dry until firm, ideally overnight.
Notes
The number of cookies will vary based on size and how thick you roll them--the count of 60 is based on making mostly slightly smaller stars.
Nutrition
Calories: 129kcal
I am not a health professional and nutrition data is calculated programatically. Accuracy may vary with product selection, calculator accuracy, etc. Consult a professional for the best information.