Butter and flour can be real trouble makers when trying to bake American recipes in France. French butter has more fat than American butter and the French flour has less protein and is more finely milled. This means American recipes need to be adjusted to have them work in France. Sugar cookies can be especially tricky with their high proportion of butter so I fiddled with the recipe over the years to make it work with my French ingredients.
The other day I made a batch of good old American sugar cookies to be frosted by a fun little group of 7 year olds at a birthday party. (It was not anywhere near as messy as you might think!) A few of the mothers, newly arrived in France, asked me for the recipe, so here it is.
French sugar cookies with Royal Icing
Ingredients
- Sugar Cookies
- 400 g flour (farine type 45)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (levure chimique)
- 227 g unsalted butter (must be soft)
- 200 g sugar (sucre en poudre)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- Royal Icing
- 2 egg whites
- 350 g (or more) powder sugar (sucre glace), sifted
- A squeeze of lemon juice
Instructions
- To make the cookies:
- Whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a handheld mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. About 4 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the flour spoonful by spoonful and beat until you have a smooth dough. Divide the dough in half and flatten out with the palm of your hand. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour or until firm enough to roll.
- When ready to bake. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter 15 minutes to soften up. Preheat oven to 180° C. Place the rack in the centre of the oven. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to a thickness of 1 cm. (Alternatively, roll out the dough on a sheet of lightly floured parchment paper. Its doesn't stick and its easier to clean up!) Cut out the cookies using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, depending on the size or until the cookies are just turning a very light brown. Remove from oven and let them cool on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack. Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting:
- In the bowl of your electric mixer or using a handheld mixer, beat the egg whites to break them up. Add the powdered sugar and beat on low until smooth. Add the lemon juice. If necessary add more sugar or a little more lemon juice. Add food colouring if using. The icing can be used immediately or placed in an airtight container and refrigerated until ready to use.
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https://www.charlottepuckette.com/recipes/desserts/french-sugar-cookies/
