Royal Icing (aka Cement for food)

This is a classic Wilton recipe. Mom used this recipe for gingerbread house making because as the icing sits, it hardens. It's a great adhesive. :)

• 3 Tablespoons Meringue Powder
• 4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 5 Tablespoons warm water

(Makes roughly 3 cups of icing or enough for one assembled and decorated gingerbread house.)

Use an electric mixer until it's the consistency you want.
For stiffer icing, use 1 Tablespoon less water or as a little more confectioner's sugar.

Spritz

This is a family favorite. :)

• 2 sticks butter
• 7/8 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg yolk (but I've used the whole egg without compromising cookie integrity)
• 2 1/8 cups flour
• dash of salt

If you're doing food coloring, add the food coloring with the butter and sugar.

Bake at 375 degrees for 7 minutes (depending on how large your cookies are). We always used a cookie press growing up so the cookies were always small. This recipe makes about three dozen half dollar sized cookies.