Name: Superman Cookies
Cook time: P0Y0M0DT1H35M0.000S
Total time: P0Y0M0DT9H35M0.000S
Yield: 12 cookies
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (see Cook’s Note); 1/2 teaspoon fine salt; 1/8 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 1 large egg; 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar; 1/2 teaspoon yellow gel food coloring; 1 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar (about one 1-pound box); 2 tablespoons meringue powder; 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 8 to 10 drops black gel food coloring; 14 to 18 drops red gel food coloring; Red sanding sugar, for dusting

Directions

Special equipment:

a kitchen-dedicated X-Acto knife; 1 printable Superman cookie template; red or black edible markers with fine tips; 2 piping bags; 1 small round piping tip; a pastry brush

For the sugar cookie dough: Whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Beat together the vanilla and egg in a small bowl.
Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until slightly creamy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, slowly pour in the egg mixture and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, increasing the speed as the dough gets thicker to keep the beaters spinning and scraping down the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed, until the flour is just incorporated. Add the yellow food coloring, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes.
Turn the dough out of the bowl and bring it together. Shape into a flat square and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
To roll, cut and bake the cookies: Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Dust another sheet of parchment with flour and put the dough on top. Dust with more flour and top with another sheet of parchment. Roll out the dough between the parchment into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick (about 17 by 13 inches) and place in the freezer for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, print out the Superman Cookie Template in color at 100% size and cut out the diamond shape outline of the template.
Trim the edges of the dough rectangle and cut into twelve 4-inch squares. Position a square with one corner facing you, place the template over the square with the bottom point of the diamond facing close to you and cut off the small triangle on top to form the diamond. (If the dough begins to soften at any time while working with it, re-freeze until hardened, about 5 minutes, then continue.) Repeat with the remaining squares. Arrange the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each. Reserve the template for later use.
Bake 2 of the sheets of cookies, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom about halfway through, until the cookies are just beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 14 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets set on a wire cooling rack, about 30 minutes. Repeat with the third sheet of cookies.
For the royal icing: Meanwhile, whisk the confectioners’ sugar and meringue powder in a medium bowl until evenly combined. Whisk in the vanilla and 1/4 cup cold water until the icing is smooth, drizzles from the whisk when you lift it and holds the lines for 5 to 10 seconds, about 2 minutes. Add up to 1 tablespoon more water if needed.
Transfer about 1/3 cup of the icing to a medium bowl and whisk in 8 drops of the black food coloring until the icing is deep black, adding a drop or two more if needed. Fill a piping bag fitted with a small round tip with the black icing and tie the top of the bag. Set aside.
Whisk the remaining icing with more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it has the consistency of a thin pancake batter; this will be the flooding icing. Whisk in 14 drops of the red food coloring until the icing is bright red, adding up to 4 more drops if needed. Fill another piping bag (with no tip) with the red icing and tie the top of the bag. Make sure no air gets into the icing to prevent any crust from forming inside the bag.
Place the reserved template on a cutting mat or board. Carefully cut out the yellow areas and the black outlines from the template using a kitchen-dedicated X-Acto knife or sharp knife; discard the cut-outs. Set the template over each cookie and trace the cut-out areas and outer edges of the template onto each using red or black edible markers with fine tips.
Pipe the black icing along the traced lines of each cookie and set aside at room temperature until set, about 10 minutes. Fill in the “Superman S” using the red icing, then use a toothpick to gently move the red icing until it touches the black outlines. Sprinkle a thin layer of the red sanding sugar over the cookies while the icing is still wet. Let dry until hardened and set, at least 6 hours and up to overnight.
Gently brush off any red sanding sugar on the yellow area of the cookies.

Cook’s Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)

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