Colored Easter Cookies

To prepare the colorful Easter cookies, let's start by preparing the shortcrust pastry. In the mixer, pour the flour, a pinch of salt 1, and finally the butter 2 previously cut into cubes and cold. Turn on the mixer and obtain a mixture with the consistency of sand. Pour the mixture onto a work surface. Make a hole with your fingers in the center of your mixture, and grate in the zest of a lemon 3.

Now pour in the condensed milk 4. Knead with your hands until a smooth and homogeneous dough is obtained. Cover your shortcrust pastry dough with plastic wrap 5 and let it rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes needed to rest the dough, take a work surface, sprinkle it with a bit of flour, and roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it's about 3/8 inch thick 6.

Now take the cookie cutters you wish to use and use them to cut out the shapes of your cookies 7. Place the cookies on a tray and put them in the fridge for another 30 minutes to ensure their shape is maintained when you bake them. With the leftover dough, you can work it again into a ball. Let the ball rest in the fridge for another 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, roll it out with a rolling pin and use the cutters to make additional cookies, leaving them in the fridge for 30 minutes to ensure the shape is maintained once in the oven. When the cookies have rested in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, you can bake them in a ventilated and preheated oven at 340°F for 20 minutes 8. After the baking time, you will see that they acquire a slightly golden color. Place them on a wire rack to cool down 9.

At this point, proceed with the preparation of the water glaze. Pour the well-sifted powdered sugar into a bowl and add boiling water from a saucepan one tablespoon at a time 10. Mix well to dissolve the powdered sugar until a homogeneous and lump-free mixture is obtained 11. The glaze may require different amounts of water depending on various factors. If the final mixture is too liquid, add powdered sugar little by little; if it's too dense, add a few drops of water. The final glaze you need to obtain must have a viscous consistency. Divide the glaze into three small bowls and add different gel food coloring drops to each, mixing well to evenly distribute the color throughout the bowl's mixture 12.

You will then get colored bowls 13. Now proceed with the preparation of the Royal icing. Place an egg white in a bowl and add a few drops of lemon. Using a whisk, whip the egg, and when well-whipped, add powdered sugar 14. Continue whipping until a homogeneous and well-blended mixture without lumps is obtained. You can also add colored gel to the royal icing to make your cookies more colorful and fun. When the cookies have cooled to room temperature, apply the water glaze using a spatula. If you prefer, you can use small wooden sticks used for stirring coffee. Spread the water glaze evenly over the cookie shapes 15.

Then let the glaze dry 16. Proceed with decorating the colored royal icing using a piping bag to draw shapes as you like 17. Your colorful Easter cookies are ready to be eaten 18! If you wish, you can use sprinkles for decoration.