EMOJI CAT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk to combine flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, use a paddle attachment to beat butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in flour. Divide dough in half and shape each half into a flat disk.
• Working one at a time, place the dough on a silpat or piece of parchment paper cut to 12x17 inches. Cover with a large piece of plastic wrap and roll dough out to 1/4-inch thick. Place rolled dough, covered with plastic on a baking sheet. Repeat process with 2nd disk and place rolled dough on top of 1st piece. Refrigerate until dough is firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove plastic from dough and use a 4-inch cat emoji cutter to cut out shapes. Place cookies 1 1/2-2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Roll out scraps and repeat process. Chill for about 15 minutes if dough is too soft.
• Bake cookies rotating baking sheets halfway through until edges start to turn golden, about 12-14 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
• To make the icing: Place sugar, meringue powder and 1/2 cup water in a large mixing bowl. Using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk to combine until smooth and thick, adding additional water to achieve a thick but pourable consistency. Separate icing into four bowls and use coloring gels to dye icing red, yellow, black, and light blue.
• Fill a small squeeze bottle with yellow royal icing and trim the tip to make it easier to squeeze the icing out. Alternatively use a pastry bag fitted with a small tip. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a small tip or squeeze bottle with black royal icing. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a small tip or small squeeze bottle with light blue royal icing.
• To decorate cookies, start with the yellow royal icing and draw an outline around the edge of the cookie. Fill the center with yellow icing by squeezing in a zig zag and then use a toothpick to make smooth. Place heart eyes on some of the cookies. Let icing dry completely before decorating the face.
• Once the yellow icing is dry, use the black icing to make eyes, whiskers and a mouth. Let dry completely.
• Use the light blue royal icing to draw tears of laughter on some of the cat emojis.