Ugly Christmas Sweater Sugar Cookies

Ugly Christmas Sweater Sugar Cookies is the - recipe featured in The -- Life.

Heat oven to 375*F

Ingredients
For the Cookie
 * 1 1/3 cups butter
 * 1 1/2 cups sugar
 * 1 teaspoon orange zest (or lemon zest)
 * 1 teaspoon vanilla
 * 2 eggs
 * 3 tablespoons milk
 * 4 cups flour
 * 3 teaspoons baking powder
 * 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Royal Icing'
 * 4 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
 * 2 to 3 tablespoons egg white powder
 * 2 tablespoons water (or milk)
 * 1 teaspoon vanilla
 * 1 (16-ounce) can of vanilla cake frosting
 * Optional: holiday sprinkles and/or nonpareils

Directions
Prepare the cookie. Prepare the icing. Decorate the cookies.
 * 1) Gather the ingredients.
 * 2) Using a hand mixer or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, orange zest, and vanilla thoroughly. Add in the egg and beat with until light and fluffy.
 * 3) In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
 * 4) Add them to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk.
 * 5) Divide the dough in half and place each half in a plastic bag to chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
 * 6) Roll out dough into 1/3-inch sheets. Cut out shapes and place onto a parchment lined cookie sheets. You will need to bake the cookies in batches and can re-roll the scraps into another sheet.
 * 7) Bake at 375 F for approximately 6 minutes. Do not allow the cookies to brown.
 * 1) Gather the ingredients.
 * 2) While cookies are baking, mix together the powdered sugar, water, egg whites, and vanilla on high for about 10 minutes.
 * 3) Separate icing into two bowls. Add about 1 tsp water to one bowl and 3 tbsp. to the other.
 * 4) Dye the two frostings in the color of your choice or leave them white. Put frostings into separate squeeze bottles.
 * 5) Dye the vanilla cake frosting into different colors of your choice and place them into piping bags. You may not use all of the frosting. It depends on how many decorations you add to each cookie.
 * 1) After the cookies have cooled, edge the cookies with the thicker frosting.
 * 2) Fill the centers with the thinner frosting, using a toothpick to spread the icing all the way to the edge.
 * 3) After the base frosting has hardened on the cookies, use the vanilla cake frosting to add decorations to the cookies. Use different piping tips to create the different designs. Use the flower tip to make the wreath and tree designs, and a small hole tip to create stripes and swirls. Add different holiday sprinkles while the frosting is still wet.
 * 4) Allow the cookies to finish hardening and serve!