Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside

In a separate bowl eat together butter and sugar until smooth and creamy and then add in the egg and vanilla extract

Slowly add in the dry ingredients until dough is formed. If the dough is too soft and sticky you can add more flour to achieve the consistency needed.

Roll the dough out onto parchment paper (approximately 1/4 inch thick) and then place onto a baking sheet and put in the refrigerator for an hour

Preheat the oven to 350º. Once the dough is properly chilled, use a cookie cutter to cut shapes. Re-roll leftover dough and continue cutting shapes until all dough is used.

Place cookie dough shapes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned.

Allow cookies to completely cool before decorating.

Using a hand or stand mixer beat all ingredients together until icing consistency is reached. Use a spoon to test the consistency. Royal icing should drizzle down and smooth out. If the consistency is too thick, add more water and if it's too thin, add more confectioner's sugar.

If you are using multiple colors to decorate your cookies, divide your icing into separate smaller bowls and then use food coloring to make your desired icing colors.

Put your icing into piping bags fitted with your desired tip and have fun decorating.