• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar and butter using the whisk attachment. Cream until smooth.
• Add in the vanilla and egg. Mix well.
• Switch the mixer attachment to the paddle and add in the flour.
• Mix until the dough balls together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If your mixer is struggling, you can knead the dough by hand.
• Using a lightly floured work surface, roll the cookie dough out until it’s about ½ - ⅝ of an inch thick. Cut out dough using a football cookie cutter. Save and reroll the scraps until the dough is too small to continue.
• Carefully transfer your cut out football-shaped cookie dough to the parchment-lined baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Watch closely - overbaking will cause hard cookies, and we want them to be nice and soft.
• The cookies are done when the edges are set and the center is no longer shiny.
• Allow to cool completely before decorating.

For the soft-bite Royal icing:

• In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine the 2 cups of powdered sugar,
• meringue powder, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed for about 30 seconds. Add in 3 teaspoons of water as the mixer is going. Allow to mix until combined. Increase the speed to medium for another 2-3 minutes. The icing will be very stiff. Transfer to another bowl and cover with a damp paper towel.
• Using the same mixing bowl, combine the other 2 cups of powdered sugar, corn syrup, 2 tablespoons of water, and the other teaspoon of vanilla. Mix on low speed until combined with the whisk attachment.
• Combine the two icing mixtures into one bowl and whisk until smooth. Add in additional water if needed to thin the mixture. Using a spatula, scoop a bit of icing up and allow it to drop back into the bowl. The icing should re-incorporate back into itself and settle within about a 12-15 seconds. If the icing is too thin, it will need a little more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add a little bit more water. Continue to test if needed untilthe
• desired consistency is achieved. Thin icing spreads nicely but can run over the edges of the cookie. Thick icing will not move - it is good for lettering and flowers.
• Transfer about 1 cup of white icing to a piping bag.
• Color the remaining icing brown. Then transfer the icing to another piping bag and tie the ends.
• When ready to decorate, snip a tiny bit off the tip of the piping bag. You can always cut the hole bigger if the icing is not flowing as quickly as you’d like but start off very small at first.
• Pipe the outside edge of the footballs and fill in using the brown frosting. Use a scribe or a toothpick to help spread and settle the bumps and air pockets.
• Allow to set for about 30 minutes before following up with the white laces and stripes.