Make the dough. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix in dry ingredients just until combined.

Chill and roll. Divide dough in two, flatten into disks, wrap, and chill for 45–60 minutes. Roll on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut shapes and place on parchment-lined trays.

Bake. Chill cut cookies on the tray for 10–15 minutes to prevent spread. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 9–12 minutes, until edges look set and the bottoms are barely golden. Cool completely on racks.

Mix royal icing. In a stand mixer, combine powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add 6 tablespoons water and extract. Beat on medium-low for 2–3 minutes until glossy with soft peaks. Adjust with water for a 15–20 second flooding consistency and reserve some at thicker piping consistency.

Tint your palette. Split icing into bowls. Create a modern blue set: muted sky blue (a drop of sky + a touch of white), cornflower (cornflower + white), and deep navy (navy + a tiny dot of black). Keep some icing white for contrast.

Base coat. Outline cookies with thicker icing in white or light blue using tip #2. Flood with thinner icing using tip #3. Use a scribe to nudge icing to the edges and pop bubbles. Dry 4–6 hours or overnight for a smoother surface.

Plan the florals. Lightly sketch your design with an edible marker: simple stems, a few leaves, and clustered blossoms near one corner or along an edge. Aim for airy spacing and asymmetry for a modern vibe.

Create stems. Pipe thin lines in muted blue or gray-blue with tip #1 or use an edible marker. Keep lines slightly curved for a natural look.

Add leaves. Use tip #352 with medium-consistency icing for clean leaf tips, or pipe tiny teardrops with a small round tip and pull to a point. Vary sizes for movement.

Pipe blossoms. For simple modern florals, pipe 4–5 small dots in a circle and add a contrasting dot in the center. Mix shades of blue with touches of white for dimension. Keep clusters small and spaced.

Layer details. Once the first layer sets 15–20 minutes, add a second layer of petals or a few delicate line accents in deeper blue. A single edible pearl in the center adds polish.

Clean edges. If needed, sharpen outlines with a fine bead of white icing or gently scrape stray icing with a scribe once dry.

Dry fully. Let decorated cookies dry uncovered 8–12 hours until icing is firm and stack-safe.