@Econlady posted:Why would you reduce the sugar and the shortening? The ratios are important in baking. It could be lumpy because the dough is the wrong consistency.
@Econlady: Thank you for your inputs.
I reduced the quantities to experiment and see what it does to the taste of the cookie. When I was using the original recipe the people who tasted the cookies said they had a buttery after taste and with royal icing the cookie tasted almost too sweet. So, I reduced the sugar to make the cookie less sweet, so that with Royal Icing, the cookies did not taste too sweet. I reduced the butter to make the buttery after taste go away.
Also, dough wasn't lumpy, on the contrary it was flaky and was coming apart as I was trying to roll it