In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.

Gradually add the flour mixture, beating until combined.

Add a few drops of red and orange gel food coloring and beat until well incorporated.

Shape the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 1 hour or until firm.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thickness. Cut into shapes using the cookie cutter.

Place the cut out cookies on the prepared baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes.

Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown.

Let the cookies cool 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder.

Add 1 tablespoon of water and beat on low speed until combined. Turn to high speed and beat until icing is glossy and holds stiff peaks.

Stir in additional warm water to the remaining icing, ½ a tablespoon at a time, until icing creates loose ribbons when drizzled with a spoon. Aim to have the icing ribbons disappear back into the bowl within 10 seconds of being picked up with the spoon.

Transfer a few spoonfuls to a separate bowl. Stir in a few drops of brown gel food coloring.

Transfer the brown and white icing into separate piping bags.

Using the white icing, pipe a kidney bean shape near the bottom of the cookie to make the red panda’s snout.

Next, pipe two round shapes on either side of the face, two round eyes above the snout, two eyebrows above the eyes, and fill in the tops of the ears.

Let the icing set briefly before using the brown icing to pipe the pupils onto the eyes and the nose onto the snout.

Let the icing set completely.