These sugar cookies are the to-die-for treat any cookie-lover needs. Jazzed up with some spooky eyeballs, they take Halloween to a fun and whimsical place.br
Ingredients
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
5 tsp. vanilla
For icing:
5 cups confectioner’s sugar
5 1/3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbsp. vanilla
7-8 Tbsp. milk
Directions
Special tools: gel food coloring in desired color (we used purple and black), round sprinkles, piping bag fitted with a small round tip Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and scrape the bowl when necessary. Blend in vanilla. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Cover and refrigerate for an hour. Scoop dough into 1 inch balls and place them on parchment, about 2 inches apart. Use your palm and flatten the dough slightly. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until they are just lightly golden. Remove from baking sheet and place on a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing.
To prepare your icing, combine confectioner’s sugar, milk and vanilla in the bowl of a mixer. Add butter and whisk until smooth. Add extra milk, a tablespoon at a time, until you get the desired consistency for icing. It should be thin but not so thin that it runs off a spoon easily. Separate the icing into two bowls. To one, add gel food coloring of your choice (in this case purple). To the second, add gel food coloring in black.
Once the cookies have cooled, use a butter knife and carefully add the colored icing to the cookie, covering it completely. While the icing is still wet, add round sprinkles. You can add them haphazardly or you can bunch them together to look like eyes. Allow these to set for 10 minutes. Once they are set, put the black icing into your pastry bag. Carefully pipe black dots onto the sprinkles to resemble eyes. Allow them to set for 10 more minutes.
Makes approximately 48 cookies
--Kim Cooper--
