Decorated Santa Cookies Food

DECORATED SANTA COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix together some of the royal icing with the flesh-tone food coloring until desired shade is reached. Transfer to a small squirt bottle. To create face and hands on the cookie, outline the area with flesh-tone icing (see template). Draw several zigzags across entire surface of the outlined area. If necessary, use a toothpick to spread evenly. Using tweezers, add nonpareils to create eyes. Let dry.
• Mix together some of the royal icing with the red food coloring until desired shade is reached. Transfer to a small squirt bottle. To create hat, jacket, and pants on the cookie, outline the area with red icing (see template). Draw several zigzags across entire surface of the outlined area. If necessary, use a toothpick to spread evenly. Using tweezers, add gumdrops to create buttons on jacket.
• Mix together some of the royal icing with the black food coloring until desired shade is reached. Transfer to a small squirt bottle. To create boots on the cookie, outline the area with black icing (see template). Draw several zigzags across entire surface of the outlined area. If necessary, use a toothpick to spread evenly. Let dry.
• Mix together some of the royal icing with the white food coloring until desired shade is reached. Transfer to a small squirt bottle. To create trim on hat, jacket, and pants, outline the area with white icing (see template). Draw several zigzags across entire surface of the outlined area. If necessary, use a toothpick to spread evenly. Sprinkle trim with sanding sugar. Using tweezers, add a mini marshmallow to top of hat to create a tassel. Let dry.
• To create beard on cookie, outline the area with white icing (see template). Draw several zigzags across entire surface of the outlined area. If necessary, use a toothpick to spread evenly. Using tweezers, add red hot candy to create a nose. Sprinkle beard with white sprinkles. Let dry.

DECORATED SANTA COOKIES RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla extract, almond extract and egg. Stir flour and baking powder together and add to wet ingredients. Mix until just combined then flatten the dough into a disc. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap the dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface about ¼" thick.
• Cut as many stars as possible from the dough, dipping the cookie cutter in flour before cutting each cookie. Remove the scraps then transfer the stars onto prepared cookie sheets. Shape the scraps into a cohesive ball, add more dough then continue to roll and cut until no dough remains.
• Prior to baking, bend one tip of each star over slightly to form Santa's hat. Bake each batch of cookies 7-8 minutes then allow them to cool completely before decorating.
• To decorate, coat the top of each cookie completely in white icing. Don't worry about making it smooth-the more swoops and swirls the better! Sprinkle or dip the 'hat' in red sugar crystals, being careful not to get any on other areas. Use a butter knife to scrape the icing from a small area under the hat for Santa's face.
• Place 2 small dots of black gel icing in the area where the icing has been removed then place a red candy on the face to form a nose. Add a small dab of white icing to one side of a mini marshmallow and place it on the end of the hat to make a pom-pom. Repeat with all remaining cookies. Enjoy!

SANTA SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl; set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and almond extracts; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating on low speed after each addition until well blended. Divide dough into 3 portions; wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough 2 hours or until thoroughly chilled and firm enough to handle.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray baking sheets and 5-inch Santa face cookie cutter with cooking spray; set aside. Roll out 1 portion of dough to 1/4-inch thickness on floured surface with floured rolling pin. Cut out cookies with prepared cutter. Transfer with metal spatula to baking sheet, placing 1 inch apart. Repeat with remaining dough portions, spraying cutter with additional cooking spray as needed.
• Bake 7 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are browned lightly. Cool on baking sheet 1 minute before removing cookies and placing on wire racks to cool completely.
• Use red icing to fill in the hat, leaving the tip of the hat blank. Use white icing to fill in the tip of the hat, the brim of the hat, the beard and to make 2 dots in the center of the face for the eyes. Place a red candy centered between the eyes at the top of the beard for the nose and a mini morsel on each white dot to make eyes. Top beard with Reddi-wip® just before serving.

SANTA HEART-SHAPED COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• In large bowl, stir cookie mix, flour, melted butter and egg until soft dough forms. On floured surface, roll dough 1/4-inch thick. Cut with floured 3-inch heart shaped cookie cutter. On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts 2 inches apart.
• Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
• In small bowl, stir food color into 1/2 cup of frosting to create desired color. Place 1/3 cup untinted frosting into small resealable food storage plastic bag; partially seal bag. Cut off tiny bottom corner of bag; set aside.
• Turn cookies so pointed ends are up. Working with one cookie at a time, spread 2 teaspoons of remaining untinted frosting on lower third of cookie for beard. Spread generous teaspoon red frosting on upper 1/3 of cookie for hat. Squeeze bag of frosting to pipe dots to attach eyes and nose. Pipe to finish hat, pom pom; decorate with additional decorations as desired. (Use photo as guide.)
• Decorate each cookie before starting another so frosting does not set. Let stand until frosting is set, about 1 hour. Store in airtight container at room temperature with waxed paper between layers.