Santa Skillet Cookie Food

GIANT SKILLET COOKIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to grease a 10-inch cast-iron skillet.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. In another bowl, beat together the sugar and remaining butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and egg and beat to combine. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, beating slowly after each addition to incorporate.
• Scoop the dough into the prepared skillet and press it in evenly with your fingers. Decorate with the sprinkles as desired. Bake until the edges of the cookie are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

SANTA SLICE-AND-BAKE COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookie dough: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
• Add the butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed, scraping down the bowl at least once, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and 1 egg and beat to combine. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and continue to beat for 30 seconds.
• Remove 1/3 cup of the dough to a small bowl. Add about 1/4 teaspoon black food coloring and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 30 minutes.
• Add about 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring to the dough remaining in the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute, scraping down the bowl at least once. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 30 minutes.
• Place the red dough on a lightly floured clean work surface and roll it into a 7-inch log with a 2-inch diameter. Wrap with plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
• Place the black dough on a lightly floured clean work surface and roll or flatten it into a 7-by-2-inch rectangle, 1/4-inch thick. Wrap with plastic wrap and place on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Whisk together the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl for the egg wash.
• Remove both doughs from the refrigerator. Slice the red log in half lengthwise. Lightly brush the flat end of one half with egg wash. Place the black dough onto it to adhere. Lightly brush the flat end of the other red half with egg wash and place it on top of the black dough. (If the dough softens and becomes difficult to work with, simply place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.) Wrap the log with plastic wrap and lightly roll it back and forth to round out the sides. Refrigerate the log for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Trim about 1/4 inch from each end of the log to reveal an even and flat Santa. Cut the log into 24 equal slices that are about 1/4-inch thick. Make sure to clean the knife after each slice for a clean cut so the colors won't bleed on each other. (If the log softens and becomes difficult to work with, simply place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.)
• Arrange 12 cookies evenly on each prepared baking sheet. Bake until the edges are lightly golden, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, 14 to 17 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.
• For the royal icing: Add the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 1 tablespoon water to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on high for 1 minute, scraping down the sides as needed. If the icing is too thick, add 1 more teaspoon of water and beat until combined. Transfer to a small pastry bag fitted with a small round tip (size 4).
• Pipe a white collar on the top half of the cookie. Sprinkle it with white sprinkles. Pipe buttons on the red coat and the black belt. Pipe a square buckle in the middle of the black belt.

SANTA SKILLET COOKIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and generously butter an 8-inch cast iron skillet.
• Prepare the sugar cookie dough according to the package directions. Evenly press half of the cookie dough into the prepared skillet all the way to the edge. (Reserve the remaining dough for another use.) Bake until the top just turns golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cookie comes out clean, 11 to 13 minutes. Cool in the skillet for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the cookie with a large offset spatula and place it on a cutting board.
• Cut the cookie: Heat up a small, sharp knife by submerging it in boiling water for 3 minutes. Wipe the knife dry and gently cut the cookie into 8 wedges making sure the pieces stay together in a circle. Take it slow when cutting or the cookie could crumble. Let the cookie cool completely on the cutting board.
• Meanwhile, make the royal icing: Whisk together the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons water and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until soft glossy peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes (you may need to add up to 1 teaspoon more water).
• Transfer a quarter of the icing to a pastry bag fitted with a small no. 13 star pastry tip.
• Color the remaining icing red using the food coloring. Transfer 1/4 cup of the red icing to a small bowl and add water, 1/4 teaspoon at a time, to thin it out (when you drizzle the icing with a spoon, the lines should disappear within 5 seconds). This will be your filling icing. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a small no. 3 round pastry tip. Transfer the remaining thick red icing to a pastry bag fitted with a small no. 4 round pastry tip.
• Decorate the cookie: Using the thick red icing with the no. 4 tip, pipe a 2-inch circle in the center of the cookie.
• With the same icing, pipe eight 1-inch circles overlapping the 8 cut lines, positioning them about 1 inch in from the edge of the cookie. Each cookie wedge should have 2 half circles on it.
• Fill in all the circles with the filling icing with the no. 3 tip. Sprinkle each circle with red sanding sugar to coat. If excess sanding sugar gets on the cookie, fan it away or brush it off with a small pastry brush. (Your Santas are taking shape: the wedges in the large center circle are hats; the smaller circles are mittens.)
• Place a dragee on the tip of each cookie wedge to form a small white circle in the middle of the red center circle. (These are the pom-poms on the Santa hats.)
• Pipe a white icing border around the center red circle. (This will be the bottom of the hats.)
• Working on one cookie wedge at a time and starting at the white border, pipe a white ?V? that fits snuggly between the 2 red half circles. Repeat with the remaining cookie wedges. You should have a white 8-point star surrounding the middle red circle. (You've just made 8 Santa beards.)
• Pipe a small dot of thick red icing with the no. 4 tip in the middle of each "V." (Now each Santa has a nose.)
• Finish by piping a white border around the edge of the cookie. (This is the bottom of each Santa's coat.)
• Let the icing dry before serving, about 30 minutes.