Easter Sugar Cookies
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Reynolds® Parchment Paper |
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1 |
package (16.5 oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough |
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2/3 |
cup flour |
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1 |
box (1 lb.) confectioners' sugar |
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3 |
tablespoons meringue powder (powdered egg whites) |
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6 |
tablespoons water |
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1 |
teaspoon flavoring extract, optional |
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Orange, green, yellow, purple, blue and pink food coloring |
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Coconut |
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Miniature marshmallows |
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Orange, green, yellow, purple, blue and pink sugar crystals |
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Multi-colored mini candy-coated chocolate candies |
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Flower-shaped sprinkles |
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Milk chocolate chips, melted |
PREHEAT oven to 350°F.
LINE cookie sheets with Reynolds Parchment Paper; set aside. No need to add extra grease or spray your cookie sheets.
KNEAD flour into sugar cookie dough until well blended.
ROLL out half of cookie dough at a time to 1/4-inch thickness between lightly floured sheets of Parchment Paper. Using large and small circles, eggs, carrot, bunny and basket-shaped cookie cutters, cut out cookies; place on parchment-lined cookie sheets.
BAKE 7 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies or until the edges begin to brown. Let stand one minute on cookie sheets. Slide Parchment Paper with cookies onto a wire racks to cool completely.
DECORATING SUGAR COOKIES:
BEAT powdered sugar, meringue powder, water and extract in a large bowl, with an electric mixer, on high speed until smooth and thick, about 1 minute.
DIVIDE icing into 7 small bowls. Keep one bowl of frosting white. Stir food coloring in remaining frosting to make purple, blue, orange, yellow, pink and green icing. Cover icing tightly when not in use, icing dries quickly.
PIPE outlines of cookies with contrasting colors of icing using a decorating bag with tip. Or, place icing in plastic zipper bags. Snip off one corner with scissors and use to pipe icing.
FOR SUGARED OUTLINES, sprinkle heavily with sugar crystals while icing is wet. Lightly shake off excess crystals. TIP: Sprinkle over Parchment Paper to catch excess for reuse.
TO ICE INSIDE OUTLINES, add a little water to thin icing, if necessary. Spoon a small amount of icing onto outlined cookies. Using a brush, small spatula or your finger, spread icing up to outline to fill in spaces.
FOR BUNNIES, frost the bunny-shaped cookies with white frosting. While frosting is wet, sprinkle with coconut. For tails, use 3 miniature marshmallows. Add mini candy coated chocolate candies for eye and nose. Pipe the inside of the ears with pink frosting. Pipe lines of chocolate for whiskers. If desired, use white frosting to pipe outlines of bunnies legs on top of the coconut.
FOR BASKETS, pipe chocolate onto unfrosted cookies to outline the handle of the basket and crisscrossed to make the weave of the basket. Use green frosting to pipe the grass on the top of the basket. Tuck flower-shaped sprinkles into the grass at the top of the basket. Tip: Icing colored with brown food coloring can be substituted for chocolate.
FOR BONNETS, use 2 sizes of cookies. Outline the larger cookies with a scallop edge and the smaller cookies with a round edge. Fill in the outlines with frosting and place the small cookie on top of the larger cookie; let dry. Pipe contrasting color dots in the scallop edging of the larger cookies. Use a third color frosting to pipe a bow between the two cookies.
FOR CARROTS, follow directions above for outlining and icing the carrot cookies with orange icing. For green tops and details on the carrots, follow directions for sugared outlines.
FOR EASTER EGGS, pipe dots, dashes, straight and curvy lines on unfrosted cookies with a variety of colors of icing. Have fun with the designs!
REYNOLDS KITCHENS TIPS:
- Cover icing at all times. Icing can dry out quickly.
- Let icing dry before adding a different color of icing. If icing is still wet, colors will blend.