For us, the holidays look a little different this year. There are no visits to Santa; no festive gatherings to attend. But that doesn’t mean that we aren’t finding our own little ways to bring a little holiday cheer to, well, everything. Like many of you, my kids are out of school more than they are in school and with no after-school activities, I’ve been wracking my brain to come up with fun ways to spend the afternoons leading up to Christmas. We’ve made mini graham cracker houses (be sure to check them out here) and just this past weekend, we decided to make adorable Christmas Ornament Sugar Cookies. With a basic sugar cookie recipe, some cookie cutters and a few basic items we already had in our pantry, this fun edible Christmas craft was a hit in our home and I know it will be in yours as well. Here’s how to turn any afternoon into a delicious time with our simple Christmas Ornament Sugar Cookies!
These Christmas Ornament Sugar Cookies guarantee an afternoon of decorating fun and really, you only need a few simple things to make them. To get started, gatherer up the following:
- Your favorite sugar cookie and royal icing recipe (find mine here)
- Round cookie cutters (you can use a glass and a knife if you don’t have cookie cutters)
- Mini marshmallows
- Candy/Sprinkles/Food Coloring
There are so many sugar cookie recipes out there but really, you want a dense sugar cookie for these Christmas Ornament Sugar Cookies to work. I recommend the one I’ve linked to above or you can use your own favorite recipe. Either way, mix up the dough according to the directions that you follow.
Once the dough is mixed, chill it for AT LEAST 2 hours. Seriously, don’t skip this step or you will have sugar cookies that spread. Once your dough is chilled, flour your counter, roll out your dough (about an inch thick) and let the kiddos help on cutting out circles.
Bake your sugar cookies according to the directions of the recipe you’ve followed and then cool them completely on a cooling rack. While you’re cooling the cookies, mix together your royal icing. You’ll want a thicker consistency to pipe the outlines of the cookies so I like to start with two cups of confectioner’s sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, 2 tablespoons of Karo syrup and a splash of vanilla extract. I then add more confectioner’s sugar until I have a thick piping liquid. After piping on my outer edge, I add one more teaspoon of milk and then flood the middles with the royal icing to cover the cookies.
Once the cookies are covered in white icing, I divided what royal icing I had left and mixed red and green food coloring into it. Then I created dots and lines and used a toothpick to create patterns. Some ideas are alternating red and green lines and then pulling down with the toothpick to create a fun pattern or piping on inverted v’s and then pulling a toothpick down the center to form a Christmas tree.
You can add candies, sprinkles and more. That’s what’s so fun about these Christmas Ornament Sugar Cookies. Just like those beloved ornaments made over the years by your kiddos, they can make everyone different, unique and special!
Once your kiddos (and you!) have decorated your cookies to perfection, dip one mini marshmallow into the royal icing and place it on the top of the Christmas Ornament Sugar Cookies to create the look of an actual ornament.
Allow the royal icing to harden and that’s it! Your perfect Christmas Ornament Sugar Cookies are complete.
For them to completely set, I recommend letting the royal icing dry overnight and then you can pack them up, share them with friends and family or enjoy them yourself.
No matter how you choose to enjoy these Christmas Ornament Sugar Cookies, I can guarantee you that they are as much fun to make as they are to eat, making them a perfectly tasty craft AND snack to enjoy this holiday season!
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