Tag: sugar cookies

Shark Cookies

Last week was Shark Week, an annual event on the Discovery Channel that aims to educate people about these often-feared aquatic creatures. As I’ve posted before, I actually love sharks, even if Jaws and great whites in general scare the living daylights out of me. But whenever I visit an aquarium, the sharks are always my favorite creatures, gliding serenely through the tanks. I aspire for the level of serenity I imagine them to have.

Anyway…these treats are an easy bake as standard sugar cookie cut-outs, but boy, do they take a while to decorate. They’re also massive; I didn’t chill my dough long enough before baking them and they spread immensely in the oven, but they were delicious nonetheless.

For the cookies

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 cups flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the icing

  • 6 tablespoons shortening
  • dash of salt
  • 2 egg whites
  • 4-5 cups powdered sugar
  • 2-3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 – 2 teaspoons water, if necessary*
  • Blue food coloring
  • Miniature chocolate chips, for eyes

*Sometimes your egg whites will be larger than others, so you may not need the extra liquid for the frosting. You can always add a few teaspoons of water if you need to, but do so sparingly – once you add it, you can’t take it back out! 

Preparation

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add vanilla and about half the flour mixture, beating until combined; beat in remaining flour. If your dough is still crumbly, add 1-2 teaspoons of water.

Divide dough in half and knead each just slightly.  Form each half into a disc and place on plastic wrap; cover with another piece of plastic wrap and roll out to flatten into about 1/4 inch thickness. This helps later on, so you don’t have to work your dough as much when rolling and re-rolling after cutting, making your cookies more tender. Refrigerate until just barely firm, about 20-30 minutes. If you refrigerate overnight, let your dough stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes before you roll it out.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from fridge and roll to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into shapes and place on baking sheets, leaving room for the cookies to spread; I baked 6 sharks on each sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just golden at the edges.  Cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, combine shortening, egg whites, salt, and one cup powdered sugar in a mixing bowl.  Beat on low speed until combined, then increase speed to medium, then high, and beat for 1 minute. Add remaining powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating for about 1 minute each time – you can add as much as 5 whole cups of powdered sugar but may need a little extra extract or water to keep the consistency as easily spreadable. Add extracts and beat; if your frosting is too thick, add 1-2 teaspoons of water. You want a smooth consistency that’s easy to pipe.

Reserve about 1/3 cup of white frosting; tint the remainder light blue (or if you want to make grey, use a few drops of black food coloring). Using a small offset spatula, frost the bellies of the sharks white, then frost the remainder of the body and bottom fin with blue. Add a mini chocolate chip eye; allow frosting to set before storing cookies between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature. Makes about 36.

Speckled Egg Cookies

It’s finally spring – though in Pittsburgh, spring can mean 70 degrees or 30 degrees from day to day. Despite this, birds are chirping and trees and flowers are blooming, so even the colder days are more bearable. And the days are getting longer, so I’ll take it.

These speckled egg cookies are a cute springtime treat, and there are a few different options for speckling material. They’re a basic sugar cookie, frosted and dusted with chopped up chocolate chips, but you could easily use Oreo crumbs (and I will the next time I make anything speckled).

Ingredients

For the cookies

  • 8 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

For the frosting and decoration

  • 3 tablespoons shortening
  • dash of salt
  • 1 egg white
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract, optional (you can make this frosting with just vanilla)
  • 1 – 2 teaspoons water, if necessary
  • Blue liquid food coloring*
  • Semi-sweet chocolate chips, very finely chopped so they are almost like dust

*Gel food coloring, even when used in only one drop, yields a very intense color. Liquid food coloring will give you better pastel shades. 

Preparation

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add vanilla and about half the flour mixture, beating until combined; beat in remaining flour.

Note: if your dough is too crumbly, you can add just a bit of water or another 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla.

Divide dough in half and knead each just slightly.  Form each half into a disc and place on plastic wrap; cover with another piece of plastic wrap and roll out to flatten into about 1/4 inch thickness. This helps later on, so you don’t have to work your dough as much when rolling and re-rolling after cutting, making your cookies more tender. Refrigerate until just barely firm, about 20-30 minutes. If you refrigerate overnight, let your dough stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes before you roll it out.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from fridge and roll to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into egg shapes and place on baking sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just golden at the edges.  Cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, combine shortening, egg white, salt, and one cup powdered sugar in a mixing bowl.  Beat on low speed until combined, then increase speed to medium, then high, and beat for 1 minute. Add remaining powdered sugar, beating for about 1 minute. Add extracts and beat; if your frosting is too thick, add 1-2 teaspoons of water. You want a smooth consistency that’s easy to spread.

Tint your frosting light blue (go easy and use liquid food coloring, as noted above) and frost each cookie. Sprinkle with chocolate chip dust; allow frosting to set before storing between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container. Makes about 3 dozen, depending on the size of your cookie cutter.

Pineapple Sugar Cut-Outs

Here we are, in the dead of winter. By many accounts Pittsburgh has had it easy winter-wise these last few years, but Mother Nature seems to be making up for lost time. This winter reminds me of those from my childhood, snowy and very cold. And while I’m not a winter hater, I’m definitely ready for some warm weather.

Pineapples grow in tropical climates, of course, and I would love to be in one of those right now. These treats would be fun for a summer party, especially because pineapples are a symbol of hospitality. I’ll definitely make these again, maybe along with some watermelon cut-outs for a bright, fun cookie tray.

Ingredients

For the cookies

  • 8 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

For the frosting

  • 6 tablespoons shortening
  • dash of salt
  • 2 egg whites
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 1 – 2 teaspoons water, if necessary
  • Yellow and green food coloring

Preparation

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add vanilla and about half the flour mixture, beating until combined; beat in remaining flour.

Note: if your dough is too crumbly, you can add just a bit of water or another 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla.

Divide dough in half and knead each just slightly.  Form each half into a disc and place on plastic wrap; cover with another piece of plastic wrap and roll out to flatten into about 1/4 inch thickness. This helps later on, so you don’t have to work your dough as much when rolling and re-rolling after cutting, making your cookies more tender. Refrigerate until just barely firm, about 20-30 minutes. If you refrigerate overnight, let your dough stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes before you roll it out.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from fridge and roll to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into shapes and place on baking sheets about 2 inches apart; I baked 6 pineapples per sheet, and my cutter is 4 inches tall.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just golden at the edges.  Cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, combine shortening, egg whites, salt, and one cup powdered sugar in a mixing bowl.  Beat on low speed until combined, then increase speed to medium, then high, and beat for 1 minute. Add remaining powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating for about 1 minute each time. Add extracts and beat; if your frosting is too thick, add 1-2 teaspoons of water. You want a smooth consistency that’s easy to pipe.

Take about 1/4 of your frosting and place it in a small bowl. Tint green for pineapple leaves. Tint remaining frosting yellow.

Fit a piping bag with a small star tip (or a leaf tip, if you prefer) and fill with green frosting; fit another bag with a medium star tip and fill with yellow frosting. Pipe the yellow stars in even lines across each pineapple, then pipe on leaves. Allow frosting to harden before storing; store between sheets of parchment or waxed paper so the cookies don’t stick together. Makes about 22 cookies.

Almond Sugar Cookies

almondsugarcookieSugar cookies can be whatever flavor you want them to be, from vanilla to creamsicle to anything in between. Last week I baked these almond sugar cookies for my goddaughters, Mo and Margo, as their back-to-school treat. It’s a very simple recipe that needs very little to dress it up, if anything. I went with sanding sugar, but you could frost them too if you wanted.

I’d like to experiment with a lemon version (too bad I don’t have a lemon-shaped cookie cutter, hmm), an orange version similar to the creamsicle but with less vanilla, and a chocolate/peppermint for the holidays. Stay tuned.

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2  teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons almond extract
  • Sanding sugar, if desired

Preparation

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add vanilla and about half the flour mixture, beating until combined; beat in remaining flour.

Note: if your dough is too crumbly, you can add just a bit of water or another ¼ teaspoon of vanilla.

Divide dough in half and knead each just slightly until dough sticks together.  Form each half into a disc and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until just barely firm, about 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour sanding sugar onto a plate or into a shallow bowl and set aside. Line several baking sheets with foil or parchment paper.

Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes; I used a fluted cutter for these, but they didn’t keep their shape as well. Press the top of each cookie into the sanding sugar to coat completely; place on baking sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just golden. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack. Makes about 3 dozen, depending on the size of your cutter.

Creamsicle Starfish Cut-Outs

creamsiclestarfishMy last bit of beach-themed baking included these creamsicle starfish cut-out cookies, using orange zest and an awesome ingredient called fiori di sicilia. It’s a potent citrus-vanilla type of extract, which I always buy from King Arthur Baking. A little goes an incredibly long way; you can use an eye dropper to add it, but I just used my 1/8 teaspoon measuring spoon. In any case, it’s absolutely delicious.

I do wish I’d made my icing more orange in color – these starfish are a little more pale than I’d like. But the flavor was delicious, and something I’ll make again; I’d also like to make lemon sugar cookies, so stay tuned for those. Maybe even in the shape of lemons!

Ingredients

For the cookie dough

  • 8 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • zest of 1 medium orange
  • Scant 1/8 teaspoon fiori di sicilia

For the frosting

  • 1 egg white
  • 3 tablespoons shortening
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • Dash of salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Scant 1/8 teaspoon fiori di sicilia
  • 1-2 teaspoons water

Preparation

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add vanilla extract, orange zest, fiori di sicilia, and about half the flour mixture, beating until combined; beat in remaining flour. Form dough into a disc and wrap in plastic; chill for 30-45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line several baking sheets with foil or parchment paper.

Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into star shapes, then place on the baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for about 4-5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cookies are cool, make the icing. Combine egg white, shortening, salt, and one cup powdered sugar in a mixing bowl.  Beat on low speed until combined, then increase speed to medium, then high, and beat for one minute.

Add additional cup powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed for one minute. Add vanilla extract and fiori di sicilia.  Beat on high speed for one or two minutes, until very well combined.

Check the frosting’s texture; it should be like very, very soft peanut butter and very easily spreadable.  If necessary, add one to two teaspoons of water to thin the frosting and beat well to combine. Reserve about 1/4 cup frosting for starfish accents and tint the remainder orange.

Frost the cookies with the orange icing, then fit a piping bag with a small plain tip and add details. Allow icing to set before storing between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

vanillasugarcookiesHere’s a classic: the sugar cookie. But not one of those way-too-sweet, only-take-a-few-bites sugar cookies you can find at almost any bakery. These (admittedly enormous, at four inches wide) sugar cookies have nutmeg and vanilla bean paste in them, which means they’re just delicious without being too sugary and have a more mellow flavor. These treats also have great texture, with a crispy edge and soft middle.

One caveat: be careful not to overbake these. Pull them from the oven when the middles are still puffy and look just a bit underdone but the edges are golden, as they’ll continue to bake while they cool.

Ingredients

  • 12 tablespoons butter, slightly softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar for coating

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for about 1 minute; add sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and egg and beat until well combined. Add flour and beat to combine.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, scoop dough, roll into balls, and dip in sugar to coat completely.

Place cookies at least 2 inches apart on baking sheets; they will spread some when baking. I put 6 cookies per sheet, and that worked well.

Bake for 10 minutes, until edges are barely beginning to brown and centers still look puffy. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Makes 22 four-inch cookies; you can use a one-inch cookie scoop if you’d like smaller treats and a bigger batch.

Sparkling St. Patrick’s Day Sugar Cookies

sparkingstpatrickscookiesThis weekend I stood in the baking aisle of my local craft store, staring at the “sorry, we’re out” tag hanging from the rod where the green sanding sugar should have been. To the left were dinosaur sprinkles; to the right, some type of “cactus mix.” And while I’d love to bake with dino and cactus sprinkles someday, I really needed plain old green sanding sugar for my sparkling shamrock cut-outs. To the grocery store I went, only to meet the same fate.

And so I returned home, consulted the internet, and made my own colored sugar. You could probably use regular granulated sugar, but I used the larger crystals known as sanding sugar that you can get at baking supply and craft stores. I had a bottle of white, so I placed about a half-cup in a glass container, added a few drops of green gel food coloring, and shook the container until all the granules were coated. I’m very pleased with how it turned out; the light shade of the shamrocks goes well with the gold coins, all of which are on their way to my favorite young ladies in Maryland, Mo and Margo.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla
  • Green and yellow sanding sugar

Preparation

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add vanilla and about half the flour mixture, beating until combined; beat in remaining flour. If necessary, add 1-2 teaspoons of water for a less crumbly dough; you’ll need a more pliable dough to roll and cut later.

Form dough into a disc and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until just barely firm, about 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper, then place green sanding sugar on a plate; place yellow on another.

Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into shamrock shapes, then press the tops of each cookie into the green sugar to coat. Repeat with a small round cutter for coins and press into the yellow sugar. Place on baking sheets about 1-2 inches apart – they don’t spread much when baking, but you don’t want to crowd your baking sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheets for 2-3 minutes before carefully transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days; if shipping, pack between layers of waxed paper. Makes about 3 dozen 3-inch cookies.

Sparkling Under the Sea Cookies

sparklingundertheseacookiesDo cookies ship well? I certainly hope so. I send them around the country to various friends and family members, and I sincerely hope they all arrive in one piece. Some cookies, like sugar cut-outs, are more conducive to shipping if you coat them in sugar instead of frosting them. Especially in summer, I wouldn’t trust frosted cookies to fare well through the mail.

These treats are for Mike’s friend Jackie, who lives in Maryland and has been perusing my blog with her little boys. Enjoy, Jackie and family!

Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla
  • White, aqua, light blue, dark blue, and orange colored sugar
  • Miniature chocolate chips, for eyes

Preparation

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add vanilla and about half the flour mixture, beating until combined; beat in remaining flour.

Note: if your dough is too crumbly, you can add just a bit of water or another ¼ teaspoon of vanilla.

Knead just slightly until dough sticks together, then flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate until just barely firm, about 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes – I used crabs, whales, sharks, octopuses, and starfish and chilled my dough a second time after I cut my shapes, because it’s quite humid here today and the dough was more fragile than usual.

Place colored sugar on a plate and carefully dip each cookie into the sugar, pressing so the sugar sticks (this provides better coverage than sprinkling the sugar on top, but you could do that too if you prefer). I used dark blue for the crabs, light blue and white for the whales, aqua for the sharks, and blended aqua and light blue for the octopuses. Carefully place cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets and add chocolate chip eyes.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are just golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheets for about 4-5 minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Quantity varies based on the size of your cutter; this batch yielded about 24 cookies because the crab, whale, and shark cutters are fairy large. I also recommend baking similar-shaped cookies on each baking sheet – for example, crabs on one, whales and sharks on another, starfish on another – to keep them from browning at different rates.

Sparkling Sugar Hearts

sparkingsugarheartFor some, Valentine’s Day brings the opportunity to go all out with romantic gestures and elaborate plans, while others grumble that it’s a made-up holiday meant to sell cards, candy, and flowers. For me, Valentine’s Day usually means baking something heart-themed, and this time it was a simple batch of sugar cut-out cookies coated in sparkling red sugar for my favorite Maryland girls, Maureen and Margaret.

Sugar cookies are one of my favorite things to bake, though they didn’t used to be. I found them a challenge until I came across a good recipe, the one below, and have adapted them for many a holiday using a range of decorations. I usually top sugar cookies that will ship somewhere in sugar, instead of frosting, for durability. I also find that pressing the cookie into the sugar, rather than sprinkling the sugar on top, provides a more even coating and allows the sugar to stick better.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1-2 teaspoons water
  • Red sanding sugar

Preparation

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Add vanilla and about half the flour mixture, beating until combined; beat in remaining flour. If necessary, add 1-2 teaspoons of water for a less crumbly dough; you’ll need a more pliable dough to roll and cut later.

Divide dough in half and knead each just slightly until dough sticks together.  Form each half into a disc and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until just barely firm, about 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper, then place red sanding sugar on a plate or in a shallow dish.

Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into heart shapes, then press the tops of each cookie into the sugar to coat. Place on baking sheets about 1-2 inches apart – they don’t spread much when baking, but you don’t want to crowd your baking sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheets for 2-3 minutes before carefully transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days; if shipping, pack between layers of waxed paper. Makes about 4 dozen 3-inch cookies.

Pumpkin Patch Sugar Cut-Outs

IMG_9069To some people, frosting dozens of cut-out cookies might be stressful. But for me, it’s Zen time; this endeavor allows me to be completely focused on one task. And that task, when complete, will bring joy to others. It’s a win-win for my mental health, I’d say.

Yesterday I baked a batch of pumpkin-shaped cut-outs for Halloween and decided to frost them with various shades of orange, along with green and white. They turned out really well, and Mike will take them to work tomorrow for his colleagues to enjoy. Granted, I’m keeping a few back for us – I think the green ones are my favorites.

For the cookies

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1-2 teaspoons water

For the frosting

  • 3 egg whites*
  • 9 tablespoons shortening
  • Dash of salt
  • 6 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
  • Orange, yellow, red, moss green, and brown gel food coloring

Preparation

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Add vanilla and about half the flour mixture, beating until combined; beat in remaining flour. If necessary, add 1-2 teaspoons of water for a less crumbly dough; you’ll need a more pliable dough to roll and cut later.

Divide dough in half and knead each just slightly until dough sticks together.  Form each half into a disc and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until just barely firm, about 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes; I used large, medium, and small pumpkin-shaped cutters. Be sure to bake like-sized shapes on one sheet – otherwise you’ll have an uneven bake. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheets for 2-3 minutes before carefully transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

For the frosting, combine egg whites, shortening, salt, and 2 cups powdered sugar in a mixing bowl.  Beat on low speed until combined, then increase speed to medium, then high, and beat for one minute.

Add additional cup powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed for one minute. Add vanilla and almond extracts.  Beat on high speed for one or two minutes, until very well combined.

Check the frosting’s texture; it should be like very, very soft peanut butter and very easily spreadable.  If necessary, you can add one to two teaspoons of water to thin the frosting and beat well to combine.

Tint to your desired shades; I used a very light orange with just one drop of orange coloring, then darker shades that blended yellow, red, and brown into the already-orange frosting. For the stem colors, use brown for some and moss green for others; the green pumpkins are tinted with a generous amount of moss green coloring. 

Frost to look like pumpkins, using your knife to make the ridges. Allow icing to set before storing cookies between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container. Makes about 5 dozen, depending on the size of your cutters.