These cookies turned out so cute. With the help of my tiny sidekick, we picked out alllll the fun sprinkles and he did such a good job helping me decorate. We used a quicker version of our favorite sugar cookies but instead of royal icing like we normally do, I wanted to make buttercream so that the sprinkles would stay on a little better / it would be easier for Zeppelin to help me decorate them. The best part about buttercream is you can make it ahead if needed and you can also make a double batch and freeze some.
For the cookies:
1 c. butter (room temperature / softened)
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tbsp. milk
3 c. flour
1.5 tsp. baking powder
Preheat oven to 400. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg, milk and vanilla and beat until well combined. If you want to color your actual cookies, put food coloring in next. I did just a pinch of pink. Stir in the flour and baking powder making sure to not over mix. Flour your surface and rolling pin to smoothly roll out the dough so it’s about 1/4″ thick. Cut out the cookies with the shapes of your choice and transfer to the baking sheet. Bake for about 5-7 minutes, checking for when the edges are golden brown. Let them cool completely before you add frosting or any decorations.
For the frosting:
1 c. butter
4-5 c. confectioners sugar
1/4-1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. freeze dried strawberries
food coloring if desired
Beat ingredients except for the strawberries until well combined and creamy. Use your judgement on adding more milk or sugar as this should be very fluffy / creamy / easy to spread. I always start with the 1/4 cup of milk and usually need to add a bit more. Once combined, add the freeze dried strawberries to a blender until they are in powder form. Stir them into the frosting and you are ready to decorate!
The pink cookies shown are the natural color of the freeze dried strawberries which always looks so pretty as is. I added one drop of red to it on the tail end of our decorating just to experiment. Linking my favorite finds for Valentines baking this year below.
Happy baking! XO
