How to Decorate Cutout Sugar Cookies

Decorate sugar cookies with festive toppings.

Cutout cookies are synonymous with holidays. Make a batch of sugar cookies and cut the dough into festive, holiday-inspired designs such Valentine hearts, Christmas trees and Easter bunnies using cookie cutters. You can also make cutout cookies to coordinate with a party theme, such as flower-shaped cookies for a summer garden soiree or stars for an outer space-themed birthday bash. Enhance the cookies using edible decor items, such as frosting, candy and nonpareils.

Things You'll Need

• Soft frosting or royal icing
• Butter knife or pastry bag with a small, rounded tip
• Food coloring
• Edible decor items, such as decorators sugar, small candy pieces, nuts and nonpareils

Instructions

1. Top the cookies with soft, fluffy frosting if you intend to decorate the treats with additional decor items, such as candy. Use royal icing, which is traditionally made with egg whites, if you prefer the cookies to have a hard, glossy finish. Color white frosting or icing with concentrated gel paste dyes or liquid coloring to create the desired hue.

2. Spread the frosting on top of the sugar cookies in a smooth layer using a butter knife. Fill in the top of the cookies with royal icing using a piping bag with a small rounded tip.

3. Sprinkle colorful decorator's sugar over the top of the frosted cookies to give the treats a sweet crunch. Brush Karo syrup over the top of plain, unfrosted cookies prior to sprinkling the sugar on to secure the colorful crystals into place.

4. Decorate the frosted cookies with small candy pieces to add even more color and flavor. Use Red Hots or shiny silver nonpareils to create a border around the cookies or to decorate Christmas-inspired cut-outs. Create whimsical animal-inspired cut-out cookies using mini chocolate chips as eyes, thin icing for paw details, or coconut flakes as fur or feathers.

References

• Simply Recipes: Sugar Cookies
• Joy of Baking: Sugar Cookies Recipe