How to Decorate Apple Cookies

Back to school season is in full swing. While the school supply aisles have been crowded with eager students, I have been busy coming up with different ways to reinvent traditional school treats for our partnership with Sprinkles and Grins, a website brought to you by Betty Crocker & Cake Mate. Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing some of my favorite back to school treats as well as telling you about a great way for you to get involved with Back to School Bake Off!

Back to school wouldn’t be complete without a sweet apple shaped treat.  Here is another treat I styled to celebrate our partnership with Sprinkles and Grins.  Apple cookies make a great surprise for your favorite teacher or ever an after school snack for the kids. These simple-to-make cookies use Betty Crocker Cookie Icings and Cake Mate Writing Icing to create a fun treat to celebrate school.

You will need:

• Sugar Cookie Recipe ( I used Karen’s Cookies Basic Rolled Sugar Cookie Recipe)
• Apple shaped cookie cutter
• 1 pouch of Betty Crocker Red Cookie Icing
• 1 pouch of Betty Crocker Chocolate Cookie Icing
• 1 tube of red Cake Mate Writing Icing
• 1 tube of red and 1 tube of green Cake Mate Writing Icing from Classic Colors box

 

Instructions:

• Bake Apple shaped cookies as directed.
• Once cool, outline each apple shaped cookie with Red Cake Mate Writing Icing.
• Wait 3 minutes until icing has semi-dried.  This will build as your dam so that the cookie icing can flood in and not drip over the sides.
• Once your outline is semi-dried, flood cookies with Red Betty Crocker Cookie Icing.
• Outline and fill in each leaf with Green Cake Mate Writing Icing from Classic Colors Box.
• Outline and fill in each stem with Betty Crocker Chocolate Cookie Icing.

 

Basic Rolled Sugar Cookie Recipe from Karen’s Cookies

•     1 cup butter, softened
•     1 cup superfine sugar, or granulated sugar, processed in blender or food processor for 30 seconds
•     ½ tsp. Salt
•     1 large egg
•     1 large egg yolk
•     2 tsp. Vanilla extract
•     ½ tsp. Almond extract or emulsion, optional
•     2 ½ cups all-purpose flour.

Directions:

• Cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes with mixer set at medium speed.
• Add yolk, beat well. Add whole egg, vanilla and optional almond extract and beat until well-incorporated.
• Add flour; beat at low speed just until flour is mixed in; do not overmix.
• Divide dough in halves or thirds and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least one hour and up to 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Dust work surface and rolling pin with flour.
• Roll dough to 1/4″ thick, sprinkling with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking. Cut into desired shapes and place on parchment or silicone-lined pans.
• Bake in preheated oven until cookies appear dry on the surface and are light golden brown on the edges, about 10 minutes (very large cookies may take up to 12 or 13 minutes). Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks and cool completely before decorating.