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Moon & Star Cookies
by Tami Rose
With Space Day and Astronomy Day both falling in the beginning of May, it's a great time to make some tasty moon and star cookies. Kids love to work in the kitchen so take this opportunity for some fun family time.
What You Need
1 roll of refrigerated sugar cookie dough or
your favorite sugar cookie recipe*
yellow paste food coloring
confectioner's sugar or royal icing*
white crystal sugar candy sprinkles
medium size star cookie cutter
moon cookie cutter or a small round bowl
What You Do
Making the Cookies:
If using a roll of refrigerated cookie dough, knead in 1/2 c. of flour.
Roll out dough to 3/8 in. thick. Cut out stars and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake approximately 5 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes then remove to cooling racks to completely cool.
If you are using a moon cookie cutter, cut out the moon shapes and place them on a separate baking sheet. If you do not have a moon cookie cutter, cut out a circle using a small round bowl. Carefully cut out a crescent shape for the moon. Bake for approximately 8 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet and then remove to cooling racks to completely cool.
Decorating the Cookies:
If you are planning on eating the cookies immediately and not storing them, you can frost them with confectioner's sugar icing. This quick and easy icing will harden slightly once it's on the cookies but will not harden enough to stack the cookies without ruining the designs on your cookies.
Confectioner's Sugar Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 TBSP water
1/4 tsp. of flavored extract such as vanilla (optional). Make sure to use clear extract because any color will tint the icing.
If you are planning on packing the cookies in containers, I would recommend using this Royal Icing recipe. It takes a bit more work in the beginning but the end results are quite worth it when the cookies keep their "freshly made" appearance. This icing
will harden to allow stacking in containers without ruining any of the cookie's designs.
Royal Icing:
1 1/2 TBSP meringue powder
2 cups sifted icing sugar
3 tablespoons cold water
Mix on low with a hand mixer for 10 minutes.
Divide icing into 2 bowls. Tint one bowl of icing light yellow, and leave one
bowl white. Using icing bags or making your own out of plastic baggies, glaze
the cookies with icing. Immediately sprinkle the white candy sugar crystals over
the cookies.
Freezing Cookies:
Line a baking sheet with wax paper, then lay cookies in a single layer onto the paper. Freeze. Once frozen, the cookies can be stacked on top of each other. To thaw, place cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet or plate, do not thaw cookies while they are stacked together or the icing will stick to the other cookies.
**Tami's Favorite Soft Sugar Cookies
1/2 cup shortening (part butter or margarine)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 2/3 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional) I leave it out for white cookies
1/2 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Mix shortening, sugar, egg, & vanilla thoroughly. Blend dry ingredients. Add to sugar mixture alternately with sour cream.
Divide dough; roll out on a well-floured board. Cut with cookie cutters (metal cookie cutters w/ open tops are the easiest) You can make these as thick as you want... the thicker, the chewier.
Place cookies on lightly greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with sugar unless you are going to ice them. Bake 7-8 minutes or until very lightly browned around the edges. Makes 3-4 dozen but I never get this many because I make mine thicker.
If you use the nutmeg in them, you don't even need the icing but it will give your cookies a slight off-white appearance if they are left un-iced.
If you like chewy cookies, roll them out a little thicker. If you like thin, crispy cookies, roll a kind of thin but not real thin or you wont be able to remove to them from cookie pan.
This dough is very easy to work with! I always double it because I like the thicker cookies.
More You Might Like:
Salt Dough Space Mobile
Fun Space Facts
Space Coloring Pages
Salt Dough Moon
About the Author:
Tami Rose lives in North Carolina with her husband and 2 children. She is always on the
lookout for fun, easy crafts that any age group can make. She is the Assistant Administrator on the FamilyCorner.com forums. You can find her there under the username of "ajrsmom". She is also the Assistant Editor for FamilyCorner.com and provides valuable support for the website.
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