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January 8, 2011

TIE-DYE SUGAR COOKIES

If I had to pick a favorite cookie, it would be a sugar cookie with frosting, no doubt about it.  I recently posted my new favorite sugar cookie recipe, but I made them with glaze that time and I wanted to try them with frosting to see which way I liked better.  I had also seen a really cool way to make tie-dye cookies with royal icing over at The Hungry Housewife, but I had never tried royal icing, so I wondered if it would work with the frosting I wanted to try on my cookies?  As you can see by my pictures, they definitely did not turn out like Leslie's, but oh well, it was still fun to try.  If I would have made my frosting a little thinner and piped it on the cookie in a thinner swirl, it probably would have worked better.  Next time, I will try the royal icing.  

For the frosting on my cookies, I used a recipe from my friend, Andrea.  In my opinion, it is a cross between an icing and a frosting.  I have made it probably 8 or so times since she gave me the recipe.  I think it goes perfect with sugar cookies.  Don't let the sour cream scare you, because you really can't taste it.  I loved how these cookies tasted with the frosting.  They are super good with both the icing and the frosting, so which ever way you chose to make them, you won't be disappointed.  I think they deserve the title "Ultimate Sugar Cookies"!!!   
1.  Make a swirl with any color
2.  Make another swirl with a different color
3.  Followed by a 3rd swirl with another color
4.  Then make a 4th swirl with plain white
5.  Then, take a toothpick and starting in the middle, pull out to the end of the cookie.  Continue around the whole cookie.  Then, pick up your cookie and shake it back and forth to smooth out your icing. Fill in any gaps using your toothpick.  
This is the finished look.  Again, if you use a thinner frosting or royal icing, it would work a lot better than mine did.  
Or, just frost them with plain colors 

Tie-Dye Sugar Cookies

1/2 recipe of The Best Sugar Cookies
(1/2 batch yields 28 regular round cookies and 18 small hearts)
1 batch Sour Cream Frosting
Food Coloring: Any three colors  
Toothpick

1/2 Batch Sugar Cookies
1 c. butter, softened
1 + 1/8 c. sugar
2 Lg. eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. milk
3 + 3/4 + 1/8 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. lemon flavor
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 Tbl. honey

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs and then milk.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Dough will be soft and sticky.  Place dough on a well floured surface.  Knead in just enough flour to make dough workable.  Dough will be very soft.  It is best to knead with a rolling pin motion so you have a smooth surface and you will not get cracks on top of your cookies.  Gently roll out to 3/8 inch thick.  Cut into desired shapes and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes (mine took 13) or until edges barely start to change colors.  Cool. Yields: 28 regular round cookies and 18 small hearts


Sour Cream Frosting:
adapted from: Andrea L.

1 cup (2 cubes) unsalted butter, softened
4-5 Tbl. sour cream
5-6 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt

Beat butter until light and fluffy; add 3 Tbl. sour cream.  Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, adding more sour cream as needed (The sour cream replaces the milk, so if you need the frosting to be thinner, just add more sour cream).  Add vanilla and salt and beat until light and fluffy and reaches desired consistency.  Frost or pipe onto cooled cookies.  You must keep the finished cookies refrigerated, because of the sour cream.   

*If you would like to try the tie-dye version.  Divide frosting into four bowls.  Add food coloring to three of the bowls and leave one plain white.  Add each color to four separate zip-lock bags and barley snip off the corner of the bag.  Pipe onto cookies as described above.  

7 comments:

  1. Great looking cupcakes. I like the icing pattern. How good are cupcakes!!!

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  2. Love the colors! So bright and cheerful. I think frosting is the best part of the cookie, especially GOOD frosting. YUM!

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  3. So colorful and funny! Surely kids just love it! Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Nice pastel colors. Does the cookie frosting harden after you frost them, so that you can stack the cookies on top of each other? thank you :)

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  5. Esther - If you keep the cookies in the fridge, then the frosting gets firm, so you are able to stack them. When they are at room temperature, the frosting is soft. It sticks to the layered cookies a little, but not too bad, so you can still stack them. Thanks for asking!

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  6. Thanks for visiting my blog. :) Nice advice! I think I will be trying this frosting then, for Valentine's Day. If I do, I'll be certain to tell you how it goes.

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