Painted Sugar Cookies

About a week before Saint Patrick's Day, our school held a party. The community dressed in green and gathered in the basement of our school in South Boston to eat, drink, and dance. The Irish step dancing was adorable. Of course, knowing that it was a party held at a school, I knew I needed to supply a sweet and neutral treat. After-all, kids cannot survive off of corned beef and cabbage alone.

These cookies were a huge hit. Honestly, they were mostly just a standard cookie dyed green and dipped in a simple icing made with powdered sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, and water. Nothing crazy. But they were just so much fun to make. I even decorated a few using this "painting" technique, which was really just corn syrup and food dye, painted onto dried icing using a food-safe paint brush. A bit of warning, the longer you wait to eat these cookies a) the less likely any will be left and b) the chewier the topping will become. This is definitely a treat to be eaten fresh.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup corn starch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• A few drops of gel food dye (optional)

Recipe

1. Cream together softened butter and sugar.
2. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, corn starch, baking powder, and salt using a whisk.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture into the dough, about 1/2 a cup at a time, mixing in between.
5. Add in a drop of gel food dye at a time until the dough is about your desired color. These cookies will get a bit more yellow as they bake, so be aware of that. Do not add too much food dye, though. You don't want to be turning people's teeth green with these cookies.
6. Place plastic wrap over the bowl and chill for at least an hour (no more than 3, or it will start to get dry).
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
8. Once chilled, remove the dough from the fridge. Roll out onto a clean and floured surface. The cooler the surface, the better, so that it doesn't stick. Use your rolling pin to get an even thickness, whatever you desire.
9. Cut your cookies into whatever shape you prefer. I used a biscuit cutter to get perfectly round cookies, but this recipe would work with another shape, as well. Place onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet, spread apart in case they spread a little.
10. Bake for between 6 and 10 minutes until the cookies are firm. If you have dyed your cookies, it may be harder to tell if they are completely cooked based on color alone. The edges may be getting slightly golden when it's time to take them out.
11. Allow cookies to cool completely before icing and decorating.
12. If you are using the watercolor method, ice completely with a standard icing. Then, take a few tablespoons of corn syrup and combine with a few drops of food color. I recommend using a chopstick to stir until completely uniform. Then, take your food-safe brush to "paint" your cookie as desired. In my case, of course I used a four leaf clover.