Standing Up For Their Country Cupcakes & Cookies

Playfully present patriotic figures on top of star-splashed cupcakes. Add black licorice appendages and spice-drop feet and hands to cookies shaped with the smallest star cutter in the 101 Cookie Cutters Set.

Ingredients:

• Christmas Red Icing Color
• Red-Red Icing Color
• Royal Blue Icing Color
• Black Icing Color
• Buttercream icing
• Royal Icing
• Patriotic Mix Sprinkle Decorations
• Roll-Out Cookie Dough
• Meringue Powder
• Premium White Candy Melts®
• Black shoestring licorice
• White and black spice drops
• Uncooked spagetti
• granulated sugar

Makes:

Each Cupcake or Cookie serves 1

Tools:

• 6-Cup Standard Muffin Pan
• Cookie Sheet
• Cooling Grid
• Tip: 3
• Patriotic Standard Baking Cups
• 101 Cookie Cutter Set
• Wide Glide™ Rolling Pin
• Knife
• Waxed paper

Instructions:

step 1

In advance: Make cookies. Prepare dough, roll out and cut using smallest star cutter from set. Bake and cool. Cover with thinned royal icing (link to technique on p. 128); let dry overnight.

step 2

Use tip 3 and royal icing to pipe dot eyes, noses and pupils, outline mouths. For each cookie, cut four 1 1/4 in. pieces of black licorice and attach to backs of stars for arms and legs with melted candy; let set.

step 3

On waxed paper sprinkled with sugar, roll out white spice drops 1/8 thick, black spice drops 1/4 in. thick. Cut into hand and shoe shapes with knife. Insert into licorice arms and legs. Cut uncooked spaghetti into 2 1/2 in. lengths and attach to backs of legs for support with melted candy, leaving 1 1/4 in. open on one end to insert into cupcakes; let set.

step 4

Bake and cool cupcakes. Ice smooth with spatula and add sprinkles. Insert cookies.

* Combine Christmas Red with Red-Red for red shown.