Cupid Cookies

 I made these cookies last year for Valentine's Day.  I have a friend that makes cookies, but she lives pretty far away and didn't have time to ship them with all her other orders....but I was OBSESSED with these cupid cookies.  The original cookie came from here.  I decided it was time to try out royal icing cookies.  I know, I know there are so many things for me to learn, but I'm more than fine with these little ladies.
The clever party-you use a snowman cookie cutter to make the shape!

 Turn it upside down and then use some icing to outline your figure.

 It dries really quickly and then you can go and start filling in each little section. Below is the face.  Let it dry/add details etc etc.  I posted the recipe below and I used 8 cups of icing for the fill, and then added a little water so the icing would thin a bit.  You squeeze the icing inside the lines and then tap the cookie on a counter so it will smooth out a bit before it dries.

 This is the finished product.  I used a heart sprinkle for the side of the hair.

 Once they dried I bagged them up.

 I researched a bunch of recipes and the cookies and icing I used was pretty tasty.

Royal Icing Sugar Cookie Recipe

PRINT HERE

For the Cookies
Ingredients:  1 sticks of butter (softened), 1 c. powdered sugar, 1 egg, 1 t vanilla, 1/2 t almond extract (optional), 2 1/2 c. flour, 1/2 t salt
Instructions:  Cream the butter and eggs.  Add the extracts.  Mix in the flour and salt.  Cover and chill for two hours.  Roll about 1/4 inch thick.  Cut out shapes and bake at 375 for 12 minutes.
*You can freeze the dough in a Ziploc freezer bag.  Just thaw it overnight in the fridge.  Set it out in it's not totally thawed, but you want it to be chilled and not mushy or the shape won't hold well.  
For the Icing
Ingredients: 4 T meringue powder, 1/2 c. water, 7-8 c powdered sugar (more will created a thicker icing-8 cups would be good for outlining, 7 cups for flooding), 1 t. vanilla, 2 T Crisco, 2 T light corn syrup
Instructions:  Mix the meringue powder and water on high until it's fluffy and the white makes peaks (this takes a few minutes-at least five).  Add the rest of the ingredients.
*Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a month.