Cookie Bouquet

Don't these look fun?  I love recipes my son can help me with and he loves to play with the extra dough!  I began making these cookies back in Dec 2001 when I did a cookie decorating day with my all of my friends little girls.  A few years ago at Easter, my sister-in-law, A, arrived at her mother's house with a bouquet of cookies she and her girls made.  I loved it and have copied her idea of adding sticks.  Thanks A! 

These were made yesterday for a belated Valentines Day exchange at my son's school.  I wrapped them individually in bags.  This is a Gale Gand recipe.

On medium speed, cream 1 Stick Cool UnSalted Butter.  Add 1 Cup Sugar and mix well.  Add 1 Egg, 1/4 Cup Milk and 1/4 tsp Vanilla.  Sift 2 tsp Baking Powder with 1 Cup Flour.  Add to batter.  Sift and additional 2 Cups Flour and add as needed til you have a nice dough, not sticky and not too dry.  Place on plastic wrap and form a disk.  Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours.  Preheat oven to 375.  Roll out dough 1/4" thick and cut out your desired shapes.  Insert a long lollipop stick to each cookie.  No matter what holiday, I always include the mini hearts for additional cookies.  Once you can cut no longer, quickly ball up dough to roll and cut 1 more time.  I don't go any further than that because overhandling the dough makes the cookies too tough.  I let my son play with the rest.  It'll keeps him busy while the cookies bake.  Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes.  Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.  Let them cool all the way before icing. 

Make the icing, Using a hand held mixer, I like to blend 3 Tbl Softened Butter and 3 Tbl softened Cream Cheese in a bowl.  Add a Tbl or 2 of 1/2&1/2.  Add enough Confectioners Sugar to get a stiff icing that won't run.  This recipe is very forgiving, so you can make adjustments til you get it just so.  Always have enough sugar on hand because it you make it too runny, the only correction is more sugar.  Divide into separate bowls and color each bowl.  Ice cookies and decorate wth sprinkles right away.  For a bouquet, get a peice on floral foam and add to the bottom of a clean pot.  Use 1 of your lollipop sticks to start holes.  Add cookies!