Let it snow… Cookies!

I love making beautiful, detailed sugar cookies.  In fact I consider it a great day when I get to listen to the radio and decorate cookies for 6 hours straight.  But those days are a luxury, and often I’m pressed for time, but still want to make something special.  I was recently making some labor intensive Christmas cookies, and I needed some little cookies to add to the mix… how about snowballs!  Every once in a while I come up with an idea I think is pretty clever… don’t burst my bubble if you don’t agree!  =)  These are about the simplest cookies you could ever make, but I still think they are quite cute, and with some special packaging make a pretty sweet gift.

~ How to make simple snowball cookies ~

1.  You’ll need to make a batch of Sugar Cookies.  I cut mine with a 1 1/2 inch round cutter, I think any size from 1-2 inches would work great.

2.  Prepare some white (uncolored) royal icing.  Fill a piping bag (fitted with a #2 or #3 tip) with medium consistency icing (about the consistency of a thick syrup).

3.  Flood a few cookies at a time, then while they are still wet (hold each one over a paper plate) sprinkle with white sanding sugar.  Set aside and allow to fully dry (4-8 hours).

4.  For an additional touch of shimmer, feel free to sprinkle a tiny bit of disco dust over the cookies (I didn’t use any this time).

To package these snowball cookies I filled small glass jars (these are from Wal-Mart), and embellished the jars with several pretty ribbons and a cute tag.  I considered several different tag sayings including “Snowball fight ammo.”  I think these would be super cute gifts to send to people you love that never see snow at Christmas (including many in the military).  For shipping, I would add white mini marshmallows in the jars to keep the cookies from shaking (and to add to the snowy look).

Happy snowball making!