The dough for these classic cookies is extra easy for kids to roll out and cut into shapes thanks to how it’s mixed in the food processor (see “Food For Thought” at the bottom of the recipe page to learn more). Sprinkling the glazed cookies with sprinkles or sanding sugar while the glaze is still wet makes them extra festive and perfect for gifting! Make sure your butter is very cold before adding it to the food processor in step 3.
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What You’ll Need
For the Cookies:
1½ cups (7½ ounces) all-purpose flour
⅛ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (3½ ounces) sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and chilled
For the Glaze:
1⅓ cups (5⅓ ounces) confectioners' (powdered) sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
1-2 drops food coloring (optional)
Sprinkles or sanding sugar (optional)
Learning Moment
Visual Art (Color):
Kids can use food coloring to turn the white glaze in this recipe into different colors. Divide the glaze into different small bowls, and experiment with adding drops of food coloring to each one and mixing it in to create different colors. Ask kids if they can name the three primary colors: yellow, red, and blue. These colors cannot be made from other colors. Secondary colors are made by mixing two primary colors together. Ask kids if they know (or can figure out by experimenting with food coloring) what secondary colors they can make from different combinations of the primary colors:
Yellow + Red = Orange
Red + Blue = Purple
Blue + Yellow = Green
For a fun explanation of primary and secondary colors, check out this video!
Then, explain to kids that artists use the color wheel to organize and think about how colors relate to each other. It places all of the colors in rainbow order in a circle shape.