The Merrythought

I was over at my friend’s house a few weeks ago when he got a package in the mail from his sister-in-law with the most adorable milk & cereal cookies in it! He and his wife are pretty cereal-obsessed – they served their favorite cereals as part of their wedding! I could not handle how adorable the cookies were and I thought Lucky Charms cookies would be perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! I text his sister-in-law, Micki, and asked her about the idea and if she would mind us sharing it on the blog and she offered to whip up a batch for us! Now let me just tell you, I told her at 9:00 one night that if she had time to make them, it would be amazing and by the next morning at 10:00, she had the cookies made, photographed, and sent over to me already! All with an adorable toddler on her hip! Not only can she put blog posts together in a 10th of the time that it takes me, she also has an amazing jewelry business, Geo Supply Co. that you should definitely check out while you’re snacking on these cookies! Milk & Cereal Cookies

–Milk Bottle Cookie Cutter
–Circle Cookie Cutter
-Lucky Charms

I don’t have Micki’s exact recipe, but she said that she has used our sugar cookie recipe and loved it, so I’m just going to go ahead and share that with you! 😉

Cookie Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, soft (not melted)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
2 1/2 cups flour

For the Cookies:
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs, beating well. Mix in the baking soda, salt, nutmeg and vanilla and stir until combined. Alternately add the sour cream and flour until mixed in. Cover & chill dough, at least one hour or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. On a floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thickness {you will need to do this in sections, unless you have a huge surface to roll on}. Cut out dough with cookie cutters and place on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 7-9 minutes, just until the cookies are cooked through – but not browned. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing Ingredients:
2 eggs white (or use 2 tablespoons of meringue powder)
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 – 4 cups powdered sugar
water

You’ll also need:
plastic wrap
small bowls
pastry bags with small round tips
spoon
toothpicks
food coloring (gel icing colors work best), optional

For the Royal Icing:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and vanilla until foamy. Add in the powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth, then on medium speed another 5-7 minutes. (If using meringue powder, beat together meringue powder, 5 tablespoons of water, and powdered sugar until icing forms stiff, glossy peaks, about 5-7 minutes).
To start with, you’ll want the frosting to be thick enough to pipe a border around the edge of the cookies. If it’s too thick to pipe, add a little bit of water to thin it out.
Remove about 1/2 cup of icing from the bowl, divide it into two small bowls (or more if you’re using additional food coloring, you’ll want one bowl for each color). Cover your large bowl of icing with plastic wrap to keep it from hardening, you’ll always want to keep any icing that you’re not using covered as it hardens when exposed to air. Color the icing as desired, (start with a very small amount, it’s easier to add more), Micki kept one white and did the other green. Place the icing in pastry bags fitted with small round tips and pipe borders around edge of cookies.
While you wait for the icing to harden on the cookies you just edged, thin out the remaining frosting. Add water, a teaspoon or two at a time to thin out. You’ll want it to be thin enough that when you lift the beater, the icing that falls back into the bowl remains on the surface for a few seconds before blending into the icing in the bowl. Keep adding water until it reaches the right consistency. (If it becomes too thin, add more powdered sugar to thicken it). Divide icing into smaller bowls, one for each icing color like you did earlier. Add coloring. Spoon a small amount of icing on the center of the cookies, it should very slowly spread, but you’ll probably need to help it along using a small spoon or toothpick. (It should not be so thin that it runs off the edges, that means your icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar). Allow icing to harden, this can take up to 8 hours; cookies can be left out, uncovered while they set. Use a bit of white icing to hold the Lucky Charms in place. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

Remember: The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container, royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.
xo. Caitlin (& Micki!)