Sugar Skull Cookies

I have always wanted to make sugar skull cookies but I figured it would be challenging. I found a way to do easily and it is a great activity for kids. 

Ingredients:
-5 cups of flour
-2 tsp of baking powder
-1 tsp of salt
-1 1/2 cups of softened butter
-2 cups of sugar
-1 tsp of vanilla extract
-4 eggs

Royal Icing
-2 egg whites
-1 cup of powdered sugar
-1/2 tsp of cream of tartar

You will also need gel food coloring for decorating. 

Directions:
Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Then add the eggs and vanilla. Continue to mix. 
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and slowly add to the wet mixture. 
Once mixed well make the dough into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight or for 6 hours. 
Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.
Take the dough out of the fridge to soften. Then flour your surface and rolling pin and begin to roll out the dough. Use a skull cookie cutter to cut into skull shapes. 
Place cookies onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until golden brown. 
Combine the ingredients of the royal icing in a bowl. once the cookies are cool. dip the front of the cookie into the icing and place on a wire rack to dry and harden. 
Once the icing is hard go ahead and decorate the skulls with gel  food coloring. 

I have shared this once before on my blog but it is such a fun Sugar skull idea that I have to share it again. The dollar store sells plastic skulls that can  easily be made into sugar skulls. You can spray paint them or paint with acrylic paint. You can also add glitter, jewels and accessories. this is a very inexpensive and fun craft idea.