Holiday sugar cookie decorating for kids

Cookie decorating with kids can be an….adventure…ha! But this activity is such a fun memory to have with the kids during the holidays! I planned a little cookie decorating party and used the best sugar cookie recipe for my 3-year-old and some of his little friends and thought I’d share the setup! 

THE SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE:

My go-to sugar cookie recipe is below.  

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 egg, (large)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 Tbsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Combine butter and sugar together using a hand mixer or electric mixer. Add vanilla and eggs to the mixture until fully combined, then set aside. 

In a separate bowl create the flour mixture and combine flour, packing powder, and salt. Next, add the flour combination slowly (in three parts is best) to the butter mixture. Mix until the dough makes one big ball. If the dough is too dry to stick together, add one Tbsp of cold water (one at a time) until the dough forms a ball. 

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out on a floured surface until about 1/4 inch thick (if you don't have a rolling pin you can use a wine bottle or water bottle). Then use cookie cutters to cut out your shapes of choice. This is also a fun part to include your kids one and let them pick which cookie cutters they want to use for their sugar cookies! Place cookies on silicone or parchment-lined baking sheets. 

Bake for 10 minutes (make sure not to over bake them!). Let cool completely for 5 minutes before decorating! 

THE SETUP:

For toddlers, I tried to keep it simple. I made sure to have a few different kinds of sprinkles + multiple ways to apply frosting. I love a good scoop and spread method but I found these little tubes of frosting at Target that were also perfect for little hands! Lastly, for extra fun, I snagged eyeball candy which was a huge hit! 

To make the whole look come together, I plated all the treats and sprinkle cups on the Decocrated Winter 2022 Table Runner! It was the perfect neutral base! I love the winter vibe it brought to the table! 

Happy baking & cookie decorating!

xoxo, 

Becca

About the Author

Becca is in her early 30’s and lives just outside Seattle with her husband, whom she met on Tinder (crazy right!?), and her two kids Macey and Harrison. Life is pretty full with two young kids but in her “free time” Becca loves a good mani-pedi, outside time with her family in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, or a day-date to bubble tea with her daughter. You can find her on Instagram here: www.Instagram.com/drivingmissmacey or her blog: www.drivingmissmacey.