lilboyblu

Smiley Face Cookies

Ingredients:
¾ Cup (11/2 stick) of unsalted Butter, softened
¾ Cup of Sugar
1 Egg
1 Tsp. Vanilla
2 Cups of all purpose flour

Icing:
1 box (1pound) confectioners’ Sugar
3 Tbs. Powdered egg whites
7 Tbs. of water
Black and Yellow food coloring

Directions:
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and blended for 2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. On low speed, beat in flour until dough begins to come together. Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disc and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Heat oven to 350, roll out dough on a floured surface to 3/16 –inch thickness. Cut out circles using a medium or large circle cookie cutter. Place circles on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake cookies for 14-16 minutes, until just browning at edges. Cool cookies on cooling rack.
Make Icing- Combine confection sugar, powder egg whites and water. With electric mixer on low speed, beat until blended then increase speed to high and beat 6 more minutes. Remove 1 cup of icing and add black food coloring. Color remaining icing yellow and spread on cookies. Once all cookies are covered and smooth, let icing dry completely. Once cookies are dry, place black icing into a piping bag fitted with a tip. Decorate cookies with eyes and a smile, making a happy face.

Recipe found in Family Circle January 2010 addition. Visit fccatalog.com to buy a cookie-making kit or call 800-678-5752

New Year Resolution Collage

Supplies:
Magazines
Glue
Poster board
Construction paper
Stickers
Scissors
Markers

The idea behind making a new years resolution collage is to excite you into meeting your goals. Make it a family project and support each other in meeting their New Years Resolutions.

Directions:
In the center of your poster board write New Years Resolutions 2010.Take magazines and cut out and glue down things that represent your New Year’s goal. For example if you want to eat better find pictures of fruits and vegetables. Cut out words like; healthy, organic and balances to provide key words. You may want to exercise more, read more books or spend more time with your family. What ever your goals are find pictures that represent the goal and label it with encouraging words. Spend time thinking about your goals, decorate your poster board and share your goals with others. When you are done with your collage hang it where you can see it everyday, look at it and visualize you meeting your goal. Collages are a great way to express yourself and a fun way to look at your New Years Resolutions.