Decorate Easter Cookies and Cupcakes

ByABC News via logo
April 3, 2007, 5:12 PM

April 4, 2007 — -- Easter's around the corner. While eggs usually get all the special treatment for the holiday, why not extend the decorating to sweet treats everyone will want to eat?

On "Good Morning America," chef Gail Dosik demonstrated how to make Easter-themed cookies and cupcakes that look as good as they taste. Follow the directions below to make your own batch at home.

1. Use a sugar cookie recipe you like, or just buy prepared cookie dough in the refrigerated section of your supermarket.

2. Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper to about ¼-inch thick. If desired, your rolling pin can be fitted with a ¼-inch size rolling pin band. This is a band that elevates the rolling pin to the exact thickness you want the dough to ultimately be rolled. You can find rolling pin bands at your local kitchenware shop.

3. Freeze the rolled dough and both parchments for at least 30 minutes. You can keep the dough in the freezer about 1 month. Remember, butter is usually the main ingredient in your dough, and it picks up odors easily, so I wouldn't freeze longer than that.

4. Using either a cookie cutter or a template made from an image downloaded from a free graphics website, cut out the cookies. If you're using a cardboard template, use a sharp, clean craft knife to cut around the template. If the dough starts to thaw too much, refreeze it until solid again. The more frozen your dough is, the faster, easier, and more accurate your shapes will be.

5. So that the cardboard template does not stick to the dough, prepare a plate with a small amount of flour to dip the template into before laying it on the frozen dough. The flour keeps the cardboard from sticking to the dough. Metal cookie cutters will also cut better, if the edge is dipped in flour. Just remember to shake or brush off the excess.

6. If the cookie is to be propped up in a cupcake or on a cake, press a lollipop stick into the cut dough, leaving half of the stick in the dough, and the other half extending from the edge of the cookie.