Mitten Sugar Cookies

Hey Everyone! I hope that 2017 has been off to a good start for you! I love the start of a new year. As much as I love the whole holiday season and all the baking, decorating and fun that comes with it, as soon as Christmas is over, I am so ready to take all the decorations down, de-glitter every surface (which pretty much seems impossible, since even after multiple cleanings, I am still somehow finding glitter around) and get a clean, fresh start on everything again. I don’t really make new years’ resolutions, but there are some things I want to do more of in 2017, and blogging is one of them… so here’s to keeping that up (at least somewhat consistently) all year long! I thought it would be fun to make these mitten sugar cookies this winter, but it turns out this has been the warmest January I think i can ever remember! It seems like every time the East Coast gets snow, it misses the DC area completely and we just get stuck with rain for days… I’m still hoping for at least one big snowstorm this winter… and knowing this crazy weather, it won’t come till April! But regardless of the weather, these are fun cookies to bake up this winter! You could obviously eat them, but they would be fun to use for a kitchen garland of some sort, or kitchen decor in general! Here’s how I made them…

YOU WILL NEED

Sugar cookies (like this basic sugar cookie recipe)
White icing (I used this one, but modified the sugar quantity & only made half a batch)
Shimmering sugar for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS

1. First, bake your cookies and let them cool completely. Make sure you give them enough time to cool, you don’t want the icing to melt all over them! Next, make your icing. You can use any basic white icing recipe; I used this one, which is the same recipe that I used for my gingerbread house, only I changed the amount of confectioners’ sugar to make it less thick and more easily spreadable. If you use this recipe, add the confectioners’ sugar a little bit at a time, adding just enough to make it your desired consistency and thickness (also taste it to see if it’s good!). I also only used about half of this recipe for all the cookies.
2. Once your cookies are completely cooled and your icing is ready, fill a plastic piping bag with some of the icing and cut the end of the piping bag. Next, pipe the outline of the mitten. Then, flood the inside part of the bottom of the mitten (the part that’s going to be covered with the shimmering sugar), and immediately shake the shimmering sugar over the whole area. Let it sit for a couple seconds, then shake the excess sugar off.
3. Next, flood the whole surface of the mitten with icing, and let the icing set completely. Once I flood the cookie with icing, I like to tap it gently on the table surface, just to make sure there are no small bubbles in the icing.
4. Once the icing has set, you can pipe on some of the detailing. I did a couple different sweater patterns on the mittens (just making it up as I went along..!) and then piped an outline around the mitten to make it nice and neat. Let the icing set completely and you’re done! You could of course make the mittens all colorful with different colored icing or shimmering sugar, I just liked the wintery white look here… the possibilities are endless though!

Happy Baking! I hope you all have a great week, thanks for stopping by today! Come back again soon!