Category: Baking Together

Rolling, cutting and decorating cookies is one of the best ways to bake together. These sugar cookies to decorate with kids are soft, hold their shape in the oven, and give kids a perfect blank canvas for icing and sprinkles.

Ingredients

For the cookies (about 24 medium cookies)

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the easy icing

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Gel food coloring
• Sprinkles and other toppings

Instructions

1. Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. (Kid job!)
2. Cream the butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. (Kids can crack the egg into a small bowl first.)
4. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time and mix until a soft dough forms.
5. Chill. Divide the dough in half, flatten into discs, wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
6. Roll and cut. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). On a floured surface, roll the dough about 1/4 inch thick and cut out shapes. (The best kid job!)
7. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are just barely golden. (Grown-up job.)
8. Cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.

How to make the icing

Stir the powdered sugar, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of milk until smooth. It should be thick but spreadable. Add more milk a few drops at a time if needed. Divide into small bowls and tint with food coloring.

For kids, spreading icing with a butter knife or the back of a spoon is easiest. Older kids can try squeeze bottles or zip-top bags with a tiny corner snipped off.

Decorating ideas

• Sprinkle shake: ice a cookie, then shake on sprinkles over a tray.
• Polka dots: dots of a second color on wet icing.
• Faces and animals: candy eyes, mini chips and frosting details.
• Stained glass look: outline with one color, fill with another.
• Holiday shapes: hearts, stars, pumpkins, trees and snowflakes for every season.

Tips for a happy cookie day

• Make the dough the day before so decorating day is all fun.
• Roll dough between two sheets of parchment to avoid sticking and extra flour.
• Dip cutters in flour so shapes release cleanly.
• Set up a decorating station with a tray, toppings in muffin tins and wet wipes nearby.
• Let the icing set for a few hours before stacking cookies.

Storing your cookies

Store decorated cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Unbaked dough can be wrapped well and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before rolling.

Planning a decorating party? Pair these with our easy cupcake decorating ideas for kids. And if you’re baking for the holidays, our printable Christmas Eve Box and gift tags make cookie gifts extra special.

Decorating cupcakes is one of our favorite “arts and crafts” in the kitchen. Kaylee and I love baking together, and frosting is basically edible paint! These cupcake decorating ideas for kids are simple enough for little hands and still come out looking adorable.

What you’ll need

• Cupcakes, baked and completely cooled (homemade or from a mix)
• Frosting (our easy buttercream recipe is below)
• Butter knives, small spatulas or spoons for spreading
• Zip-top bags or piping bags, plus a few piping tips (optional)
• Sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, candy eyes, mini marshmallows and fruit
• Small bowls for toppings and a tray or baking sheet to contain the mess

Easy vanilla buttercream

This makes enough to frost about 24 cupcakes.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 to 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• Food coloring (gel colors give the brightest results)

1. Beat the butter until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
2. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar a little at a time, mixing on low so it doesn’t fly everywhere.
3. Add the vanilla, salt and 2 tablespoons of milk. Beat until fluffy.
4. Too thick? Add a splash more milk. Too thin? Add more powdered sugar.
5. Divide into bowls and let your kids choose and mix the colors.

8 cupcake decorating ideas for kids

1. The sprinkle dip

Frost the cupcake, then turn it upside down and dip it into a bowl of sprinkles. It’s the easiest decoration there is, and kids love it.

2. Silly faces

Use candy eyes, a chocolate chip nose and a licorice or frosting smile. Let kids give each cupcake its own personality.

3. Animal friends

Mini marshmallows make great ears, and cookies can turn a cupcake into a bear, a bunny or a lion with a frosting mane.

4. Rainbow swirl

Put three colors of frosting side by side in one piping bag and pipe a swirl. Every cupcake comes out a little different.

5. Flower garden

Use a star tip to pipe little dots or rosettes. Add a green frosting leaf and you have a bouquet.

6. Little monsters

Bright green or purple frosting, lots of candy eyes and a messy “fur” texture made by dabbing with a fork. The messier, the better!

7. Under the sea

Blue frosting waves, gummy fish and crushed graham cracker “sand.”

8. Holiday toppers

Match the season: hearts for Valentine’s Day, pastel eggs for Easter, orange and black for Halloween, red and green for Christmas.

Tips for decorating with kids

• Chill the cupcakes for 15 minutes before frosting so crumbs don’t mix in.
• Stand piping bags in a tall cup to make filling them easier.
• Give each child a tray so sprinkles stay (mostly) in one place.
• Use a “practice plate” so kids can try piping before decorating a cupcake.
• Let go of perfect. Lopsided, sprinkle-covered cupcakes taste just as good.

Want more kitchen crafts? Try our easy sugar cookies to decorate with kids, or read about why creative time is so good for kids.