Valentine's Day is quickly approaching, and it has historically been one of my favorite holidays to make treats for (okay, but what holiday isn't made better with treats?). This year I have been feeling a little bogged down at the thought of making something, and bored with the things I have done in years past. My boys have also been asking me to decorate cookies, and the thought of all the bags of royal icing to make, or the batches of buttercream with knives that get licked and then put back into the bowl overwhelmed me. The solution finally came to me one late night when I should have been sleeping.

Put the cookies on a stick and dip them in the icing. Let them go crazy with sprinkles. I had wanted to try cookies on a stick because I felt like it would be less work and less mess, and if there were sprinkles, everyone would end up happy. *Note: I rolled out the cookie dough about twice as thick as I usually do.

So, we tried it out, and I baked the cookies with my littlest helper, who is usually napping when I do a lot of baking. She wanted to touch everything and tried to eat the eggshells more than once. She was also thrilled to hold on to a spatula and lick it clean. When my boys were home from school, we went cookie crazy. It was quick, easy cleanup, and everyone was happy, and I swear the sprinkles helped with that.

Easy Dipped Sugar Cookies on a Stick (no spreading when baking)

Makes about 2 dozen depending on the size of cookie cutter

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 ½ tsp vanilla

2 tsp almond extract

1 large egg

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

24 Lollipop sticks, I used the Wilton brand.

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

2. In the bowl of your mixer or large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and almond extract until just combined. Now add baking powder, salt and cream of tartar, mix for 2 minutes

3. Add flour, mix until just combined.

4. Roll the dough till about ½ inch thick and cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place eight on a baking sheet, four on one side, and four on the other. Put in the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes. After they have chilled, insert the lollipop stick into the bottom of the cookie. Leaving the cookie on the sheet and holding the stick level with the cookie sheet, push it carefully into the middle of the cookie about 1.5 inches.

5. Bake for 8-10 minutes. The bottoms will look slightly golden. Let cool on cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

6. Ice with your favorite frosting or try using royal icing and dipping the cookies.

Cinnamon Royal Icing

Ingredients

3 tbsp meringue powder

1 cup of cool water (will be added 1 tbsp at a time and you won’t use it all)

4 cups powdered sugar

1 ½ tsp almond extract

¼ tsp cinnamon oil (optional but I feel like valentines cookies need some cinnamon)

Directions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl and carefully mix meringue powder, powdered sugar, almond extract, cinnamon oil, and 6 tbsp of cool water.

2. Keep mixing for 1 minute at a time, stopping to scrape down the sides. Add 1 tbsp at a time of cool water until flooding consistency is achieved. Flooding consistency or 15-second consistency is when the icing seems to hold its own, but after 15 seconds, it becomes smooth, and any peaks smooth out.

Royal Icing Dipped Cookie

Instructions

1. Take prepared cinnamon royal icing, put it into bowls, and make as many colors as you would like. (See this post for recommended dye-free food coloring).

2. Take spoonfuls of the color and put onto a shallow dish, try not to overlap the colors too much, but make sure that the colors are all touching.

3. Holding the stick of the cookies, lay it flat into the icing and make sure the whole front of the cookie is in the icing. Lift it, let it drip for a few seconds, and then flip over quickly and put on a cookie rack or parchment and let it dry. If you want to add sprinkles, add them before the icing hardens.