luck o' the cookie.... st. paddy's day minis and a leprechaun

Here ye go, celebrators o' St. Patrick's day. Cookies:

baby Guinness pints with bite-size green swirls

little rainbows with bite-size sprinkly gold coins

a clever li'l leprechaun

A warning to all ye cookie decorators, the leprechaun is a wee bit more time-consuming, but I included him by special request for a reader (just for "Autumn in Philly"!) Find instructions for each cookie separately, but if you make several or all of the above, be mindful that some of the same colors are used for different cookies (so no need for duplicate supplies).

Some notes on supplies: For dough and frosting recipes, click here. For tips on finding cutters, click here. For tips on finding decorating supplies, click here. For frosting colors, you can use the concentrated pastes from the craft store, but I prefer Americolor soft gel pastes (click on the link, then click on "links" for tips on where to buy).


for pints of Guinness you will need:
dough
frosting
2 to 3-inch square fondant cutter
sharp knife
frosting color (black, chocolate brown and bright white)
3 frosting bags
3 couplers
3 decorating tips (2 size "3"s and 1 size "4")
3 rubber bands

what to do:
1. Bake cookies: Roll out your chilled cookie dough according to the recipe. Cut out 2 to 3-inch squares. Trim the edges as shown with a sharp knife to make a pint glass shape. Bake according to recipe and let cool completely.
2. Prepare frosting and make three colors (about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of each, depending on how many cookies you make, make the most of dark brown): white, black and dark brown. You will need lots of drops of each to achieve the colors. Prepare three frosting bags with couplers and decorating tips, fill the white with a "3" tip, the black with a "3" tip and the brown with a "4" tip. Tie closed tightly with rubber bands.
3. Decorate: Pipe the outline with black and let set about 15 minutes. Outline the foam with white and pipe the white frosting back and forth to entirely fill the foam area (in picture, foam is tan). Outline and pipe back and forth with dark brown frosting to completely fill the glass. Let dry overnight if wrapping or packaging.


for bite size green swirls you will need:
dough
frosting
1 1/2 inch circle fondant cutter
frosting color (leaf green and electric green)
2 frosting bags
2 couplers
2 decorating tips (size "4" or "5")
2 rubber bands

what to do:
1. Bake your cookies. Roll out your chilled cookie dough according to the recipe. Cut out circles and bake according to recipe.

2. Prepare frosting and make 2 colors (about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of each, depending on how many cookies you make): use leaf green to make a bright green and use the electric green to make lime. Prepare two frosting bags with couplers and decorating tips, fill each with a green and tie closed tightly with a rubber band.
3. Decorate: Pipe a swirl with one color green. Let set about 15 minutes. Pipe another swirl to fill the remaining cookie with the other green. Let set overnight to dry if wrapping or packaging.




for mini rainbows you will need:
dough
frosting
2 to 3 inch circle cutter
knife
frosting color (Red, Orange, Egg Yellow, Lime Green, Sky Blue and Purple)
6 frosting bags
6 couplers
6 decorating tips (size "5")
6 rubber bands

(time-saving tip, you can omit the Purple, like I did, and they still look rainbow-y)

what to do:
1. Bake your cookies. Roll out your chilled cookie dough according to the recipe. Cut out circles, cut off the bottom third of the circle with a knife and bake according to recipe. Let cool completely.
2. Prepare frosting and make 6 colors (about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of each, depending on how many cookies you make): red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Prepare six frosting bags with couplers and decorating tips, fill with each color and tie closed tightly with a rubber band.
3. Decorate: Pipe arches with each color. If you use a size 5 tip, you will likely only need to pipe one line per color. Let set overnight to dry if wrapping or packaging.


for bite-size gold coins you will need:
dough
frosting
1 1/2-inch circle fondant cutter
frosting color (egg yellow)
yellow sprinkles or sanding sugar
1 frosting bag
1 coupler
1 decorating tip (size "5")
1 rubber band

what to do:
1. Bake your cookies. Roll out your chilled cookie dough according to the recipe. Cut out circles and bake according to recipe.

2. Prepare frosting and make yellow (about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of each, depending on how many cookies you make). Prepare frosting bag with coupler and decorating tip, fill with yellow and tie closed tightly with a rubber band.
3. Decorate: Working with one cookie at a time, pipe a yellow circle and fill cookie completely by piping back and forth (don't worry about seeing the lines, the sprinkles will cover them). Immediately coat the top with a generous sprinkling of sprinkles. Shake off excess. Let set overnight to dry if wrapping or packaging.


for the leprechaun you will need:
dough
frosting
gingerbread man cookie cutter
sharp knife
frosting colors (black, peach, egg yellow, orange, white, leaf green and electric green)
7 frosting bags
7 couplers
7 decorating tips (sizes "2"s, "3"s, and "4"s)
7 rubber bands

what to do:
1. Bake your cookies. Roll out your chilled cookie dough according to the recipe. Cut out gingerbread men, but don't fully press down the head...instead, add a small square with your sharp knife to the top of the head (cutting out around the head, too, if needed). Bake according to recipe. Let cool completely.
2. Prepare frosting and make 7 colors (about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of each, depending on how many cookies you make): black, peach (start with only one drop, you won't need much), yellow, orange, bright green (use leaf green coloring), lime green (use electric green), and white. Prepare 7 frosting bags with couplers and decorating tips, and fill with each color. (See decorating instructions for what size tip goes with what color). Tie tightly with a rubber band.
3. Decorate: (TIP: Click picture above to enlarge to see detail.) Outline design shown using black with size "3" tip. Let set about 15 minutes. Fill with colors shown using size "3" or size "4" tips. (hat, coat and pants with bright green/beard orange/hat band and vest with lime/face and hands with peach/undershirt and leggings white/shoes black). Switch tips on orange, black and yellow to size "2"s. When background has set about 20 minutes, pipe face with black, pipe stripes on vest with orange and yellow, and pipe buckles on shoes and hat with yellow. Let dry overnight if wrapping or packaging.