Santa's belly cookie pops

I got the idea for these easy cookie pops from an ornament. This ornament from Alayna's Creations featured on Gordon Gossip. So simple, so clever. And then I started seeing Santa's belly everywhere. Like this candle at CraftBits (coincidentally the sister site of my other gig). And then I spotted this post by my friend and co-editor. See the napkin rings? And gift bag? And that glittery jar is by said friend and co-editor, Amanda. Everywhere. I'm not at all clever. So to add to the pile:

how to make Santa's belly cookie pops

you will need:
dough
frosting

food coloring (red, yellow, black)

2 1/4 inch circle cookie cutter

1/2 inch square fondant cutter

1 inch square fondant cutter (only if you can find one)

lollipop sticks

2 disposable frosting bags

1 coupler

1 size "4" decorating tip

2 rubber bands

scissors

fondant

rolling pin

confectioner's sugar

knife or dough scraper

light corn syrup

*Find lollipop sticks (6-inch), frosting bags, cookie and fondant cutters, couplers, decorating tips, and fondant  in the baking aisle of the craft store. The cookie and/or fondant cutters may only be found in a set. For food coloring, I use Americolor soft gel pastes (Red, Super Black and Egg Yellow). For tips on finding supplies click HERE.

step one: bake your cookies
Roll out chilled cookie dough about 3/8 inch thick. Cut out circles and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Insert lollipop sticks about half way into cookie. Make sure there is no stick poking through the front or back and that the sticks don't touch each other on the tray. Bake according to the recipe and let cool completely.

step two: prepare your frosting
Prepare frosting according to the recipe. Tint about a cup red. You may need more, but I usually work with a cup at a time for a whole batch. Prepare a frosting bag with a coupler and tip. Fill with half of your red frosting and tie bag closed with a rubber band. Cover remaining frosting.

step three: decorate your background
Pipe a circle on the cookie and let set about 15 minutes. Thin remaining frosting with drops of water until the consistency of thick glue. Fill an empty frosting bag, tie closed with a rubber band, and snip about 1/8 inch from the tip. Loosely pipe the thinned frosting on the cookie, letting it flood to the edges and encouraging as needed with a toothpick. Let set very well, for several hours or overnight.

step four: add your belt
Take a chunk of fondant and tint black by adding a few drops of food coloring and kneading very well. Add more drops until desired color is achieved. If fondant gets too sticky from overhandling, let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes until easily pliable. Roll out fondant using confectioner's sugar on the surface to prevent sticking. Cut a circle with the cutter used for the cookies, then cut a strip at the center with a sharp knife or a dough scraper. Using dabs of light corn syrup as glue, adhere to the cookie.

step five: add your buckle
Tint a chunk of fondant yellow and roll out as you did the black fondant. For each buckle, cut out a 1/2 inch circle. Then use a knife or dough scraper to cut a 1-inch square around the cut-out square. (Of course, if you can find a 1 inch square cutter, then this would be much easier, but I don't have one.) Adhere the buckle to the cookie with dabs of light corn syrup.

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