Painted St. Nicholas Cookies

Use egg yolk paint to color cookies before baking for a quicker way to decorate cookies for a crowd! Use the recipe below or any favorite sugar cookie.

Equipment

St. Nicholas Cookie Cutter
Small paintbrush, such as a watercolor brush
Pastry bag with decorator tips, Aetco #3 and 4 suggested (I tried several commercial cookie and decorating icings, without much success)

Sugar Cookies

1½ cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1 cup hard margarine, like Imperial
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond flavoring
2½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Mini chocolate chips for eyes

Cream sugar and margarine. Mix in egg and flavorings. Add dry ingredients, sifted together. Refrigerate 2-3 hours. Roll out with lightly flowered rolling pin cover on lightly floured pastry cloth to 3/16- 1/4-inch thick. Cut out and place on lightly greased baking sheet.

Egg Yolk Paint

2 egg yolks, no white at all
2 teaspoons water
3–6 or more drops red food coloring, depending on your preference

Mix egg yolk paint ingredients in small dish (such as a custard cup) with a small whisk or fork. Use a small brush, such as a watercolor brush, to paint cookie areas you want colored. Press mini chips into face for eyes.

Bake 375°, 7-8 minutes, cool on wire rack. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Decorating Icing

2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon flavoring (almond doesn't discolor icing)
1½ teaspoon water or 2 tablespoons cream

Mix decorating icing ingredients. Put in pastry bag—I used Aetco tip #3 for the crosses and lines down the robe front. Tip #4 for the crozier, beards, and miter cookie decorations. Outline the beard and fill in by going back and forth three or four times. Use a butter spreader to nudge beard icing to cover the beard area. Let icing set well before storing cookies.

Adapted from Under Angel Wings blog by Sylvia Lamon. Used by permission. Cookie and decorating icing recipes adapted from Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book, 1961.

back to top