Sugar cookies often get overlooked at parties, but this post shows you how to make them stand out.
If you want a dessert table that wows guests, these tips will help your sugar cookies steal the spotlight.
Turning Holiday Cheer into a Baby Shower Celebration
When holiday decorations linger, and you’re planning a baby shower, why not merge the two? We hosted a baby shower after Christmas in a home brimming with red holiday cheer—and instead of pastels, we leaned into rich red, letting our red-heart and elephant cookies and confections shine. With twinkling lights, Christmas trees, and trays of heart and elephant-shaped cookies, the party felt both cozy and unforgettable.
Tying Together Disjointed Themes
Sometimes party planning throws unexpected challenges your way, but embracing them can lead to delightful results. For this celebration, we wanted to capture the charm of a baby’s nursery filled with adorable elephants and blend it seamlessly with festive red Christmas decor. Since the shower took place in late December, we served a cake featuring a mother and baby elephant. To tie the elephant theme to the holiday colors, we had the mother elephant shower her baby with a cascade of red candy hearts—bringing both themes together in the sweetest way.
Sugar Cookies: Red Hearts Everywhere
This shower theme was “Shower the Baby with Love.” The cake had a mixture of large hearts and small red sprinkle hearts. To create a consistent look with the cake decorations, we chose to serve sugar cookies shaped like hearts and elephants. The red-sprinkled heart cookies were made with large and small heart cookie cutters, while the elephants were all the same size with gray sanding sugar to match the cake.
The Secrets to Perfect Sprinkles
Sugar Cookies: Add Sprinkles Before Baking
Sugar-sanded butter cookies are not only delicious but also customizable to match any theme. However, sprinkles can be a challenge to adhere to your cookies. If you’ve ever tried adding sprinkles and watched them catapult across your kitchen, you know the struggle is real! First, remember to add sprinkles or sanding sugar before you bake the cookies.
Sugar Cookies: Brush Them with Egg White
Here’s another fail-proof trick: brush each cookie with a light layer of egg white mixed with a teaspoon of water, or use a mixture of light corn syrup and a drop or two of water before adding sprinkles. Both methods help the sprinkles cling beautifully—leaving you with picture-perfect treats that stay as dazzling as when you set them out.
Sugar Cookies: Use the Cookie Cutter to Contain the Sprinkles
After cutting out your cookies, place the cookie cutter back around the dough shape, then spoon the sprinkles inside the cutter on top of your egg or corn syrup adhesive. The cutter acts like a barrier to help contain the sprinkles neatly on the cookie. Once finished, gently press the sprinkles down with the back of a spoon before removing the cutter.
Mini Sugar Cookie Cupcake Toppers
Turn your heart-shaped sugar cookies into charming cupcake toppers with a simple trick. Roll out your dough and use mini cookie cutters to create bite-sized cookies. Before baking, gently insert a wooden toothpick into the base of each cookie, making sure it’s centered and straight so the topper stands tall. Then add the sprinkles. Once baked and cooled, perch these mini cookies on frosted cupcakes as edible decorations. Guests will love the customized touch, and you’ll love how easy it is to turn sugar cookies into a festive detail for your dessert table.
Other Cookie Recipes You Might Like
Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- 1-2 baking sheets
- parchment paper
- wooden toothpicks (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- colored sanding sugar (optional)
- 1 egg white or corn syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and vanilla until creamy. Slowly add the sugar, beating well after each addition.
- Combine the flour and salt, and gradually add to the butter mixture. Beat until well blended.
- Shape the dough into a disc and refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Then roll the dough to 1/8 thickness on a floured surface. Using a cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place them 1/2 inch apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- If using sprinkles, brush each cookie with egg white mixed with 1 teaspoon of water, or use corn syrup mixed with a few drops of water.
- Add the sanding sugar by placing the cookie cutter back over each cookie, then spooning and tapping it into the tops of the cookies. If adding a toothpick to make a cookie cupcake topper, insert it now into the bottom side of the cookie.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Rotate the pan after half the cooking time, if necessary, to promote even cooking. Cool on a rack.