Fall Cookie Idea: Dyed Cookie Dough

Directions

• 1

  Make 1 Batch Ann Clark's Signature Sugar Cookie Recipe

• 2

  Once dough has just come together to form a solid mass, remove from mixing bowl. Separate the dough into three balls--two that are much larger, one one that is about 1/2 the size of the larger dough balls. Flatten each into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to use them.

• 3

  Create a depression with your thumb in one of the larger dough ball. Add 3 drops of Ann Clark Super Red food coloring gel to the depression.

• 4

  Gently knead the ball of dough until the red is evenly distributed. You may want to wear food-safe gloves to avoid staining your hands. If you leave a few swirls of plain cookie dough along with the vivid red dough, it creates a cool marbling effect. Repeat this process with the other large ball of dough and the Pumpkin Orange food coloring, to dye the dough orange. The red dough will be used for apple cookies, and the orange for pumpkin-shaped cookies. We're going to make the apple cookies first, so wrap the orange dough in plastic wrap and pop it back into the fridge until you're ready to roll it out.
  
  Avoid over-kneading, as if you knead the dough for too long, it can get stiff and affect the texture of your cookies.

• 5

  Now, remove the smaller ball of dough from the refrigerator. Create a depression with your thumb and add 2 drops of Leaf Green food coloring to the dough. Gently knead until the color is evenly distributed. Split the ball of green dough into two equal parts--one will be the stem & leaf of the apple, the other will be the stem & leaf of the pumpkin.

• 6

  Roll out the red ball of dough to 1/4 inch. Our Perfect Cookie Rolling Pin takes the guesswork out of this step--its fixed depth handle results in perfectly 1/4 inch cookies every time for even baking.

• 7

  Add a bit of the green dough to the top of your red dough disk. This will be the apple stem and leaf. Roll out until the green and red dough are one solid mass.

  
• 8

  Using the apple cookie cutter, cut out your cookies, positioning the cutter so that the green is at the top, encompassing the leaf and stem. You can reform the dough and roll it out as needed.

  
• 9

  Repeat steps 6-8, but with the orange dough and pumpkin cookie cutter.

  
• 10

  These cookies are beautiful served plain, or you can add some icing details. The colored dough ensures that you get good contrast between the icing and the cookie base. These are sure to be a hit for bake sales, back-to-school parties, and autumn get-togethers.