Decorate Easter Cookies and Cupcakes

April 4, 2007 — -- Easter's around the corner. While eggs usually get all the special treatment for the holiday, why not extend the decorating to sweet treats everyone will want to eat?

On "Good Morning America," chef Gail Dosik demonstrated how to make Easter-themed cookies and cupcakes that look as good as they taste. Follow the directions below to make your own batch at home.

Directions for Making and Decorating Easter Cookies

1. Use a sugar cookie recipe you like, or just buy prepared cookie dough in the refrigerated section of your supermarket.

2. Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper to about ¼-inch thick. If desired, your rolling pin can be fitted with a ¼-inch size rolling pin band. This is a band that elevates the rolling pin to the exact thickness you want the dough to ultimately be rolled. You can find rolling pin bands at your local kitchenware shop.

3. Freeze the rolled dough and both parchments for at least 30 minutes. You can keep the dough in the freezer about 1 month. Remember, butter is usually the main ingredient in your dough, and it picks up odors easily, so I wouldn't freeze longer than that.

4. Using either a cookie cutter or a template made from an image downloaded from a free graphics website, cut out the cookies. If you're using a cardboard template, use a sharp, clean craft knife to cut around the template. If the dough starts to thaw too much, refreeze it until solid again. The more frozen your dough is, the faster, easier, and more accurate your shapes will be.

5. So that the cardboard template does not stick to the dough, prepare a plate with a small amount of flour to dip the template into before laying it on the frozen dough. The flour keeps the cardboard from sticking to the dough. Metal cookie cutters will also cut better, if the edge is dipped in flour. Just remember to shake or brush off the excess.

6. If the cookie is to be propped up in a cupcake or on a cake, press a lollipop stick into the cut dough, leaving half of the stick in the dough, and the other half extending from the edge of the cookie.

7. Place cut cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets and freeze for about 5 minutes.

8. Bake cookies until golden brown around the edges. If lollipop sticks are being used, after 5 minutes of baking, remove cookie sheet from the oven. Gently press the sticks back into the dough, as they tend to rise with the cookie as it bakes. You want the stick to be just about even with the surface of the cookie. Continue baking according to recipe or directions on packaged dough.

9. Let cookies cool for at least 1/2 hour before decorating.

10. While cookies cool, prepare royal icing. There are two different "strengths" of royal icing: "Stiff" and "Flood." Stiff royal icing is used as a barrier to hold in the "Flood" Royal Icing. Think of Stiff as the lines on a coloring book, and the Flood as the colors you use to fill those lines. Color the icings with whatever food coloring you like. Fill a 12" pastry bag fitted with a No. 2 round tip for the Stiff Royal Icing, and a 2 oz. squeeze bottle for the Flood Icing works well.

11. Practice on parchment paper before you start decorating the cookie. Using the Stiff Royal Icing, outline your cookie by applying gentle pressure on the pastry bag and let the icing fall to the cookie while you guide it. Do not start-and-stop the outlining -- you want the outline to be one line, if possible.

12. Let Stiff Royal Icing set up for about 10 minutes, before using the Flood Royal Icing on the cookie. When flooding, apply even and constant pressure on squeeze bottle, working quickly and spreading the icing with the tip of the bottle. Keep the tip slightly above the surface of the cookie -- you don't want to scrape up any crumbs into your royal icing.

13. After flooding the cookie, let it dry for at least 8 hours before adding any extra embellishments.

Directions for Making and Decorating Easter Cupcakes

1. Prepare cupcakes using either your favorite recipe or favorite boxed mix. Let cupcakes cool completely.

2. Using either homemade buttercream icing or store-bought, tint to desired color with food coloring.

3. Put colored buttercream into pastry bag fitted with either a Wilton brand #233 tip, or Ateco brand #133 tip. Twist the bag closed and prepare to pipe the "grass" of the cupcake.

4. Holding the bag above the cupcake at a 90-degree angle, and slightly above the surface of the cake begin squeezing the bag to push out the "grass." As the icing pipes out a little bit, stop applying pressure and pull upwards at the same time to create grass. It doesn't need to stand straight up. Continue piping in this manner until entire surface of the cupcake is covered in grass.

5. If you're unsure about this technique, practice on parchment paper first, scrape up buttercream and put back into the piping bag and keep on piping!

Directions for Assembling Cupcakes With Cookies

1. Make sure iced cookies have been able to dry for at least 8 hours.

2. Insert cookie's lollipop stick gently into the iced cupcake, until stick is no longer visible. Take care to not break the cookie while applying pressure.

For more tips on decorating cookies, visit onetoughcookienyc.com .