Fiori di Sicilia Sugar Cookies -

I babysat my niece yesterday and wanted a fun, hands-on afternoon project for us. Baking cookies is fun but decorating cookies has got to be even more fun when you’re three, right?

I was a little worried about putting Fiori di Sicilia in instead of vanilla. Would she notice? Would she call me out? I decided that it was mild enough that she probably wouldn’t notice.

When she first tried one of these, she said exclaimed, “Yum!” I asked her what it tastes like. She replied, “Extra yummy!”

So there you have it. These cookies are Extra Yummy and toddler approved. My brother also said this is his new favorite rollout cookie. Enjoy!

P.S. In case you were wondering why the cookies are a bit bumpy, it should be noted that I let my niece roll out the dough and cut out the cookies. Not my prettiest work, but down right professional for a three year old, don’t you think? ”

Fiori di Sicilia Sugar Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
2 farm fresh eggs
1 tsp Fiori di Sicilia
2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Cream together butter and shortening. Add sugar and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add Fiori di Sicilia. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter-sugar mixture. Cover the dough and chill at least two hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a flat surface sprinkled with flour, roll dough to desired thickness. Cut into shapes. (Keep shapes roughly the same size or the smaller ones will burn before the bigger ones have had a chance to bake.) Bake on ungreased cookie sheet about 7 minutes. Cool completely then frost with your favorite vanilla frosting.

Vanilla Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp milk

Beat butter until fluffy. Add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and blend well. Add 1 Tbsp milk and blend until it’s starting to look like frosting. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 Tbps milk, and 2 tsp vanilla extract. Add a bit more milk if you need it to get your desired consistency.

I also want to give a big shout out to Repurpose, a sustainable line of plant-based tableware. The only time I really use disposable products is to send to leftovers home with my guests, but brightly colored frosting is such a pain to clean out of bowls! I used Repurpose bowls, which are so sturdy and deep, my cocktail forks didn’t tip them over and the frosting didn’t make them soggy. They’re not kidding when they say Repurpose is heavy duty.

When my brother and sister-in-law arrived to pick up my niece, I gave them a huge plate of cookies on a Repurpose plate. I’m so used to doubling – or tripling! – up paper plates when I send people home with food, but Repurpose easily stood up to a mountain of cookies. Be sure to pick some up if you see them at Whole Foods! Let me know how you like them.