You gave the animals a home. How wonderful!
Materials you’ll need
- Cookie Cutters in the Shapes of Forest Animals
- Forest Decorations
- Edible Googly Eyes
Recipe Materials and Ingredients
- Mixing Bowl (for cookie dough)
- Prep Bowls (for frosting)
- Wooden Spoon
- Spatula
- Envelopes
- Cookie Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Rolling Pin
- Cooling Racks
Cookies:
- 1 ½ Cups Softened Butter
- 2 Cups Super-fine Baking Sugar
- 4 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 6 Cups All-purpose Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
Frosting:
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
- 1 lb. Powdered Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
- Food Colouring
- Optional: Ornamental Decorations
Instructions
- Cream sugar and butter together, then add eggs and vanilla until smooth. Add baking powder and salt, then flour, one cup at a time until blended.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll out chilled dough to ½ inch thick.
- Use cookie cutters to cut shapes.
- Place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet at least an inch apart.
- Bake 7 – 9 minutes until edges and bottom of cookies are golden brown.
- Allow cookies to cool on rack.
- To make frosting, mix all ingredients until smooth and divide into prep bowls to add separate food colours based on the animals you chose.
- Cut small holes at the edge of envelope to create a point and fill inside with frosting.
- Squeeze frosting out in desired designs or spread across cookie using spatula.
- Use additional decorations to create the forest full of animals you’ve saved!
Suggested discussion topics
- How animals rely on strong forests to live healthy lives.
- What types of animals live in forests.
- The difference between what lives in a regular forest vs. a rainforest.
- The best ways to care for forests (plant trees, leave them better than you found them when you visit, etc.).
