How to make 3D sunglass cookies

These are the perfect summer cookies because they’re both yummy and make you feel like you’re ready for the beach! They’re pretty easy to make and candy “lenses” keep them totally edible. The trick to working with cookie dough is to not let it get too soft.

Work with only 1/2 the dough at a time, roll it out when it’s still chilled and then be sure to chill the cut-out cookies before baking.

Note: You might only want to make these cookies two days or so in advance because if you live in a really humid area, like we do, the lenses can get a little soft.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

Chilled Sugar Cookie Dough (or your favorite recipe that holds it’s shape when baked)
Hard Candies (Such as Jolly Ranchers)
Small Breadsticks (Such as Wheat Thins Honey Stix)
Bikini Top Cookie Cutter
1 1/4″ Oval Cookie Cutter
2 Bags of Royal Icing Mix
Squeeze Bottles
Pastel Confettiquins
Disposable Piping Bag
1/2 Sheet Tray with Parchment
Hammer
Ziplock Bags

STEP 1 : BAKE COOKIES 

Take 1/2 the chilled dough out of the fridge and let it sit for 10 minutes or so. On a surface covered with flour, roll out the dough until it’s about 1/8″ thick. Use the bikini top cutter to cut the cookie shapes out and place them on the parchment covered tray.

(NOTE:  There is nothing worse than sticky cookie dough so be generous with adding extra flour and flouring your rolling pin as needed)

Next, take the oval cutter and cut out the lense area of each cookie.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the tray of cookies in the fridge while you do the next step. Place some hard candies in a double layered ziplock bag and use a hammer to tap and break the candy into small ground pieces.


After the tray has chilled for 15 minutes or so, place it in the oven and bake the cookies for 8 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and scoop 1/2 tsp of crushed candy into each hole (Note: It may be tempting to add more candy, but we tried filling them more and they melted over the edges of the cookie).

Place the tray back in the oven and bake for an additional 4-6 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the candy is melted. Remove the cookies from the oven and use a toothpick to quickly spread any gaps or pop any bubbles in the melted candy.

STEP 2: DECORATE COOKIES

In the bowl of a mixer, prepare the first bag of royal icing mix with 9 tablespoons of water. (The icing should be wet and soft but not excessively runny so add 8 tablespoons of water and the 9th one as necessary). Place the royal icing in a squeeze bottle and cover the excess with plastic wrap to use as necessary.

Outline the edges of the cookie then zig zag the icing in between the lines.Use the tip of the squeeze bottle to spread the icing around and fill in any gaps rather than overfill the cookie.

Place confetti on top of the cookie before it dries. When finished with all the cookies, set them aside to dry for several hours or overnight.

STEP 3: FINISH THE COOKIES WITH BREADSTICKS
In the bowl of a mixer, beat the second bag of royal icing mix with 6 tablespoons of water until you have a stiff and pipeable consistency (add a tiny bit of extra water if too stiff). Place the royal icing in a disposable piping bag with the end trimmed off and pipe a generous blob of royal icing on the end of a breadstick.

Prop a cookie on the front of a soup can or overturned glass and attach the stick to the back of the cookie. Repeat this on both sides of the glasses.

Pipe some additional royal icing on the side of the breadsticks to finish the look of the sunglasses.