Squirrel Sugar Cookies

The floors were scrubbed.  The kids were out playing in the snow.  I opened the container of fresh baked sugar cookies and pulled out a few trees and squirrels.  What would I do with a squirrel cookie?  How in the world would I decorate the deer?  They came in an autumn cookie cutter set I purchased last year.

I grabbed the chocolate and vanilla frosting and the squirrels and trees.

I frosted the trees with chocolate frosting and then piped the bark details and dunked the bottom of the tree trunks in fall leaf sprinkles.  I know I haven't seen any tree trunk cookies.  I hand-cut the trees with a pizza cutter.

 The squirrels needed fur.

I pulled up a photo of a squirrel and decided I'd mix a light brown (vanilla frosting/chocolate frosting and a drop of flesh tone food coloring) and chocolate brown to get the multi-colored squirrel fur.

Spread two colors of frosting on a piece of plastic wrap.  Roll tight and thread one end through the  tip of the decorator bag and then add the decorating tip (Wilton tip #233). When you squeeze the bag, both colors will come out of the tip.

The squirrels got a thin base coat of chocolate frosting and a big belly of vanilla frosting before I began piping the fur.  I lightened the tail by using white and light brown frosting.

 The eyes were piped with vanilla frosting with a black candy pearl placed for the eye.  

Royal icing is so pretty, but there's nothing quite like the texture of creamy frosting and a soft cookie.

I love trying something new that I haven't seen all over the place.  I couldn't help but think my friend Kate as I decorated the squirrels.  She LOVES squirrels.

 Think they'll make it all the way until Thanksgiving?  I better get them in the freezer.