Decorating Sugar Cookies with My Hannaford Rewards

With Spring officially in full bloom over here, the boys and I decided to celebrate with a little cookie decorating party! First thing on the list? Head on over to Hannaford to buy all the supplies and ingredients we needed.

Why Hannaford? Well, if you have been following along then you know that at the beginning of the year I signed up for the My Hannafords Rewards program (see the post here for more details on how to sign up!) As a mom of little ones I knew I needed a one-stop place to grab everything I needed for our cookie decorating party. I also knew that, with the My Hannaford Rewards program I would have personalized coupons waiting for me in the App, not to mention the fact that I would be earning a 2% reward on any Hannaford brand items I purchased! 

Before I get on to the cut out cookie recipe and decorating party I wanted to share an update as to how my savings have racked up over the quarter.  My favorite part of the My Hannaford Rewards program has been the ease of use. I have no cards to carry, no physical coupons to clip.  I simply virtually clip coupons in the app before I go shopping (or even while I’m shopping), enter my phone number at check out, and just watch the earnings grow all quarter!

And the 2% reward? I’m earning that reward on almost every single shopping trip at Hannaford because for years I’ve been choosing Hannaford brand items while grocery shopping.  Most of the ingredients in these cut-out sugar cookies are Hannaford brand and you know what that means! Yup…I earned 2% rewards! If you are excited to start earning your own rewards be sure to sign up at Hannaford.com, download the mobile app, or visit your local Hannaford location and sign up in-store.

Print

Carrot Shaped Frosted Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

For the cookies

• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup butter softened
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cream of tartar

For the frosting

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 4 TBSP heavy whipping cream more or less for desired consistancy
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

Instructions

FOR THE COOKIES

1. Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the softened butter and cream together. Add the egg and extracts and mix until well combined. With the mixer off add the flour, soda and cream of tartar and slowly mix until combined.

2. Form the cookie dough into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 24 hours. To quickly chill leave the dough in the mixer bowl without forming into a ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put the refrigerator. The dough will be the perfect consistency in as little as 20-30 minutes.

3. Working with half the dough at a time, on a floured surface roll dough to just shy of 1/4" thick. Using the cookie cutter of your choice (I used a carrot) cut out shapes. Reroll dough as needed refrigerating for 15 minutes or so if dough becomes too warm and soft.

4. Place cut out cookie dough 2" apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Refrigerate unbaked cutouts for 10-15 minutes before baking.

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 7-8 minutes until just starting to turn a light golden color. Remove from oven and let firm up on the baking sheet for only a minute (the bottoms will continue to cook so don't wait too long). Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely on a wire rack.

FOR THE FROSTING

1. Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl. Add about 2 Tbsp of the heavy whipping cream, as well as the 1/2 tsp each of vanilla and almond extract. Stir together adding the rest of the whipping cream, 1 Tbsp at a time, until desired frosting consistency is reached. I usually add the full amount and the results are almost a whipped consistency.
   

TIPS FOR FROSTING COOKIES WITH KIDS

I knew decorating cookies with the boys would be a messy but fun experience.  To make frosting and clean up easier I picked up a few key items at Hannaford.

• Wax Paper: I taped this to our work surface. The boys could get frosting both on and off the cookie and I knew clean up would be a breeze!
• Small Condiment cups: Sprinkle containers and little children just don’t mix.  To keep the sprinkles in check I portioned out just enough sprinkles into little condiment cups for each boy. That way if the sprinkles got knocked over it was a much more controllable situation.
• Disposable frosting bags: Normally I give the boys frosting in bowls with plastic knives to frost.  They usually get frustrated after the first few cookies as they forget to keep the frosting colors separate.  By giving the boys the frosting in disposable frosting bags they could squeeze out exactly what they needed for each cookie. 
• Hannaford brand toddler wipes: Sticky fingers were quickly cleaned by keeping a pack of toddler wipes with our decorating supplies. 
• Only offer a few colors of frosting and sprinkles. Little ones can get overwhelmed when too much is offered. Plus this kept it nice and simple for mom.  I also only made one shape which meant no fighting over who got to frost what. 

In the Kitchen with My Hannaford Rewards: Layered Lemon Delight
Lunchbox Refresh with My Hannaford Rewards

With Love, Jennifer
This post was brought to you by Hannaford.