Kid Craft -- Candy Center Sugar Cookies

Let kids in on the cookie fun with this easy smashed candy cookie 

project just for them! 

easy kids craft cookie decorating with candy

So... today happened.

The whole day. It just kept going. And we kept going with it.

My kids made crafts. And ate food. And colored. And fought. And ate more food. And did more crafts. And cried. And tickled each other.

And I made an unbelievably GIANT MESS in the kitchen with my kids today. And I heard one of them say, "This is a lot of work. You do this every day?!" And for half a second, I thought they were impressed with the unbelievable amount of work and time I put into this passion of mine...the late nights, the hours of making and rolling dough, making the same mistakes over and over out of exhaustion... FINALLY they were appreciating the hard work that goes into these sugar creations of mine!! I HAVE SUCCEEDED IN THEIR SUGAR EDUCATION!!!

And then I realized...they were referring to the copious amounts of sugar that they were currently ingesting.

So naturally, I told them --

Yes.

I make giant messes and eat sugar all day long while you are toiling away at school. 


And then I smashed things with a hammer.

(Candy. I smashed candy with a hammer.)



How to make crushed candy center sugar cookies: 


easy kid craft cookie decorating with candy

Step 1.  

Start by gathering any hard candy in your house. Jolly Ranchers, Life Savers, suckers, ring pops....they all work great! Place them in a plastic zipper top bag and smash with a kitchen mallet or the side of a hammer. (Full disclosure... I totally raided my kids leftover Valentine candy stash for this project. They don't know that yet. Maybe don't tell them if you see them.)



fun and easy children cookie decorating craft

Step 2. 

Cut out cookie dough with a large cutter. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and then use a smaller cutter to remove some of the cookie dough from the center. I can finally justify having the same cutter in multiple sizes!!! But you can also use any smaller cutter (round, heart, star, etc.) to remove part of the cookie. You can bake the pieces you take out of the center, or re-roll them and use them in the next cookie!

(Note: Zenlogy is the best parchment paper for this! It's SUPER non-stick!)



fun and easy children cookie decorating craft

Step 3. 

Arrange candy pieces as desired inside the cut-out section of the cookies.



Easy candy center sugar cookie craft for children

Step 4. 

Bake according to recipe directions. The centers will be extremely hot and bubbly when removed from the oven. Allow to cool completely. They may still have some bubbles in the center when cooled.


painting cookie with white food coloring

ADD-ON TIP: You can fancy things up a bit by painting the cookie dough white before filling the center with crushed candy.


fun and simple crushed candy center sugar cookies for children

ADD-ON TIP: You can also pipe royal icing window pains on the candy center. Or add fondant and royal icing piped flowers to elevate the design further.






Watch one of my Little LilaLoas create a crushed candy center egg cookie in this video!




NEED MORE?? 




Make Paint-Your-Own Cookies with your kids!!

Or check out my favorite way to decorate with my kids here!

The clear center was made with Crystal Mints. (They are peppermint flavored.)




simple and fun crushed candy center cookie project for children and kids

Georganne
Georganne

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