It seems like everyone around the globe could use a smile right now. Times are tough and many people are quarantining away from their families and hometowns, including me. My favorite bakery at home makes the best (and biggest) smiley face cookies. If you’ve read my Black and White Cookie post then you know that my friend and I would head over to the bakery during our lunch break and consume our weight in cookies! When we were having particularly bad days, we would head into the bakery and make a beeline straight for the cookie case to see if all of their coveted frowny face cookies had already been sold. (They only make a few frowny face cookies per day and hide them in with the smiley faces).
Cookie
1 Cup butter
½ Cup sugar
2 Teaspoons vanilla
2 Cups flour
1 Egg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add the flour, one cup at a time, and beat until blended.
Lay cookie dough on a large piece of wax paper and roll up to create a log. Refrigerate the log of cookie dough for at least 2 hours (it can be refrigerated for up to a couple of days before baking).
When ready to bake, unwrap the cookie dough and slice into cookies about ½ inch thick. Place cookies on a greased cookie sheet about ½ inch apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool completely (I usually put them in the freezer to speed up the process).
Royal Icing
3 Egg whites
4 Cups powdered sugar
Yellow food coloring
½ Cup melted chocolate chips
While the cookies are cooling, whip three egg whites until frothy. Add in the vanilla and the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time, beating in between each addition. Stir in the food coloring. The frosting should be bright yellow and really thick.
Using a knife, spread an even layer over each cookie. Leave the cookies to dry overnight so that the frosting hardens.
The next day, melt chocolate chips in the microwave at 30 second intervals. Fill a ziploc bag with the melted chocolate and cup one of the corners. Using the cut end, pipe smiley faces on each cookie. Allow the chocolate to harden for a few hours and then enjoy :)