For the Sugar Cookies

Cup of Yum
1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the shortening, sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract together until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until well combined and the dough starts to stick together, about 1-2 minutes. Do not overmix.
5. Sprinkle a clean work surface lightly with flour and place about ⅓ of the dough onto the prepared surface to roll out. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin. Roll out the dough to ⅜-inch thickness and cut out cookies into 3½-inch squares.
6. Place the cut out cookies onto 1 prepared baking sheet. The cookies can be placed close together on the baking sheet for this step. Place the cookies in the freezer for 20 minutes before baking.
7. While the cookies chill, preheat oven to 350°F
8. Place 6 cookies onto the second baking sheet about 2 inches apart and bake for 12-14 minutes for thick cut cookies or 8-10 minutes for thinner cookies. The tops of the cookies shoud look set (no longer wet but not yet brown), and the bottoms of the cookies should be slightly brown. The middle of cookies will still be slightly soft to the touch but will continue baking once removed from the oven.
9. Repeat with remaining cookies. Let cookies cool completely before frosting.

For the Buttercream

1. In a large bowl, beat together butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. If the icing seems too thick, beat in a tablespoon of water.
2. Separate the buttercream into 3 smaller bowls to color. Use food coloring to color 2 of the bowls red and black. Stir completely to make sure all color is worked evenly into the buttercream.

To Decorate

1. Place the colored buttercreams into Ziplock bags and seal. Cut a small opening in the bottom corner of each bag. For background colors, the tips can be cut larger. For frostings you’ll be printing with, keep the tip cut small.
2. Start decorating with background colors on all cookies. Simply start by lining the outside of the cookie then continue filling in following the shape of the cookie. Work on decorating cookies in layers – first the background color then print and stick figures.