Hello Everyone! In honor of my little girl’s first school dance I decided to make some princess cookies for her. Here she is, all dolled up for her dance. Once again, I am amazed how fast they grow up. This Mother’s Day was one of reflection, remembering my own childhood with my mother and these last handful of years trying my best to do as good a job as she did and still does.
I have been wanting to play with sanding sugar more since I made those Mother’s Day flowers with the yellow sugar centers a couple weeks ago. Only problem was that I didn’t have purple! And I certainly did not have enough time to run all the way to the store and back before Miss Evelyn got home. That’s fine, I told myself. I’ll make some!
Sanding sugar, as I found out is just food coloring and sugar. Though the store bought stuff is made from a bigger sugar crystals and has a bit more sparkle. Since it’s fairly easy to make your own colors I would just get a bag of the white sugar crystals and make whatever you need.
To start, since I didn’t know what I was doing, I just threw some regular sugar into a little baggie and added some blue and red food coloring expecting it to just magically mix into some pretty purple sparkles. Unfortunately the blue and red sugar crystals just laughed at me. Pro-tip my friends: mix the colors first then add it to the bag.
After making the purple I decided to try some blue too. Mostly because I um… kinda forgot to take pictures as I was making the purple. No worries, I have an idea for this blue. You’ll see soon! Anyway, put a little bit of color gel on the inside of the baggie and seal it up, then start to mush it around. The crystals won’t be a uniform color at first, keep mushing. Although on second thought the non-uniform sugar is pretty too and a mix of shades might make for a neat effect. File that one away for later!
Another Pro-tip, make sure you hold the baggy by the zip closed edge. Otherwise you may end up with purple sanding sugar all over the place when the baggie suddenly pops open. Or you can just get better bags, whatever works best for you. When the sugar is colored to your liking pour it out onto a plate or parchment paper to dry. I found with the purple it needed a little drying time because I used more gel color to make it. The blue was pretty much ready to go.
When you’re ready to make your cookies sparkle, make sure they are completely dry. Then pipe on a little icing where you want the sugar and sprinkle. Make sure you completely cover the area and then flip the cookie over and give it a little tap to shake off the excess. After it’s completely dry you can use a brush to clean up any stray crystals. 
Miss Evelyn was so excited to get her very own cookies “with my name on it and everything!” She did share a little corner of the castle with me. We both agreed that the sanding sugar added a fun texture and crunch to the otherwise soft sugar cookies.
Until next time!
Love and cookies,
Sherry
Frosted Bear Bakery 