Easter-Egg Puzzle Cookies

By á-9642

We've hatched a new way to decorate and hunt for eggs, using our clever cookie-puzzle technique. Cut oval shapes out of sugar-cookie dough, "break" them into pieces after baking, and finish with pastel royal icing and sanding sugar. All that's left is to put these eggs back together again.

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Royal Icing
• Sanding sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture, and beat until combined. Add vanilla. Wrap dough in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out egg shapes with a 2 1/2-inch oval cutter (sugarcraft.com). Transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Bake until edges are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Upon removing from oven, cut into pieces with a sharp knife (if they're cool, it will be difficult to create clean edges). Let cool. Using a pastry bag fitted with a

1/8-inch tip and filled with royal icing, decorate as desired. Sprinkle with sanding sugar while icing is wet. If adding dots or stripes, let base layer dry first.