With New Years Eve falling right between Christmas and my twin daughters’ birthdays I’m happy to just put on some comfy PJs and head to bed early, but this year my kids are excited for another reason to party so I am throwing together some simple recipes and activities. Yummy recipes, fun activities and yes, probably some comfy PJs too! When I was brainstorming my New Years Eve ideas I wrote down the first five words that came to mind. Firecrackers were number one. Our Firecracker Star Cookie Pops seemed like the perfect addition to a fun kid-friendly party.
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon almond extract or vanilla extract
- 1½ cups flour
- pinch salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- white chocolate chips
- colored sugar or sprinkles
- chocolate covered sunflower seeds (or chocolate covered candies)
- COOKING TOOLS
- electric mixer (I love my KitchenAid mixer)
- measuring cups- 1 cup, ½ cup, ⅓ cup
- measuring spoons- ½ teaspoon, ¼ teaspoon
- rolling pin
- cookie trays
- star cookie cutter
- lollipop sticks or craft sticks (you can also serve without)
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the egg and almond or vanilla extract.
- Mix in the flour, salt and baking powder.
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface.
- Cut out the stars and carefully transfer to ungreased cookie trays.
- We sprinkled half with colored sugar crystals and left the other half plain because we were going to decorate with white chocolate and chocolate covered sunflower seeds after baking.
- Bake at 450 degrees F in the upper half of the oven for 6-8 minutes until slightly golden.
- Let cool completely.
- While the cookies are cooling melt 1 cup of white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute and stir until melted.
- Using a small spoon or knife spread the front of the plain cookie stars with a thick layer of melted white chocolate.
- Sprinkle with the chocolate covered sunflower seeds.
- Let the chocolate harden. You can speed up this process by putting the cookies on a cookie tray and popping in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Once the white chocolate is hardened flip the cookies over to attach the lollipop stick.
- Put a small amount of melted white chocolate on the back of each cookie and put the lollipop into the white chocolate.
- Cover the stick with more melted white chocolate.
- Let harden. Pop in the freezer to speed up the process.
TIME TO MAKE THE FIRECRACKER STAR COOKIE POPS!
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and almond or vanilla extract. Mix in the flour, salt and baking powder. Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Cut out the stars and carefully transfer to ungreased cookie trays. This recipe will make approximately 22 cookies depending on the size of your star.
We sprinkled half with colored sugar crystals and left the other half plain because we were going to decorate with white chocolate and chocolate covered sunflower seeds after baking.
Bake at 450 degrees F in the upper half of the oven for 6-8 minutes until slightly golden. Let cool completely.
While the cookies are cooling melt 1 cup of white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute and stir until melted. Using a small spoon or knife spread the front of the plain cookie stars with a thick layer of melted white chocolate. Sprinkle with the chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Let the chocolate harden. You can speed up this process by putting the cookies on a cookie tray and popping in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Once the white chocolate is hardened flip the cookies over to attach the lollipop stick. Put a small amount of melted white chocolate on the back of each cookie and put the lollipop into the white chocolate. Cover the stick with more melted white chocolate. Let harden. Pop in the freezer to speed up the process.
Our Firecracker Star Cookie Pops are a fun addition to a New Years Eve Party or July 4th Celebration!
