Hee hee, get it? Smarties. As in the candy. Pants. Cookies. Stop laughing, really. Control yourself.

I, for one, can’t wait for school to start. Sure, my kid is starting Kindergarten and I should be more emotional about this huge step and cling to our precious toddler-mom moments. But I’ll tell ya’, we’ve spent just about every waking moment together for the past two months. Through major house renovations struggling to keep her occupied amid the dust and chaos, through doctor’s appointments and struggling to keep her occupied while the doctor said important things, through traveling up and back the East Coast and struggling to keep her occupied in the car, through trying fruitlessly to maintain my blogs while struggling to keep her occupied… You get the picture. Sure, we had beach and pool and party time, but I could sure use the break to catch up on my house chores and work.

Oh yeah, and my darling, precious little one is starting Kindergarten. Big step.

I don’t think they taught her food wit in Pre-K, so I’m pretty sure she won’t get the concept of Smartie pants. Oh well. She likes cookies and candy. I’ve used this method before with conversation hearts and even cotton candy. It’s the easiest ever way to decorate, too, because the candy covers any imperfection in the icing.

how to make Smartie pants cookies

you will need:*

cookie dough

royal icing

rectangle cookie cutter

bench scraper or knife

food coloring

disposable decorating bag

coupler

size 4 decorating tip

rubber band

Ziploc bag

mallet

Smarties candy

*Find the decorating bag, coupler, and tip at the craft store. My rectangle cookie cutter is from a set I bought at Sur la Table. The rectangle I used was 2 x 3 inces. For food coloring, I suggest Americolor Soft Gel Pastes (I used Electric Purple, but you can use any color). For tips on finding supplies, click HERE.

step one: bake your cookies

Prepare cookie dough according to the recipe and chill. Roll out the cookie dough. Cut out the pants by hand or using the rectangle cookie cutter as a guide. I used a bench scraper to cut along the lines shown to make pants.

step two: prepare your icing

Prepare royal icing according to the recipe and tint your preferred color. Prepare a decorating bag with coupler and tip. Fill with the icing and close tightly with a rubber band.

step three: crush your candy

Place a few rolls of unwrapped Smarties candy in a Ziploc back. Use a mallet, hammer or rolling pin to crush the candy. (Place on a cutting board or towel so you don’t ruin your counter.) Set aside.

step four: decorate your smartie pants

Pipe an outline on the pants cookie with the icing. Pipe the icing back and forth to completely fill the pants. Immediately cover with the crushed candy, turning over to remove excess. Let the cookies dry overnight.

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