How to Make Soccer Ball Cookies

My kids and I found a random bake shop as we were driving through a random town. I never pass up random bake shops. Ever. So we went in. They had scrumptious and beautiful desserts, but when I saw they had soccer ball cookies that were $4. 50 each, I wished we'd never entered the place. I knew those cookies were exactly what my kids were going to want. I was right, surprise :).

Since cute cookies are dear to my heart, I bought ONE for them to split.  I looked at the cookie and realized I could probably make the whole soccer team a cookie for the same price I'd payed for one. Sure enough!! (Well, pretty close). Here's how: 

Ingredients and Items Needed:
Sugar Cookies (see below)
1 bag powdered sugar
Milk
Light corn syrup
clear extract
black gel food coloring
food paint brush
food writer marker or exactoknife
piping bags
tips: sizes 4 or 5 and 2

1. First make the cookies several days ahead. Either use your favorite sugar cookie recipe, or use this one from Our Best Bites.  It's so yummy and keeps it's shape well.  Cut balls out with a 6 inch circle cookie cutter.
 
2. Freeze the cookies overnight, or leave them in an airtight container for a few days. Seriously, this seems to make these cookies taste even better. Weird, but true. This also makes it so they don't fall apart with the 2 layers of frosting that will come.

3. Next, make Glace Icing.(adapted from recipegirl)
 (Recipe girl has an amazing soccer cookie tutorial for a more patient and meticulous mom. These are a bit simpler. I love this icing from her blog.)
1 bag (or 2 pounds powdered sugar)
1/2 Cup + 4 Tablespoons milk
1/2 Cup + 4 Tablespoons light corn syrup
4 teaspoons clear extract (such as Wilton brand)

Mix sugar and milk together. Add corn syrup and stir until just combined. Add extract. Mix.

  Keep in a tight airtight container until ready for use. If not, it will turn to a cement like substance.


4. Frost the cookies:

Use a size 3 or 4 tip and outline the cookie. Remember it's OK if it's not a perfect circle. Kids will think it's cool even if your hand is not totally steady (as seen above :)).  Outline all the cookies. This gives time for the icing circle to harden just a bit and act as a dam to the icing in the middle.

5. Using the same or bigger tip, start filling in the cookie. Only "scribble" with the icing, as pictured above. Then use a food paintbrush or small spoon to fill in the gaps.

6.  Let the icing dry for 10-12 hours.

7. Save the rest of the icing in an airtight , and again, I mean very tight container.

8. Find a pentagon shape. I googled "pentagon" then traced it right off of my computer monitor, and copied it on to card stock. (It wasn't until I made these cookies that I realized that the shape on soccer balls is a pentagon, not a hexagon!)

9. With a food writer marker, or an exacto knife, trace your pentagon shape on to each cookie.  Remember pentagon shapes are not equal on every side, so don't freak out if it seems to look funny at first. Either trace the pentagon in the middle or a little off center- whichever you prefer.

10.  Then  get out the icing which has been in an air tight container and pour about 1/2 of a bottle of black gel food coloring into the white icing. Stir very well.
Put the icing in a bag with a #2 tip.

11. Trace the pentagon with the black icing.  Then draw lines from the points of the pentagon to the edge of the cookie. Then add triangles to the edge of the line... or make part of a hexagon shape.Like so...

seriously, just free hand it-no big deal  if a line's a centimeter off.

12. Add a little bit of black frosting to the outlined triangles and hexagons.  Then use a paint brush or tiny spoon to spread the frosting in the shapes.

13. Outline the whole cookie.

14. Let the frosting dry for at least 8 hours, but 10 is better.

15. Pack them pretty  because these cookies are a process!! Extra packaging shows people that Oh, are they ever lucky.

I made these for my daughter's soccer team, and even got huge hugs and smiles all around. Totally worth the time.

These cookies not only look cute, but they seriously taste good too. My kids even said they tasted waaay better than the ONE we bought at that random bake shop. YES!! 

 XO,

Nancy

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