While searching for inspiration for yesterday‘s post of crafty back-to-school ideas, I came across a lot of pencil cookie tutorials that took plain cookies and transformed them into pencils with a variety of icings and details. I thought they were all so darn cute, but was thinking of how stressful back-to-school time can be and became determined to think of an easier and less timely way to make some cute pencil cookies. Upon brainstorming I remembered my Candy Corn Sugar Cookies and attempted to translate the process into pencil cookies…and sure enough, it worked!
If you’re looking for a quick treat to bake for your kids, teachers, or if you just really like pencils (hey, you never know!) – these mini pencil sugar cookies are simple, quick, and delicious!
Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Food Coloring: Pink, Yellow, + Brown
Directions:
Step #1: In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar until smooth (about 2 minutes). Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients while on low-speed. Mix well until dough is formed.
Step #2: Divide dough into 3 bowls – putting about 1/5 of the dough into one bowl, another 1/5 into a second and the remaining 3/5 into the third. Dye the 1/5 bowls with pink (for the eraser) and a drop of brown (for the pencil tip). Add your yellow coloring to the third bowl.
Step #3: Line a baking pan (I prefer a 9×5 loaf pan) with plastic wrap and layer the dough into one corner of the pan in this order: light brown, yellow, pink. Fold plastic wrap over the top and if necessary, shape dough into a brick. Refrigerate for a few hours.
Step #4: Remove dough from fridge and slice dough – first horizontally and then cut the tips (the pencil tip!) of each slice.
Bake on a cookie pan at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Lining the pan with wax paper will help prevent browning on the bottom of the cookies.
Make sure to keep a close eye on the pencil cookies as they bake quickly!