I’ve had these cloud cookie cutters forever.  I can’t even remember why I ordered them but apparently I needed all three sizes.  They’ve been sitting in a box with a feather cookie cutter I got when I was fantasizing about making these cookies.  I saw a cute cloud pillow with a little smiley face on it at Target and thought, as I often do, “That would make a great cookie!”

So I made the dough (from this reliable and adaptable recipe), rolled and cut them out and baked them.  I like to use Betty Crocker cookie icing that you can buy at the grocery store because it sets up like royal icing and has a nice consistency (between fill and flood consistency).  Even better, instead of tasting like a crunchy forgotten piece of Easter candy, it remains tender in the interior and has a pleasant “bakery” flavor.  I’m sure it’s all kinds of awful in the ingredients department but I didn’t look to find out and neither should you.  So, I got all these cutie clouds iced and started to draw faces.

I used edible markers (also found in the baking section of most grocery stores) for the eyes and mouth and a bit of pink luster dust for the cheeks.  I mixed mine with a bit of vodka, don’t tell the children, and applied it with a paint brush.  My son Simon came along and remarked darkly that my clouds looked too happy and couldn’t I make some with frowny faces.  My best ideas aren’t usually mine it turns out.  But I didn’t think a puffy white cloud should be frowny.  So I got out my gel food colors and picked out the delphinium blue shade from Wilton.  I diluted it ever-so-slightly with water, dabbed it on and blotted it until it had a moody, tween, ombre effect.  I think they’re even more delightful than the happy clouds.

And then, since I had my feather cookie cutter out anyway, I made some purty swan feather cookies, sprinkled with this iridescent edible glitter called disco dust that made them all sparkly and opalescent.  Which you can’t really appreciate in this photo because I stayed up until 2am decorating like a nutter and the lighting was not right for capturing opalescence.  You’ll just have to take my word for it.