Introduction: Flower Pot Cookies

These flower pot cookies are made with a combination of delicious peanut butter cup cookies and sugar cookies made to look like flowers in terracotta pots.  These would be so cute for a garden party, and you could match the flowers to whatever theme you choose.  Even tie a green ribbon around each for "leaves" - the creative possibilities are endless!

For the Peanut Butter Cup Cookies bases:
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
3 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 package miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

- Heat oven to 350 degrees
- Beat peanut butter and butter together until well mixed
- Add sugars, egg, milk, and vanilla and beat well
- In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt, and then gradually mix them into peanut butter mixture
- Shape dough into 1" balls and place in an ungreased mini-muffin tin
- Bake for 8 minutes. While cookies are baking, unwrap all of the peanut butter cups (about 40) and have them ready to go next to the oven for right when the cookies are ready
- When cookies are done, pressa peanut butter cup firmly in the center of each cookie
- Let the cookies sit in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool


For the Sugar Cookie Flowers:

1-1/2 cups butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
5 tsp vanilla
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
Lollipop sticks (painted green with a mixture of food coloring and vodka) 

- For the cookie dough, beat together butter and sugar for about 2 minutes
- Add the eggs and egg yolks until smooth, and then add vanilla
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder, and then add the dry mix slowly to the wet until well combined
- Wrap dough in saran wrap and chill in the fridge for an hour (or more)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Roll out dough and cut out flowers, placing them about 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet.  Attach a lollipop stick to each cookie with a piece of cookie dough. 
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on how chewy you like your sugar cookies!
- Transfer to a wire wrack and allow cookies to completely cool before decorating

For Royal Icing:
1 pound powdered sugar
5 tablespoons meringue powder (available at craft stores)
2/3 cup water (plus more for adjusting consistency)
Few drops vanilla extract

- For the icing, mix together sugar, meringue powder, water, and vanilla until smooth (about 2 minutes).  Continue adding water until a peak made in the icing will sink back into the bowl and smooth out within 20 seconds.
- Divide icing and color as desired.  
- Prepare piping bags and tips (I used a #2), and place them upside down in a glass with a wet paper towel on the bottom while not in use so the icing in the tips does not dry out. Be sure to secure the other end with a rubber band or you'll end up with icing all over you.
- Pipe the outline of the first petal (or alternating ones) first and then go back to flood the rest. By waiting 20-30 minutes between each step, as pictured above, you end up with a layered effect that makes each petal look more 3D.  
- Allow the cookies to dry for a few hours before handling them -- you don't want to ruin all of your hard work!
- When cookies are dry, stick them into the peanut butter cup bases and enjoy!

Cookies Challenge

Participated in the
Cookies Challenge