These sweet doll cookies are actually sugar cookies with fondant clothes that you can dress up for real.

The made up dolls and clothes are a great party activity for children, and as a bonus they can then be used as a take home party favor.

To make these cookies and dress up clothes you will need:

Cookie dough suitable to make cut out cookies
Paper Doll and clothing template
Royal icing
Ready Roll Fondant
Corn starch (corn flour)
Food Color (Wilton Pink (Rose Clair), sky blue, white; Americolor Copper (fleshtone); dark brown; dusky pink/wine
Dusting Powder pink
Black edible pen
Rolling Pin large wooden
3 Piping bag and tips (#2)
Sharp Knife
Brushes (4 different)
Rolling pin - small plastic
Frilling tool for fondant (or you could use a toothpick or end of paintbrush if one is unavailable)
brush and small bowl water

The cookies can be made 5 days before hand and kept in an air tight container.

The fondant dress up clothes should be made at least one day in advance and can be kept in an air tight container for at least 2 weeks prior to using.

The items required to make these cookies are available from Hobby and Craft stores and cake decorating outlets.

You may use colors other than pink to work in with your party theme or favorite color.

Step 1:

Make cookie dough and roll out quite thinly on a workbench dusted with corn starch (cornflour), about 1/4 " (1/2cm).

Place the paper doll template onto the dough and using a sharp knife cut around the template carefully.

Remove all the excess dough and if necessary smooth the edges of the cookie dough doll.

Place the cookie cut out doll onto a parchment/baking paper lined tray.

Bake in an oven which has been preheated to 325 F (160 C) until golden and allow to cool on trays before carefully removing to a cooling rack.

If you do not have a favorite cookie dough recipe you can use the following recipe:

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter (114 grams) softened to room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 extra large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups plus 1 Tablespoon All Purpose Flour (plain flour) sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Using a mixer cream butter and sugar.

Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix until dough comes together.

Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 30 minutes.

Step 2:

Using the doll template cut out the hair and draw around where you will be piping the hairline with an edible pen (or other non toxic drawing implement) as per picture, also draw on the underwear and the shoes.

Mix up a batch of royal icing and color some skin tone, some white and some brown. Pre mix royal icing is available from Craft and Hobby stores or cake decorating outlets or you can make up your own. The royal icing should be of a consistency that if you run a knife through it the indent left behind will disappear in 10 seconds.

Place the royal icing into piping bags ensuring that you keep the tips covered so they do not dry out and clog up.

Pipe the brown hair on each doll and flood and the pipe the underwear and shoes and flood.

Allow to dry for a few hours and then pipe on the skin. Leave dolls to set for at least 24 hours.

Step 3:

Mix up a batch of royal icing and color some skin tone, some white and some brown. Pre mix royal icing is available from Craft and Hobby stores or cake decorating outlets or you can make up your own. The royal icing should be of a consistency that if you run a knife through it the indent left behind will disappear in 10 seconds.

Place the royal icing into piping bags ensuring that you keep the tips covered so they do not dry out and clog up.

Pipe the brown hair on each doll and flood and the pipe the underwear and shoes and flood.

Allow to dry for a few hours and then pipe on the skin. Leave dolls to set for at least 24 hours.

Step 4:

Using an edible pen draw on the face outline features.

Use the doll template as an example.

Practice with a normal pen on some paper until you get the hang of it.

Once the faces are complete draw in a belly button and lines at the knees.

Allow the pen to dry.

Step 5:

On a plate place a few drops of white food color, some pink and some sky blue.

Mix the pink and blue with some extra white until you have a nice bright color suitable for painting eyes and lips.

Using 000 or 00 paintbrush carefully fill in the face you have drawn by painting the eyes and lips with the food color.

If you like you can add rosy cheeks by brushing some pink edible dusting powder onto the cheek area with a soft bristled brush.

Step 6:

Allow to dry and store in airtight containers until ready to use.

Step 7:

Make a list of approximately how many of each type of clothing in each color you would like to make. This should be a guide to how much fondant in each color you will need.

Color fondant with the colors until you have achieved the desired color. To color fondant, knead it on a bench lightly dusted with cornflour until it is pliable and then add in gel or paste food color and knead until it is completely distributed.

The light pink and darker burgandy are the same food color just using more for the darker color.

Remember you must keep fondant in a zip lock bag or air tight container when not in use and only use small pieces at a time as it will become dry and crumbly if exposed to air for lengths of time.

Step 8:

To make a T-shirt roll out the fondant until around 1/16 to 1/8 inch thickness on a corn starch dusted workbench and then using the paper doll template as a guide cut around the shirt with a sharp knife.

If necessary smooth the edges with your finger tip.

Use the frilling tool to make indents at the sleeves to look like decorative ruffles.

Embellish with fondant flowers or make a necklace of royal icing dots by gently touching the piping bag to the fondant and leaving a really tiny dot of the icing there. If your icing is stiff and peaky you can moisten your finger with a little water and gently smooth down the point.

It is a good idea to do a couple of practice runs of the royal icing embellishments on the bench or some spare parchment/baking paper first.

Place on a tray lined with parchment paper to set.

If you like you can then pipe decorative royal icing dots around the neckline to look like a necklace.

Step 9:

To make a skirt roll out the fondant until around 1/16 to 1/8 inch thickness on a corn starch dusted workbench and then using the paper doll template as a guide cut around the skirt with a sharp knife.

Cut out another skirt, you can use the same color or a different color, trim the second skirt so it is shorter than the first.

If necessary smooth the edges with your finger tip.

Use the thinner edge of the frilling tool to make ruffles on the skirt by gently rolling it back and forth.

Use the frilling tool to make indents at the sleeves to look like decorative ruffles.

Adhere the shorter skirt to the longer skirt with a tiny amount of water and using the thin edge of the frilling tool to lift the skirt up in sections and make it look fuller.

Place on a tray lined with parchment paper to set.

Step 10:

You can continue to make as many different types of dress up clothes as you like, here are a couple more examples.

Shorts cut out shape using template, place a contrast color onto the very edge of the short and then use the large edge of the frilling tool to make 'ruffles' on the short legs. Leggings were made the same way.

Dress cut out the shape using the template and using the thin edge of the ruffle tool roll back and forth to make the skirt look fuller. Cut out a smaller skirt in a contrasting color using the template and ruffle with the ruffling tool. Adhere the shorter skirt to the dress with a little water. Decorate the 'top' of the dress with some flowers or royal icing dots.

'Fabric' flowers - roll the fondant into a very thin log working quickly and use the end of the ruffle tool to start off a coil, continue to wrap the fondant around until you have a small flower shape, quickly press and edible silver ball in the center. If you work quickly you will not need anything else to stick the ball. If necessary use a little royal icing in the center of the flower to adhere the silver ball.

Remember to lay the fondant clothes carefully on a parchment paper lined tray and allow to set for a day.

They should be stiff when dry. If you live in a humid area it may take longer to dry.

Once dry store in an airtight container for at least up to 2 weeks until ready to use.

Step 11:

To use mix up a fresh batch of royal icing and place in piping bags. Alternatively you can use zip lock bags with a small hole cut out the corner so you have a bag for each child or decorator.

Place the dress up clothes out on display and provide everyone with a couple of sugar cookie dolls.

Everyone can then pick the dress up fondant clothes they would like to use and adhere the clothes to the doll by squeezing royal icing onto the doll cookie and gently pushing the clothes in place.

The royal icing will adhere the clothes in place once it dries.

Younger children may need some assistance.