Jolly St. Nick Cookies

The clever secret to our festive treats? We used an ice cream cone–shaped cookie cutter to make these smiling Santas!

Ingredients

• 1 (16.25 oz.) tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 (16 oz.) pkg. confectioners’ sugar
• 3 Tbs. meringue powder 
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Red concentrated food coloring
• ¼ cup dark chocolate frosting 
• ¼ cup red decorating sugar 
• ⅓ cup white nonpareils
• 24 mini marshmallows 
• 16 Red Hots candies 
• 32 small black candy pearls

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Knead cookie dough with flour. On floured surface, roll out dough to ¼” thick. Using 3½” ice cream cone–shaped cutter, cut out shapes. Place 2″ apart on baking sheets. Bake until golden, 9–12 min. Transfer to rack; cool. 
2. Make icing: On low speed, beat confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder and ½ cup warm water until smooth. Beat in vanilla extract. If too thick, thin with more water 1 tsp. at a time until spreadable. Keep covered when not using. 
3. Divide icing between two bowls. Tint one red with food coloring; spoon red and white icings and chocolate frosting into separate pastry bags fitted with #2 round tips. With red icing, pipe triangle outline of hat on pointed ends of cookies. Fill in; sprinkle with red sugar. Using white icing, pipe outline of hat brim and beard; fill in. Sprinkle nonpareils on beard. Let dry. 
4. Snip 16 marshmallows in half diagonally. For each mustache, using white icing, attach 2 halves. Snip remaining marshmallows in half crosswise; attach one half for each pom-pom. Using white icing, attach black and red candies for eyes and noses. Using chocolate frosting, pipe on mouths. Let dry.