Best Friend face Cookies - eggless recipe

One of our friends decided at the last minute to have a party in the park for her 6 year old little man. She let him pick the theme and he chose 'friends'.

I know that's adorable isn't it. Although when I first heard the day before the party just after I had offered to make some cookies to bring along I though gosh, couldn't he pick cars, or dinosaurs, or rockets cause like I have stacks of cutters for those things.

As I said it was the day before the party and plus the birthday boy is highly allergic to eggs so I quickly did a brain search for something suitable.

and I remembered some sweet face cookies I had seen on flickr using the candy/ lolly shaped cutter I have for little girls with pigtails and decided to make some best friend face cookies.

I'm going to have to send out apologies to someone here - I know I saw something like these on flickr months ago but although I tried and tried I could not find them again so I can not give a shout out to whom ever's idea I have been inspired by.

anyway I decided to go with shortbread cookie as it's eggless and marshmallow fondant as again eggless (although check the ingredients on the marshmallow you use).

The finished cookie was quite yummy, but way more crumbly than a normal sugar cookie, lucky it was a party in the park.

I've got a little tutorial for you on how I made the little girl face cookies, for the boys just modify to suit the round cutter.

Best Friend Face Cookies

(note if you like you can draw on the mouth and nose etc. I was just trying to use less food colour because of the recipients)

Equipment and Ingredients
Cookies
Marshmallow fondant or Ready Rolled Fondant
Gel colour light peach (flesh tone), yellow, brown, white and various colours for small flowers I used pink, blue and purple
small rolling pin
Wilton tip #7
small sharp knife
Black edible pen
Small flower cutter/ ejector
Ball tool
Brush and water

Make cookie dough using shortbread cookie recipe (recipe below), and cut out using candy cutter. If you prefer and cookies do not need to be eggless use this vanilla sugar cookie recipe, or this chocolate cookie recipe.

Colour the fondant with the larger portions in light peach, brown and yellow and small amounts in the accent flower colours.

Roll out light peach fondant until quite thin and cut out using candy shape cutter. Adhere fondant to cookie using a small amount of water brushed onto the cookie. Using small rolling pin smooth fondant and ensure it reaches the edges of the cookie.

Roll out brown or yellow fondant and cut out using candy shape cutter. Using the small knife cut inside the round section of the candy shape to make the fondant look like parted hair. See picture.

Adhere hair to cookie and using the small rolling pin smooth out and ensure the edges are even.

Repeat for remaining cookies.

Roll out the various colours and cut out the small flowers adhering to the cookies 'hair' with a small amount of water. I press the flower onto the cookie with the small end of a ball tool which indents the flower and also presses the flower on well. Roll a small ball of contrasting fondant for each flower and stick into the center of the flowers with a teensy amount of water (normally I often use royal icing for this but as the cookies needed to be egg free I used the marshmallow fondant).

Using the small round end of the wilton tip cut out small round white eyes and adhere them to the faces with a small amount of water. Repeat for all cookies

Also using the small end of the wilton tip press in on one side only to make a small indent for the nose.

Then using the large round end of the tip indent a mouth.

Allow the cookies to dry for a while and then draw pupils into the eyes, eyelashes and if you like freckles.

Shortbread Cookie recipe modified from Joy of Baking

 225 g (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter room temp
50g icing sugar (powdered sugar)
2 cups flour sifted
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla (I used vanilla bean paste)

Beat butter and sugar until creamed in a stand mixer on high speed, beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour and salt mixing until incorporated. Chill mixture approx 10 mins

Roll out dough, cut out shapes and place on tray lined with baking paper. Pop in fridge to chill.

Preheat oven to 170 C (350 F) and bake for approx 12 to 15mins or until golden. Remove from oven allow to rest on tray 5 -10 mins before moving to wire cooling rack.