Swirled Cookie Suckers for Easter

April 22, 2011

Cookie Suckers Plate Rows

We've got one more fun project for you before Easter hops on in, and it's another one you can get your little bunnies and chickies involved with!

Several years ago, I made 3oo to 400 of these fun cookie suckers for the volunteers who were serving on Easter weekend in my church preschool.  Yeah, it was a pretty big church with LOTS of preschoolers!

I can still vividly remember staying up until 3 am, swirling and twirling the dough into cookie suckers on sticks, wrapped up in a treat bag and tied with a ribbon.  Even though it was exhausting, my main memory is that it was a really fun project!

Let me show you how to make these so you can enjoy them too!  I used a vegan cookie dough recipe this time, but the recipe I used to use is a rich one with cream cheese that's usually called play doh cookie dough.

Cookie Suckers Plate

I want to experiment with other vegan cookie recipes, since this one spread a tiny bit more than I would have liked, but it held up surprisingly well.  You just need a basic sugar cookie dough that will stay together and be pliable while you're rolling it out into a snake.  If it's too soft, it'll fall apart, but if it's too stiff it will crack instead of roll.

Whatever cookie recipe you prefer, make a couple of batches, then divide it up and mix in your favorite paste food colorings.  I like to use 4 different colors of  dough for each cookie, but you could use more or less.  That's the beauty of this project: you can use your imagination and do whatever you feel like!

Cookie Suckers Colored Balls

After the dough is made, refrigerate it overnight or until very cold, then start rolling!  This is where you call in the kids to help.

I use the bigger end of my melon baller to scoop out the dough, and then roll it lightly in my hands until it's semi-round.  My balls were probably close to 1″ in diameter, but I didn't measure.  The key is to make the balls the same size and use the same number of balls per cookie so that they all bake evenly.

Once you have the balls made, chill them again.  If you start out with soft warm dough, you'll have a hard time rolling it out.  When the dough is cold, take 4 balls of any color and line them up in your hand.

Cookie Suckers 4 Balls

Gently roll the  balls together between your palms so they start to mingle and get happy with each other.

Cookie Suckers Balls Mingle

Then lay the dough onto your work surface and gently form it into a snake.  I thoroughly cleaned my granite counter, and it worked great for rolling.

Cookie Suckers Log

Keep gently rolling until you have a dough snake about a foot long, more or less.

Cookie Suckers Snake

As I'm rolling it, I like to roll one end one way, and the other end the other way.  That's how you get the swirled candy cane effect.

Cookie Suckers Swirled

If the dough breaks, just mash it back together.  No one will ever know!  Now start coiling the snake around itself until you get to the end.

Cookie Suckers Coil

Add a sucker stick, and you have a finished cookie sucker ready to bake.

Cookie Suckers Bake

Repeat with the rest of the balls.  If you don't have cookie sticks, just bake the cookies as is.

Cookie Suckers 6 Bake

If you want to, you can add a sprinkle of colored sparkly sugar before you bake, like I did in the cookie below.

Cookie Suckers Baked

Cookie Suckers 1

Cookie Suckers 2

Cookie Suckers 3

Cookie Suckers 4

I like to insert the cooled cookie suckers into a treat bag that will fit, and tie on a little ribbon bow.  These make great gifts for your friends, neighbors and coworkers, and would be a really cute addition to your Easter table or to a special someone's Easter basket!

Cookie Suckers Platter

Happy Easter!

~BigSis

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6 Comments so far

  1. Posted by LilSis

    April 22, 201112:03 pm

    I LOVE the gorgeous pastel colors in these cookies. I bought some sticks once and a special pan to make heart shaped cookie suckers for Valentine’s Day and never used them.

    I’ve decided AGAIN that I’m not baking for awhile. I’m leaving that up to BigSis! She’s the Pro. 🙂

  2. Posted by BigSis

    April 23, 20119:41 pm

    Thanks, LilSis. I had forgotten how much fun these are to make. I’ll try another cookie recipe with some other colors later this summer.

    Don’t give up on baking!

  3. Posted by Judy Garden

    May 1, 201111:54 am

    I just found your blog! Thanks to Country Living. Love it!
    Did/can you post the vegan cookie recipe? I would like to try these as a craft for my daughter’s class (and I love cream cheese, but I am really trying to go healthier and I would like the kids and parents to know there are other options).

  4. Posted by BigSis

    May 1, 20114:50 pm

    Hi Judy! Thanks for your comment. I love your idea of using a healthier cookie for your daughter’s class. I haven’t posted the recipe for these cookies, but I did find that “Holy Cow Vegan Recipes” has already typed it up. Here’s the link: http://www.holycowvegan.net/2009/11/sugar-cookies-invade-my-cookie-jar.html

    The recipe is from a great little cookbook called Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Amazon has it for under $11, and in my opinion it’s totally worth the purchase!

    If you make these cookie suckers, please send me a photo! Good luck and have fun!

  5. Posted by Monica

    May 1, 20118:47 pm

    These are so cute!

  6. Posted by BigSis

    May 4, 20117:11 pm

    Thanks, Monica! They were fun too!

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