Cookie-Pops

Yesterday, my 6-year-old turned 7. I'm not going to rant about how I can't believe how fast time flies. I'll just say I can't believe how blessed I am to have her. She's funny and artistic and thoughtful and sweet. And she's a huge fan of lollipops. When we go to Disney World, this is all she asks for. And her dad can't say no to a sweet face like that.

At my kids' school, most parents will bring a treat of some kind for the class on their child's birthday. Since I have a lollipop-lover, I first thought it'd be a great idea to get them all a huge lollipop this year. But the only ones I could find on a short notice were $3 each. And because I'm quick with math, I realized that 27 kids x $3 = 1 very expensive treat. So, I opted for what I now call cookie-pops. I'm sure I'm not the first person to ever do this, but it was easy & cheap & totally impressive to 1st-graders.

If you're looking for something different to serve your favorite kids, here's how to make them.

1. Start with some plain sugar cookies & store-bought frosting. For 30 cookie-pops, I used 60 cookies from our grocery store bakery & 2 cans of white frosting.

2. Next, I put a nice big dollop of frosting on a cookie, topped it with another to make a "sandwich", then rolled the edges in sprinkles.

3. Then I took some long bamboo skewers, cut them in half, & stuck them in the cookie sandwiches. A better alternative would be the white sticks you can find where chocolate molds & supplies are sold, but I didn't have any on hand.

4. The last step is to decorate the "pops". This can be done a million ways, but I decided to tint some of the frosting pink & green. I then scooped each color into a sandwich bag & made a tiny snip off of a corner of each bag to create a simple disposable pastry bag. Using this, I added a little color to each pop & they were done!

If you decide to make these, keep in mind that you'll need to allow at least 3 or 4 hours for the frosting to set & harden a little before serving to the little party guests. As always, I love to hear about it when you give these projects a try!