Basketball Hoop Cookie

*I hope you find this simple tutorial helpful.

For my sugar cookie dough I use this recipe:*

BLUE RIBBON SUGAR COOKIES

Preparation time: 45 min Baking time: 7 min
Yield: 6 dozen cookies

• 1 cup Butter, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Heat oven to 375°F. Combine butter, powdered sugar and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour, cream of tartar and baking soda. Beat until dough forms a ball.

Bake 7-9 minutes.

Recipe Tip
If cookies spread too much, chill dough about 1 hour.

After making my dough,

I started with the large square cutter that comes with the set of 3 from Wilton and cut out these shapes from my sugar cookie dough.

Then I used a Chalice cutter

Turned it upside down and used this small end to cut out my “hoops” from the remaining dough.

I then made my royal icing using Wilton’s recipe:
Wilton’s Royal Icing

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons Meringue Powder
• 4 cups (about 1 lb.) confectioners’ sugar
• 6 tablespoons warm water
  Makes: About 3 cups of icing.

Instructions

Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer).

NOTE: Keep all utensils completely grease-free for proper icing consistency.

• For stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.

When using large countertop mixer or for stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.

Thinned Royal Icing: To thin for pouring, add 1 teaspoon water per cup of royal icing. Use grease-free spoon or spatula to stir slowly. Add 1/2 teaspoon water at a time until you reach proper consistency.

When the cookies were cooled I outlined the square with white Royal Icing using a number 2 tip. Then I flooded it with thinned white royal and added the “hoop” cookie piece to the wet icing.

I then added the trim to the hoop using stiff royal icing and a #2 tip.

Next I finished the net

Then added a #2 tip square of red on the back board

And finished it off with a red rim

This is my finished platter. I love the extra dimension the 2nd cookie gives to the basketball hoop. Thanks for looking.