• Mix flour, baking soda and cream of tartar in a small mixing bow.
• Cream sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, almond extract together.
• Add dry ingredients and mix well.
• Divide dough into two balls; refigerate at least 2-3 hours.
• Roll out dough and cut in desired shapes.
• Bake at 375 F for 7-8 minutes.

Royal Icing Recipe

• Mix on low speed with 1/2 C water.
• For thicker mix well to thin it out add more water. I like mine so that it will hold a shape but spread and not show firm lines.
• You can practice with the consistency on some wax paper. After you “get it” the first time you’ll be able to recognize it next time you want to use the Icing

Mermaid Cookie Pop Tutorial

• To make the mermaid pops start by adding the lollipop sticks to the cookies.
• To do this take some royal icing and pipe it onto the back of the cookie and press the stick in.
• I like to use a knife under the free end of the stick so it lays flat against the cookie.
• Allow to dry completely.
• I like to break the design up by section and do all of one color at a time.
• I like to start with white when using it.
• I have used both liquid food coloring and gel food coloring without issue. Start by separating a small bit of icing and adding a small amount of coloring and tweak until you get your desired color.
• I put it in a pastry bag with a small decorating tip and start by outlining the area for that color and then I fill in the outline.
• If you want to add sprinkles like I did wait for the other colors to dry and then add the sprinkles while the icing is still wet.
• I used edible glitter stars as hair accents to do that just place them carefully on the icing while it’s still wet. Allow to dry completely before moving or storing.