DIY Maccabee Cookie Boxes

It’s night FOUR at the time of my writing this! Already! I hope this post finds you stuffed with latkes and sufganiyot and all sort of other delicious things. I thought I’d hop on to share a super simple project that I created for my nephews/nieces this year—I hope you love it and that it inspires some cute gift-giving ideas this week! As always, let me know on Instagram if you end up making this.

DIY Maccabee Cookie Gift Boxes

Icing recipe adapted from Jenny Cookies.

What You’ll Need:

For the cookies:

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Blue food coloring (I happened to use a “neon” set, linked here, for the colors you see here, which I think are lovelier and more subdued)
• Gingerbread men cookie cutters
• Rolling pin!

For the icing:

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup crisco vegetable shortening
• 7 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons whole milk

For the box:

• Crinkle confetti
• Bakery box
• Small containers
• Mini icing spreaders
• Small glass jars
• Kraft paper labels
• Baker’s twine (i used grey)
• Blue and white sprinkles
• Blue chocolate candies
• Other cookie toppings (your choice!)

What You’ll Do:

1. Make the cookies: Using a hand mixer, cream together the sugar, butter, and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. once the mixture is light and fluffy, mix in the egg and vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. Slowly incorporate them into the butter mixture until they’re thoroughly combined.
3. Once your dough is made, separate it into two sections. Leave the first section un-colored. Drop a small amount of color into the second section, then knead it together until the color is evenly spread throughout. Quick color tip: You’ll notice that the blue color in your dough isn’t quite appearing “as advertised” since your dough has quite a bit of yellow in it already. This means that you’re essentially working with a yellow and blue combo—which yields green! To counter that greenish effect, add a tiny, tiny bit (pinprick amount!) of purple or red as well, which will help the actual “blue” really shine through.
4. Once the color is mixed in, flatten both balls until they’re about an inch think, then wrap each individually in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
5. About 10 minutes before you plan on using it, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to soften. Prep your baking pans with parchment paper, then set your oven to 350. flour your surface generously. Roll out the dough, one color at a time, until they’re about ¼” thick. 
6. Cut out shapes using the cookie cutters, then place the cookies on the baking sheet. Bake for 5-6 minutes, being sure not to leave them for longer than that…they’ll burn really quickly! Let the cookies cool on the pan.
7. Make the icing (recipe republished from Jenny Cookies): Combine the margarine and crisco in the bowl of an electric mixer; using a paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add half of the confectioners’ sugar and continue beating on low speed for an additional 2 minutes, or until the mixture is creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the remaining confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and milk, and beat until the frosting is creamy and fluffy, about 2 minutes more.
8. Assemble the boxes: Fill small plastic container with icing; fill glass jars with candies, sprinkles, and other fun cookie toppings; fill bakery box with crinkle confetti. Arrange as pictured, adding the icing spreader and a few cookies.
9. Finish with baker’s twine and a label, and you’re ready to gift!