"I Voted!" Cookies

I'm voting! Are you?

Today is the day. 

I Voted Cookies

It’s terrifying, exciting, and could be historical for any number of reasons (it’s probably not going to be my most productive day at work).

But here is the most important thing about today:

You get to vote in a free election (that, despite claims to the contrary, is most definitely not rigged)! Anyone over the age of 18 who is registered to vote is allowed to express their choice for who will lead this country. Not everyone in the world gets to say that. We do, and that’s pretty cool. So do it. GO VOTE. 

I Voted Sticker

And just because I don't think you can over-inform on this, here are some helpful links in case you need them:

Where’s your polling place?

Can you vote today if you aren’t registered? 

(You can in 13 States)

What do I do with my kid?

Call your local YMCA! Some locations are offering child care today.

How do I get there?

You have some options!

 

Yes, I know it’s voluntary. 43% of eligible Americans know that too. But you know what? You should still do it. WHY? 

Well, I’m not going to get too partisan here but here are a few important issues on the table, whether you go vote blue or red today. 

  • Because we need a full bench on the Supreme Court. 
  • We need Congressmen who want to govern. 
  • We have infrastructure in dire need of repairs. 
  • We need to plan for climate change and all the weird weather to come. 
  • We need to educate our kids. 
  • You get a cookie*.  

We need to stop talking about what’s wrong and try to fix it. How do you do that? YOU VOTE.

I Voted Sticker Cookies

*Offer only valid if you work with me**. 

**Also I only made 10. 

"I Voted!" Cookies

This recipe makes about 40 cookies if you bake off all of the cookies. I made 10 because I am lazy and also not great at decorating cookies (see evidence above).

  • 2 sticks butter, unsalted, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 egg white
  • juice 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • water, to thin
  • red food coloring (way more than you probably should eat)

Special Equipment:

  • 2-inch round cutter
  • paintbrush
  • "I voted" Sticker & exacto knife (or tiny letter stencils)
  1. In a bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside. With a mixer, cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined, then add the flour mixture and mix until dough is smooth and fully combined. 
  2. Turn dough out onto a surface and form into a round. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill, at least 1 hour.
  3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough out on a floured surface and cut into circles with a 2-inch round cutter. Transfer rounds to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 13-15 minutes, rotating halfway through, until just golden around the edges. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
  4. When ready to ice cookies, combine all remaining ingredients except the water and food coloring in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whist attachment, and beat until a smooth, fairly stiff icing forms. Remove about 1/4 of the icing and set aside in the fridge, covered well (you'll want to use plastic wrap and press it into the surface of the icing). 
  5. Add red food coloring to the remaining icing, enough to turn the mixture a bright, patriotic red. This will likely take more food coloring than you want to know about. 
  6. Transfer some of the icing to a piping bag fitted with a small, round tip, and pipe a red circle around the border of each cookie. Then, add a bit of water to the rest of the red icing, enough to thin it out so that you can "flood" the piped circle with icing. You don't want it to be so thin that it won't dry, but it will be easier to ice all of these cookies if the icing can puddle and spread.
  7. Flood your circles, gently tapping cookies on a flat surface to pop any bubbles that appear, or popping them with a toothpick. Then let sit to dry, uncovered, overnight.
  8. When ready to finish icing, get the rest of your white icing that you have kept tightly covered all night in the fridge. Thin it out with some water a bit, and using a piping bag with the same tip from yesterday, pipe white circles around the outside of the cookies, set in a bit from the edge. 
  9. Then, thin the icing some more until you can paint with it. If you are sane, use letter stencils to paint the words "I Voted!" onto the center of each cookie. If you are not, use the exacto knife to carefully cut the letters out of your old voting sticker, and attempt to use it as a stencil. Let icing dry completely then enjoy!

Notes:

  • You could use an old voting sticker like I did, or tiny letter stencils, or you could print out a template on stiff card stock and use that as a stencil. This would all probably be easier with 3-inch cookies.