Fruit Basket Cookies [tutorial]

When I was in elementary school, there was this game we would play in PE called Fruit Basket Upset. It’s a take on musical chairs, but instead of the teacher in charge, a classmate was in charge. There were small groups instead of one large one, and each small groups was a different fruit. The student in charge would call out a certain fruit, and that circle group had to get up and find a new chair, all while the person in the center tried to get a seat. My favorite part in the game was instead of calling out a fruit was to call “Fruit Basket Upset!” This meant that everyone had to get up and find a new seat, which also meant I had a better chance of getting a chair.

Do children even play that game anymore? When I posed this question to my own kids, they gave me a funny look, so my guess is no. That’s too bad. Anyway, edible fruit baskets are so much better, and these fruit cookies have a modern twist. Sunglasses! Those were a little trickier for me to do, so I used my document camera to get the lenses evenly spaced and big enough.

If you’d like to make the strawberry cookie, a simple tutorial is below. Happy baking! xoxo

1. Bake a strawberry cookie and let cool.
2. Pipe and flood the strawberry with watermelon color.
3. While still wet, use black piping icing to make small seeds. Leave room in the middle for the face. Pipe and flood the stem with forest green icing. Let dry at least 20 minutes either next to a fan or in a dehydrator.
4. Using black piping icing, make eyes and a mouth. To make the cheeks, use pink piping icing. Squeeze a small dollop on either side. Use a small toothpick or scribe to press down on the center of the cheek slightly, so that the top is smooth. Let fully dry overnight before eating or packaging.