Halloween Sugar Cookies with School Friends

The kids have been off school the past 2 weeks and evidently going stir-crazy is part and parcel to school holidays.  As such, since Christy, Bethany, and I each have at least one child off from school, we have been getting together to have some play time or activities- especially for the 5-year-olds.  Christy hosted a leaf-pressing craft, as well as leaf impressions.  Bethany did a fingerprint corn on the cob craft at her place.  So, I did Halloween sugar cookies- a true labor of love, I tell you.  ;)  I really, really, really miss my Kitchen Aid mixer for baking.  Alas, I managed to make the sugar cookie dough a day in advance so it could harden in the fridge and be ready for rolling the next morning.  I also made my mother-in-law’s awesome buttercream frosting and did 4 colors.  We all contributed cookie cutters and even some sprinkles.  {Yes, there was a lot of chair cleaning and vacuuming, but not nearly as much as I anticipated.}

{I used this recipe, subbing margarine for butter and vanilla bean paste for extract, tossing in a bit of almond extract too.  Here is the buttercream frosting.}