Teacher gifts: homemade, kid-decorated and delicious!

Let me give you an idea for teachers' gifts this year. I worked in a school for a few years and I can tell you....teachers have closets and cabinets full of candles and coffee mugs. I know, I gave a lot of them.

When my son was in the first grade, we he made these cookies for his teacher. I helped. :)

I made just a simple round cookie. Outlined it and then flooded it with white (royal) icing. (I added a decorative edge piping.) The cookies dried overnight, then I let me son loose with the food coloring pens.

TIPS FOR MAKING THESE:

1. Let the cookies dry overnight. This is a MUST! The cookies will look dry in a few hours. Trust me, they're not.
2. Make extras. Food coloring pens take a light touch...this is a difficult concept for kids (or maybe just mine?). The markers will poke into the icing making a hole if pushed. Not a big deal, but if you like things "perfect," have extras. :)
3. I use AmeriColor Gourmet Writers. They come in a pack with about 10 colors and the tips are a little thinner than others. But, other brands of food coloring pens are widely available at craft and grocery stores.

We just bagged and tied these and put them in a basket. I think 2 or 3 cookies in a gift bag would be perfect for a music or PE teacher, also.

These were a HUGE hit with his teacher. She was showing them to all of the other teachers in the area. My son was pretty proud of his handiwork, too.

Here are a few more "thank-you" cookie ideas:

• Scalloped thank-you cookies
• Daisies
• Tulips