These pill capsule cookies are my newest favorites. Between their perfect simple iconic shape and the endless options of color combinations, this fun cookie makes me smile every time. Using the round white sprinkles to duplicate the “medicine” inside the capsule just puts them over the edge, cuteness-wise. And then there are all the pun possibilities! One of my faves is …“Take two with a glass of milk at bedtime and call me in the morning!”
Materials needed: Pill shaped cookie cutter, sugar cookie dough (I use this recipe) prepared, chilled and rolled out, royal icing in various colors (see my favorites here), pasteurized egg whites, round sprinkles in various colors, plastic or parchment paper piping bags (I use parchment paper), pastry tips #1.5, medium paintbrushes, several small bowls.
Step 1: Make the cookies:
Use the pill shaped cookie cutter to cut out shapes from the rolled out dough. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 350°F until the edges are slightly brown about 8 -10 minutes. Let cool completely.
Step 2: Prepare the icing, sprinkles and “glue” for the sprinkles:
Prepare small bowls of icing in the colors you wish to use. Gradually add small amounts of egg whites to each color, thinning out the icing to the approximate consistency of thick maple syrup. Cover bowls with plastic wrap until you are ready to use them, so that the icing does not form a crust. Prepare small bowls of white and black, which you will use for piping: add a few drops of egg whites to each color, thinning it until it reaches a consistency similar to that of toothpaste and put into individual piping bags fitted with pastry tips. Fill a few small bowls with mixtures of colored sprinkles (I used combinations of pink/yellow, blue/white, pink/white and purple/yellow/white). In another small bowl, mix together a tablespoon of royal icing and egg whites, drop by drop, until it becomes an almost translucent “glue.” This will be used to adhere the sprinkles.
Step 3: Decorate the cookies:
Using the prepared black icing-filled piping bag, outline the pills and pipe a line dividing them in half. Let the lines sit for about 5 minutes to dry. I decorated the capsules three different ways: multicolored painted pills, pills half painted, half “filled” with sprinkles, and pills with both halves “filled” with sprinkles. For the completely painted pills with no sprinkles, simply paint in one half of the cookie with whatever color you choose, being careful to paint up to the black border without covering it. To create highlights: while the icing is still wet, gently pipe a small line or dot of white over the painted color. Repeat on the other side of the capsule. Set aside to dry.
To “fill” half of the capsules with sprinkles, use a small paintbrush to paint one half of a capsule with a light layer of the “glue,” making sure that you paint up to the black edge, but not over it. While the “glue” is still wet, carefully pour the sprinkles over that side of the cookie. If some sprinkles stick to the black outline, gently use your fingertip to remove them. After half the capsule has had sprinkles added, let dry at least 5 minutes and decorate the other half with colored icing or another mixture of sprinkles. Set aside to dry.
