Googly Eye Shaker Cookies

Directions

1. Prepare your favorite sugar cookie dough. Roll it out to 4mm thickness and cut out solid circles for the bottom cookies. Bake until done, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
2. Trace a 1.6-inch cookie cutter onto paper, then center a 2.6-inch cutter around it and trace. Cut out the paper circles to use as a guide.
3. Using the paper guide, cut out one dozen 4mm-thick circles (top cookies) and one dozen 6mm-thick circles (middle cookies), each with a hole in the center. Bake according to your recipe and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
4. Tint a golf-ball-sized piece of dough black with gel food coloring. Roll to 2mm thickness and cut out twelve 1-inch circles. Bake until done, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a sealed container until ready to use.
5. Divide royal icing into portions and tint them neon blue, neon green, golden yellow, and white. Place each color in a separate piping bag.
6. Pipe a layer of yellow, green, or blue icing onto the center of each bottom cookie. Gently press a middle cookie on top. Let dry for several hours or overnight.
7. Melt isomalt in a saucepan on the stove or in a microwave-safe glass measuring cup until it reaches 338°F. Let it rest until it cools to 300°F and no bubbles remain.
8. Place the cookies on smooth aluminum foil. Carefully pour the melted isomalt into the center holes. Allow to set for 5–10 minutes.
9. Pipe a small dot of white royal icing onto each black pupil cookie. Let it set for a few minutes, then place one pupil in each eye opening.
10. Pipe a line of white royal icing on the back of each top cookie and place it on the middle cookie. Ice the top cookie portion with white royal icing. Let harden for several hours or overnight before stacking.