Mistletoe Ball Cookie

Ah, mistletoe. One of the more intriguing plants of the holiday season. The shiny green leaves, the little pearl-white berries. It's so pretty! Sought out by couples to share a smooch underneath, while others avoided it like the plague. Some take it's parasitic nature to heart, and prey merciless upon me, even if I'm five feet away. . . ahem, Cookie Widower (my hubby).  :) 

I was inspired by Sugarbelle's hydrangeas and wanted to use her technique to create a cookie mistletoe.  It's sweet and simple!    ​

Start with a scalloped circle cookie dough shape and use a really small, round cutter to make a hole.  A floured icing tip could work for this too. I made a large hole because I knew I would thread a wide ribbon through it later. If you're planning on using a thinner ribbon for the bow and hanger, use a drinking straw or skewer to create a smaller hole in the cookie dough.
​
​After the cookie is baked and cooled, flood the cookie with a light green color. Let this base dry well.     

Time to make the background! I made a simple stencil using a plastic food container lid. I drew the shape with a marker and cut with a craft knife.    

I used Amerimist Avocado to airbrush the stencil in a random pattern.  
​Other green shades would work too!

Use a 20-second green royal icing to randomly pipe puffy green leaves. Add a few royal icing white berries and allow to dry.     

After your mistletoe ball is thoroughly dried, it's time to add the ribbon bow and hanger. I used 7/8" wide ribbon, because I wanted a BIG bow. Thread a long piece of ribbon through the hole in the decorated cookie (I used about 20" of ribbon). Lay the ribbon flat and straight.      

Cut a second piece of ribbon (I used about 12"). Center it under the first ribbon. Tie it in a bow around the stretched out ribbons. Slide the knotted bow down to the top of the cookie.  

Finally, tie a knot at the end of the stretched-out ribbons.

I just love this little mistletoe ball! They would be great to hang on a tree!  

Or maybe decorate BOTH sides of the cookie and hang in a doorway, just in time to steal a kiss from a loved one!

Better yet, pair them with the cute Winter Foxes that I shared in a guest post on Sugarbelle's blog!  While you're there, check out the mistletoe and other stunning rustic-Christmas designs she made with her Brown Sugar Roll-Out Cookies!