Holiday Cookie Pops

Total Time: 57 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 12 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 20
• 1 (20 ounce) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• flour, to dust (optional)
• 24 (4 inch) lollipop sticks
• 6 ounces chocolate almond bark or 6 ounces almond bark or 6 ounces butterscotch chips
• 1 tablespoon shortening (optional)
• royal icing
• assorted small decorative candies

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350°f.
• 2 grease cookie sheets; set aside.
• 3 remove cookie dough from packaging as directed on package.
• 4 sprinkle dough with flour to minimize sticking, if needed.
• 5 divide dough in half; cover and refrigerate one half while you're working with the other.
• 6 roll dough out to 1/3" thick.
• 7 cut out cookies using 3 1/4" to 3 1/2" cookie cutters.
• 8 place a lollipop stick on each cookie so that one tip of the stick is imbedded in the cookie.
• 9 using a spatula, carefully turn cookies over so that the sticks are in the back; place on cookie sheets.
• 10 repeat with other half of the dough.
• 11 bake until edges are lightly browned (7-11 minutes).
• 12 cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes.
• 13 let cool completely.
• 14 melt almond bark in microwave according to package directions.
• 15 add 1 or more tablespoons shortening and microwave for 15 seconds if coating is too thick.
• 16 hold cookies over bowl and spoon coating over each.
• 17 scrape excess coating off of the edges of the cookies.
• 18 decorate cookies with icing and candies.
• 19 let cookie pops dry on wire racks set over waxed paper.