Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Confession:  While I love the idea of Dr. Seuss, I am actually not a huge fan of his work.  I really enjoy certain books like "Green Eggs and Ham", but I have issues with his reliance upon made up words to rhyme.  Trust me that with a background in linguistics that I understand much of our modern language was and is developed through authors' inventions of new words; however, Dr. Seuss heavily uses the nonsensical.  It is not the invention such as Shakespeare's "up" and "stairs"= upstairs.  On the other hand, I am happy to celebrate anyone who can inspire young people and scholars to read and enjoy literacy.  So, kudos Dr. Seuss!

Phew, I'm glad to have that off my chest.  Being that today is Dr. Seuss Day, I felt the need to celebrate.  After all, NJ and I are always looking for any excuse we can find to bake, cook, and get messy together.  I saw a posting on Pinterest a long time ago for a Dr. Seuss inspired cookie that was bright, colorful, and wacky.  Since I did not have this pin or recipe exactly, I decided to create my own.

I did not feel like using copious amounts of food coloring to get the vibrant colors I so desired; so, I decided to try creating a Jello cookie.  Warning: these cookies are sweet, but the look is worth it!  I may experiment around with sugar levels to better fit my tastes.

Bonus:  The dough is shockingly similar to playdough making it a great recipe for kids to help with!

Dr. Seuss Jello Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbs lemon juice
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 (3oz) pkgs jello (any flavors)
Rainbow Jimmies or Sprinkles (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Beat the butter and shortening together until fluffy.  Add the sugar and beat until creamy.  Add the egg, vanilla, and lemon juice, and beat until combined.  Add the flour and baking powder mixing well.

Divide the dough into four sections.  Mix one package of jello into each section until the dough is fully colored.  (The colors will become more vibrant with baking).  Roll 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch snakes of each color dough.  Then take one roll of each color and gently roll together into one large tube.  Continue rolling the tube until it is about 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick depending on your preference.

For spiral cookies, take each tube of combined colors and roll into a spiral from the inside out.  
For "tye-dyed cookies": cut 1/4 inch slices of the cookie tube out and arrange on a baking sheet in your desired shape.

Optional:  Roll the edges or tops of the cookies in sprinkles.

Place cookies 2 inches apart on parchment paper on top of cookie sheets.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes until cookies are set but not brown.  Cool and enjoy!