Star Wars Care Package

This care package celebrates International Star Wars Day.  Galaxy Brownies and Star Wars Sugar Cookies were boxed up and mailed to arrive in time for the May 4^th observance. May the 4th be with you!

I'm not making the holiday up!  Though I had never heard of International Star Wars Day before last year, there is a whole world of Star Wars fans that have been celebrating on May 4^th since the play on words  phrase was supposedly first coined in 1979.

I learned about the holiday in a Soldiers Angels Facebook group where Angels share their ideas and support each other. Last year, several Angels sent great care packages with the “May the 4^th” theme.

It was too late for me to use the idea right away, but I began collecting Star Wars items immediately. This year I was informed (bloggers need to be aware of important holidays like National Avocado Week, Cotton Candy Month, or International Star Wars Day) and ready with Star Wars Sugar Cookies and care package goodies!

Part 1 Care Package Contents: When decorating the inside of a military care package, how to attach the decorations requires some consideration. Especially in the heat of summer, glue tends to melt and the carefully applied wrapping falls off.

Think super strength adhesive. Duct tape to the rescue. The tape comes in a huge variety of patterns and colors. One 10 foot roll easily covers the flaps of a large flat rate box, with extra left over for additional decorating.

For this Star Wars box, I used Galaxy patterned tape (Duck Tape brand from Michaels). I also attached a few well know phrases and pictures from the Star Wars first movie.

Star Wars merchandise is everywhere! I found bubbles, puzzles, tissues, q-tips, ice pops, and candy at the Dollar Store.

Free printable wrappers are available online to turn packaged candy and snacks into Star Wars themed goodies (like Princess Leia Honey Buns, Boba Gum, and Wookie Cookies).

“May the 4^th be with you” and other Star Wars t-shirts are available online (I purchased 2 from Textual Tees for $5.99 each)

Part 2 Circle Sugar Cookies: Star Wars Sugar Cookies are a craft project more than a baking project. The character cookies are created with the same method I used for Palm Tree and Pineapple Sugar Cookies. Thin cut-outs of colorful dough are pressed onto vanilla or chocolate sugar cookies, just like playing with play-doh.

In cool weather, I use corn syrup icing to decorate and add detail to sugar cookies. In hot weather, the icing could melt, so instead the designs are baked right onto the cookies. The process is easy, but time consuming.

If you plan to make 2 dozen Star Wars Sugar Cookies in the 5 designs shown here, I suggest creating the cookies over several days. On the first day make the cookie dough and colored dough, roll and cut out the cookies, and roll out and chill the colored dough. On day 2, decorate the cookies and bake.

I used one batch of vanilla dough and one batch of chocolate dough to create 12 cookies in each flavor (24  Star Wars Cookies). Use half of each batch of dough for the base cookies. Roll out the dough to ¼” between two sheets of parchment or wax paper. Cut into 2 ½“ circles. Store the dough circles between sheets of wax paper and wrapped in plastic wrap until ready to decorate and bake.

Make the colored doughs. Use ¼ cup of chocolate dough with less than a drop of black food coloring for dark brown. Use 1 cup of chocolate dough with 3-4 drops of black food coloring for black. Use ½ cup of vanilla dough with 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring. Use ¼ cup of vanilla dough with 3 drops of royal blue food coloring for blue. Just a pinch of vanilla dough (about ½ teaspoon) with less than a drop of red food coloring for red.

Roll out the yellow dough to ¼” and cut out 4 more 2 ½” circles (as the base cookies for C3PO). Keep the remaining yellow to use for details. Roll out each piece of colored dough (including the left over yellow dough plus about 2 tablespoons of the left over vanilla dough) to about ⅛”, between two sheets of parchment or wax paper. Freeze the dough between the rolling paper on a flat surface, such as a cookie sheet, for about 15 minutes or until firm.

C3PO: Use a yellow base cookie. From the yellow detail dough, cut out two circles using the bottom of a #12 piping tip. Use the tip to cut out two white detail circles. From the black detail dough cut three thin strips and a small rectangle. Assemble the details on the base cookie. Place a small sheet of wax paper over the cookie and gently roll over the details to impress them into the base cookie dough.

R2D2: Use a vanilla base cookie. From the blue detail dough, cut out a 2 ½” circle. Cut the blue circle into segments; a semi-circle, a thicker strip, a thinner strip, and a small rectangle. Roll a very small piece of black dough into a ball, then flatten. Roll a tiny piece of red dough into a ball, then flatten. Assemble the details on the base cookie. Place a small sheet of wax paper over the cookie and gently roll over the details to impress them into the base cookie dough.

Chewbacca: Use a chocolate base cookie. From the black detail dough cut two small circles with the tip of a #12 piping tip, and half of a circle cut with the bottom of the piping tip. Also cut 4 long thin strips. Cut another half of a circle from the vanilla detail dough. To form a mouth cut the rounded edge of the white semi-circle to resemble two fangs. From the dark brown detail dough cut a rectangle that can be cut into 13 small pieces. Assemble the details on the base cookie. Place a small sheet of wax paper over the cookie and gently roll over the details to impress them into the base cookie dough.

Chewbacca’s Ammo Belt:  Use a chocolate base cookie. From the black detail dough, cut one long thin strip. From the white detail dough cut a long rectangle and divide it into 5 small rectangles. Cut one of the small rectangles into fourths. Assemble the details on the base cookie. Place a small sheet of wax paper over the cookie and gently roll over the details to impress them into the base cookie dough.

Storm Trooper: Use a vanilla base cookie. All of the details are cut from the black detail dough. Cut two larger circles with the bottom of a #12 piping tip. Divide one circle in half and shape the other into a rounded triangle. Cut two small circles using the tip of the piping tip. Additionally, cut one long thin strip,  one small square (cut in half to form two triangles), and a triangle (cut the bottom of the triangle out to form the arrow head shape). Assemble the details on the base cookie. Place a small sheet of wax paper over the cookie and gently roll over the details to impress them into the base cookie dough.

Part 3 New Recipe: Galaxy Brownies are the out of this world new recipe included in the Star Wars themed care package. Galaxy Brownies feature swirls of colorful blondie on top of star speckled, fudgy brownie. Made with desert safe ingredients, these cosmic treats will travel well even in summer temperatures.

Wishing everyone a fun Star Wars Day!  May the 4^th be with you!

You can read more about desert safe ingredients and find an index of all of the desert safe recipes on The Monday Box by clicking here.

Star Wars Sugar Cookies

Colored dough cutouts turn these crunchy sugar cookies into Star Wars characters.

5 from 1 vote

Print Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Chill time: 1 hour

Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes

Servings: 28

Calories: 256kcal

Author: Wendy Sondov

Ingredients

Vanilla Sugar Cookie Dough

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ⅔ cup vegetable shortening Crisco
• 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate Sugar Cookie Dough

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup cocoa
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ⅔ cup vegetable shortening Crisco
• 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Prepare the vanilla dough and the chocolate dough separately, following these directions.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa (for the chocolate dough only), salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the shortening and sugar.
• Add in eggs, milk, and vanilla. Beat to combine, until smooth.
• Gradually add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated.
• Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour, until no longer sticky.
• Use half of each batch of dough for the base cookies. Roll out the dough to ¼” between two sheets of parchment or wax paper. Cut into 2 ½“ circles. Store the dough circles between sheets of wax paper and wrapped in plastic wrap until ready to decorate and bake.
• Make the colored doughs. Use ¼ cup of chocolate dough with less than a drop of black food coloring for dark brown. Use 1 cup of chocolate dough with 3-4 drops of black food coloring for black. Use ½ cup of vanilla dough with 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring. Use ¼ cup of vanilla dough with 3 drops of royal blue food coloring for blue. Just a pinch of vanilla dough (about ½ teaspoon) with less than a drop of red food coloring for red.
• Roll out the yellow dough to ¼” and cut out 4 more 2 ½” circles (as the base cookies for C3PO). Keep the remaining yellow to use for details.
• Roll out each piece of colored dough (including the left over yellow dough plus about 2 tablespoons of the left over vanilla dough) to about ⅛”, between two sheets of parchment or wax paper. Freeze the dough between the rolling paper on a flat surface, such as a cookie sheet, for about 15 minutes or until firm.
• Make on character design at a time. Cut out the required detail pieces from the colored dough. Assemble the details on the base cookie. Place a small sheet of wax paper over the cookie and gently roll over the details to impress them into the base cookie dough.
• Place the cookies 1”-2” apart on the prepared cookie sheet.
• Bake for 10 minutes. (The cookies will not be browned.)
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 10 days.

Notes

Packing tips

Double wrap pairs of cookies, with bottoms together, in plastic wrap. Stack bundles in airtight containers or freezer weight ziplock bags.

Nutrition

Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 154mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 34IU | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg

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