Desserts for Dudes month continues with Cute as a Button cookies ...because dudes have to start somewhere! When our little dude was born, he decided to make an entrance. An unexpected entrance via emergency c-section, 10 weeks early. He weighed 2 pounds, 13 ounces. {Kiddo is now 11 years old and 5 feet tall....wearing the same size shoe as his mother...} Looking at birth announcements, I found one that said "cute as a button" and it was perfect because he was about the size of a button. I only wish I knew how to make cookies back then. :) The buttons are made from homemade fondant. Remember that? They were so fun to make; I could have made hundreds of them. Supplies for the buttons: fondant AmeriColor Sky Blue Soft Gel Paste Food Color bench scraper tips: Wilton 4B, and #1 or #2 plain tips cornstarch rolling pin toothpicks chopstick To make the buttons, color the fondant with gel paste food coloring, kneading until fully blended. Dust the surface and rolling pin with cornstarch to prevent sticking, a tip Buddy gave us, and roll the fondant thin, maybe 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch. Use a bench scraper to lift the fondant off the counter if necessary. Using the back of the Wilton 4B tip as a cutter, cut out the button shape. Mine kept getting stuck, so I used a chopstick to nudge them out. {PS...I'm not going to quit blogging to be a hand model anytime soon.} With the back of the #1 or #2 tip, add the inner circle button detail, being sure not to press all the way through. With the tip end of the #1 or #2 tip, make button holes. {Seriously, what are those holes called? A button hole is something you push your button through. There must be a name of the holes in the middle of a button. Anyone? Anyone?} Use a toothpick to poke all the way through the button. {Again...no hand modeling.} Let dry at room temperature. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature. For the cookies: Outline & flood the cookies with royal icing and let dry overnight. Pipe the dots around the border. With an AmeriColor Gourmet Writer Food Decorator Pen , add the wording. (AmeriColor pens are much better than the ones as the grocery store!) Attach the buttons with a bit of royal icing. Let dry several hours.