Shortbread Holiday Sheep Cookies

Prepare the shortbread dough. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla paste or extract and mix until combined.

Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour and salt, mixing on low speed until a soft dough forms.

Make the black shortbread dough. Remove just shy of ¼ of the vanilla dough and transfer it to a separate bowl. Knead in the black cocoa powder and a few drops of black gel food coloring until the dough is a deep black color. If the dough becomes too dry, add a 1/2 teaspoon of milk until the dough is soft and pliable again.

Roll out both doughs into large flat discs and wrap them separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for approximately 30 minutes, or until firm enough to shape.

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a 1/4 teaspoon make small cookie dough balls by rolling approximately 18-20 white dough balls and 4 black dough balls per sheep. Arrange the white cookie dough balls close together in an oval shape. Layer a few additional vanilla shortbread balls on top of each sheep to create a fluffy, three-dimensional appearance. You can slice some balls in half so it's not too puffy. Don't worry about pressing all the dough together as the dough balls will adhere in the oven.

To create the heads and feet, use two black cookie dough balls for the feet and gently press them with your fingers so they are more oval shape. Place them under the bottom of the sheep body. Shape the head by joining two black dough balls together and flattening them out a bit. You can use your fingers to pinch the nose a bit. Place the head to the side of each sheep and if you wish you can shape a tiny ear with a sliver of black cookie dough as seen in the photo.

Refrigerate the assembled sheep for another 15–20 minutes to help maintain their shape.

Bake for 14-16 minutes at 400 degrees F, or until the shortbread is set and the bottoms are just beginning to turn lightly golden. Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating.

Make the Christmas bows. Melt the red candy melts or white chocolate and transfer to a piping bag. Pipe small bows directly onto parchment paper and allow to set on the counter or in the fridge. Attach to the sheep with another dab of chocolate.

Attach one candy eye to each sheep using a tiny dab of melted white chocolate.

Lightly dust the sheep's vanilla shortbread bodies with powdered sugar to create a snowy wool coat, keeping the black faces and festive bows visible.