Cream the soft butter with the sugar until the combination is smooth not grainy to the touch in a mixing bowl.

Add all 4 eggs at one time and continue to mix. Add the vanilla and continue mixing.

Sift the four, baking powder, and salt together.

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture.

Continue mixing to make sure all ingredients are thoroughly blended.

Make the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling wrap completely covering the entire dough ball.

Put in the refrigerator for about 6 hours or overnight. Check to see if the dough is firm.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pull the cookie dough out of the refrigerator and sit it out to soften up a bit.

Put flour out on the wood cutting board, rub flour on the rolling pin, and work some flour into the batter.

Using a metal spatula move the cut cookie to the parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 325 degrees for 8 minutes. Check to see if the cookie are thoroughly baked.

Take the cookies off of the cookie sheet and put on a wire rack to cool completely.

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl mixing on medium speed for 4 minutes. (except your food colouring)

If icing is not stiff enough add 1/4 C powder sugar.

Leave icing in large bowl. Take out 4 bowls, put 1/4 C of icing in three bowl and the rest of the icing in the fourth bowl.

Bowl #1 remains white, bowl #2 , add several drops of brown gel food colouring stirring well until all of the colour is blended. Bowl #3, add several drops of green gel food colouring stirring well until all of the colour is blended.

As for the largest amount of icing add several drops of red gel food colouring in the bowl of icing and stir well to mix the colour. (Red is a difficult colour to get so you may have to continue to add the food colouring to get the bright deep red colour. That is why we use a gel food colour as it doesn’t water down the icing.)

Spoon each of the icing into individual frosting bags with a #5 tips and twist the open end of the bag to push the icing to the tip.

First step for each of the completely red apple cookies outline it in red except for the stem and leaf.

Immediately, before the red icing dries, add a small drop of white icing and use a toothpick to drag the white icing up the side of the apple. (Following the example.)

Outline the stem with brown icing on all of the same apple cookies, fill them in with the thinner icing.

Outline the green leaf with the green icing on all of the same apple cookies, fill them in with the thinner icing.

Set these aside and allow to completely dry about 4 hours.

Outline the apple with the red icing leaving the stem and leaf untouched. Allow 30 seconds for the red outline to dry.

Outline the apple flesh with white icing. Thin out the icing as per the instructions above. Using a knife spread the icing around the flesh of the red apple. Immediately, before the white icing dries, add two small drops of brown icing for the apple seeds. Drag a little of the brown icing down to make the dot look like an apple seed.

Complete the stem and leaf as per the instructions for the whole red apple.

Allow to dry for 4 hours.

Follow the instructions on the first apple including the stem, leaf, and white spots on the apple.

Add one small white round about the size of a dime, immediately drawing a thin brown line in the circle about a third of the way around the circle. Hand outline a green worm and fill it in. Allow to dry for 30 seconds and all the two eyes and a smile or mouth.

Allow 4 hours for cookie to completely dry.