Peppermint Penguins

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, milk, peppermint extract, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour.

Remove 3/4 cup dough and set aside. Remove 1/3 cup dough and tint with orange food coloring. Tint the remaining dough with black food coloring.

To make each penguin, shape black dough into one 1 1/4-inch ball and two 1/4-inch balls. Shape the plain dough into one 3/4-inch ball. Shape the orange dough into two 1/4-inch balls and one 1/8-inch ball. On the prepared cookie sheet, for the body, flatten the black 1 1/4-inch ball into a 1/4-inch-thick oval. For the white tummy, flatten the plain 3/4-inch ball into a 1/4-inch-thick oval. Place the plain oval on top of the black oval so that the bottoms of the ovals align. Using a knife, cut the bottom of the ovals to make a straight edge; discard cut edge. For wings, flatten the two black 1/4-inch balls to make teardrop shapes. Position the drops, round sides up, on each side at the top of white oval. For the feet, shape the two 1/4-inch orange balls into squares. Use the handle of a spoon to make small indentations in one end of each square for webbed feet. Attach squares to the bottom of the ovals. For the beak, shape the 1/8-inch orange ball into a triangle and position for a beak. Shape penguins on cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches between each penguin.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until edges are set. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Carefully transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Make eyes with dots of white decorating icing and a dot of black food coloring in the middle. Let stand until set.