It's 10 o'clock...do you know where your Elf on the Shelf is?

*I* know where he is!  At MY house!!!

I didn't hear about Elf on the Shelf until kiddo was about 10, but I've had the MOST fun watching all of YOUR elves and their antics on instagram, Pinterest and blogs!

{My nephews have an elf...my sister reminded me this week that the oldest one named him Pedro...and that just gives me the giggles.  Pedro is such an elf-y name.}

So, what do you know...I found a bunch of COOKIE elves all around my kitchen!

First, I found one in the chocolate chips...

{This is an elf after my own heart.}

Then, a bunch tried to mix things up in the KitchenAid...

Now, this one jumped into a bowl of food colors...

I'm a little concerned with this one.  He's trying to roll over his fellow elf and he sure seems to have an evil glint in his eye.

Then, I found them all...gathered around checking out pictures of cute cookie makers on instagram.

Want to make some Elf on the Shelf cookies of your very own?  Here's how:

You'll need a template.  I found a picture online, and followed these instructions for making a template.  I also traced the major outlines onto the template and referred back to is as I was decorating.

Supplies:

• cut-out cookies made with the template
• royal icing, tinted with AmeriColor Bright White, Chocolate Brown, Copper, and Super Red
• disposable icing bags
• couplers and #2 tips
• squeeze bottles
• toothpicks
• food coloring pens (black, pink, red and blue)

Use a #2 tip to outline the hat trim in white.

Use a #2 tip to outline the hair in brown.
{This is where I stared getting nervous...it really doesn't look like it's going to work, does it?}

Use a #2 tip to outline the face in copper.

Go back to the white and add a collar. (Reserve some of this white piping consistency icing for later.)

Use a #2 tip to outline the hat and shirt in red.

Thin the all of the icings with water, a bit at a time, until it is the consistency of thick syrup.  Cover with a damp dish towel and let sit several minutes.

Stir gently with a rubber spatula and transfer icings to squeeze bottles.

Fill in the sections of the elves with the thinned icings.  Use a toothpick to spread to edges and pop large air bubbles.

Let sit at least one hour.

With a #2 tip, pipe eyes on the faces in white. {Kiddo calls these "zombie elves."}

Use the same #2 tip to go over the white outline on the hat and collar for some definition.  (Totally optional, but I think it looks nice.)

Let your zombie elves dry uncovered overnight.

The next day, use food coloring pens to add the eye detail, eyelashes, smile and rosy cheeks.
(I used a picture of Elf on the Shelf as a guide.)

Now, really....do you know where your Elf on the Shelf is?!?