Decorative Colored Sugars and Nonpareils

The former are coarse sugar crystals like sanding sugar but they come in a variety of different colors and mixed multicolored assortments. They are sometimes available in the supermarket, but if you have difficulty finding them, see Sources at the end of the book. Nonpareils are tiny spheres of opaque sugar that come in white or multicolored assortments. The same type of sugar used to make nonpareils is used to make little colored season-specific decorations such as green Christmas trees or orange pumpkins. All these decorations should be used sparingly on cookies to avoid an unappetizing and overburdened look.