Mix flour into the sugar cookie dough.

Divide the dough into as many sections as you want colors and tint each one with food coloring. (I used Wilton Icing Gel for the intense colors you can get with a smaller amount of food coloring.)

Form one tablespoon of dough into a ball and roll it in sugar. (I used Wilton White Sparkling Sugar also know as sanding sugar, but granulated sugar would work too.)

Use clean scissors to make a cut through the top half of the cookie dough ball. Then, cut each half in half and then cut each quarter in half so that you end up with eight “petals”.

Gently spread the petals apart.

Flip each piece of cut dough over and place it on the bottom side of a silicone mini muffin pan. Put one on every other mini muffin cup so that they don't stick together as they bake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 9-13 minutes. (If you bake them for a shorter period of time, the cookies will be softer, but more likely to fall apart. If you bake them for a longer period of time, the cookies will be harder, but more sturdy.)

Allow the cookies to cool until they are set enough to handle (or let them cool completely) and remove them from the pan.

Use a Wilton 1M star tip to make swirls of colored buttercream frosting and a Wilton #12 round tip to make a dot of icing in the center.

Beat butter, shortening and vanilla until creamy.

Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating after each cup.

Beat in ½ cup heavy cream until light and fluffy. If necessary, add additional heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time until it is the consistency you want.