In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.

Gradually add in the flour mixture, beating until combined.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough to ¼ - ½ inch thickness and cut into shapes using the cookie cutter. If you’re using a paper template and knife, place the paper template on the dough and cut around it using the sharp knife. Transfer cut out cookies to the baking sheets and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, beat sugar and meringue powder until combined.

Add ¼ cup of water and beat on medium high speed until glossy. The icing should create loose ribbons when drizzled with a spoon. If needed, add additional water, a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Aim to have the icing ribbons disappear back into the bowl within 10 seconds of being picked up with the spoon.

Place a scoop of icing into a separate bowl. Add black food coloring, stirring until fully incorporated. Transfer to a piping bag.

Add a couple drops of green and yellow food coloring to the remaining icing, stirring until fully combined. Transfer to a piping bag.

When you’re ready to decorate, cut the tip off of the piping bags.

Using the green icing bag, pipe an outline around the cookie, leaving a bit of space between the edge of the cookie and the outline.

Fill the cookie in by piping around the inside of the outline. The icing will spread out as you pipe, but use cookie decorating tools, such as a pick to help fill in any corners. Repeat until all cookies are iced.

Once the icing has partially set, use the black icing to pipe two eyes and a crooked smile on each cookie. You can use the cookie pick to pull the black icing into the green icing to make stitch-like marks.

Let the icing set completely before storing the cookies.