Hedgehog Cookies

Hedgehog Cookies

Hedgehog Cookies

Pretty Hedgehog Cookies

My mother-in-law Laurlee loves hedgehogs so I baked Hedgehog Cookies while on vacation in California for her. These hedgehogs cookies were easy and fun to make. I did not bring my bottles or hardly any of my cookie supplies with me so I went to Michael's and purchased Sweet Sugarbelle's Icing Bottles. I brought from home two hedgehog cookie cutters and my cookie stick. I used Sweet Sugarbelle's Rainbow Funfetti Cut-out Cookie recipe (see cookie and icing links below), and omitted the sprinkles. This is the first time I made Chocolate Royal Icing, and it worked beautifully and tastes so good! I used Unsweetened Cocoa Powder but it you want a deep drown color use Dark Cocoa Powder. Recipe and instructions below.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen large cookies or 3 dozen small cookies (depends on cutter size)

Vanilla Sugar Cookie Ingredients
1 cup, 2 sticks Unsalted Butter, softened and each stick cut into cubes

1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar

1 Large Egg

2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

2 3/4 cups King Arthur All Purpose Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Coarse Salt

Hedgehog Cookies

Hedgehog Cookies

Directions
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar in a hand held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed; 1-2 minutes. Do not overmix.

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula and mix for a 5 seconds.

Add eggs, and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. Do not overmix.

Scrape sides of bowl and mix for 5 seconds.

With mixer on low speed, slowly add flour mixture and incorporate.

The dough is ready when it begins to clump around paddle attachment.

Roll dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in fridge for 1-2 hours or overnight.

If you are pressed for time place in the freezer for 30-45 minutes.

Take half of the dough leaving unused dough covered with plastic wrap in fridge until ready to use.

Heat oven to 400°F.

Use two sheets of parchment paper with dough in between and roll with rolling pin until desired thickness is reached.

Cut hedgehog shapes and place onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

Place cookie sheets in freezer for 15 minutes. The cookies hold their shape when you do this.

Bake 7-9 minutes or until the edges have slightly browned. My cookies baked in 9 minutes.

Wait 5 minutes before transferring cookies on cooling racks to complete cooling.

Decorate once cookies cool completely.

Cut hedgie with turquoise flower

Hedgehog Cookies - pretty and yummy!

Hedgehog Cookies

Chocolate Royal Icing Ingredients
8 cups Confectioners'/Powdered Sugar

1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1/2 cup Wilton Meringue Powder

1 tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract

3/4 cup + 2-4 tablespoons Warm Water

Chocolate Jimmies and Wilton Icing Decorations

Chocolate Jimmies and Flowers for the hedgehog cookies

Directions
In the bowl of mixer with paddle attachment and on low speed, mix together powdered sugar, cocoa powder and meringue powder.

On low speed, mix in half of the water slowly adding the rest of the water until thick like molasses.

Turn mixer to high speed, and mix for 2 minutes until the icing is light and fluffy like a meringue. Do not overmix.

If it is too thick add 1 tablespoon of warm mixer and turn mixer to high for 5 seconds more.

I used one consistency good for both the border and to flood the cookies.

Transfer to icing bottles. Keep tips covered with paper towel when not in use or it will harden.

Sweet Sugarbelle Icing Bottles

Sweet Sugarbelle Icing Bottles

Decorating Ingredients
Chocolate Jimmies

Wilton Flower Icing Decorations

Cookie Stick or Toothpick

Decorating Directions
Do a border around each cookie leaving room for the feet and face, and then flood cookie one by one.

Use a cookie stick or toothpick to pop any air bubbles.

Take the cookie and add chocolate jimmies while the icing is wet all over the cookie.

Gently shake off excess.

Then dab a drop of icing over the head of the hedgehog and gently but firmly press a flower on top.

The 2 hedgehog cookie cutters I used

Hedgies on cookie sheet chilled and ready to bake

With the icing make a nose and eye, place on wire rack to set, and move onto the next cookie and repeat the steps above until you are done.

Let the cookies set on wire racks for 4-5 hours or overnight.

Place in cookie jar or tin for up to 1 week.

For the Rainbow Funfetti Cut-out Cookies visit, Sweet Sugarbelle:
http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/2015/07/rainbow-funfetti-cutout-cookie-recipe/

For the Chocolate Royal Icing visit, Sweet Sugarbelle:
http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/2012/02/chocolate-royal-icing/

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys