These classic cookies have been on my to do list for a while now. Now that we’re in quarantine, what better & more valid of a time to eat my feelings!!! Am I right?! I really wanted to make something that would bring a little cheer to the world! It definitely brightened my spirits AND curbed my PMS cravings. HAPPY APRIL FOOLS to me! Thanks period.
These bright & fun sized treats have brought me so much joy during this CRAZY ASS TIME. Ok, less pity party, back to mini cookie cuteness! There are a lot of homemade circus animal cookie renditions out there, but what makes mine different you ask?!
1. Gluten-free goodness.
2. Almost all of the cookie recipes out there frost JUST the tops in royal icing (w t f guys).
That isn’t what a circus animal cookie is!! No. A circus animal cookie is COATED in chocolatey goodness! So you BET your quarantined ass that’s how we’re doing ours in this home <3
I’m not going to sugar coat it, I tried various recipes 3x before “nailing” it. They’d be delicious, but they’d SPREAD… & you don't want that. Your cute little elephants will quickly morph into jabba the hutt. That's not really what we’re going for here. I realized it’s ALL in the method of this recipe! It goes against ALL of my baking instincts. Know how = room temperature butter. Creaming the sugar & butter until fluffy.
...but things that normally equate to a delicious pastry were making my cookies spread! Follow this recipe & you will have successful cutout cookies that don’t spread.
Try.
Comment.
Put on stretchy pants.
Eat thousands like I did.
Let it happen girl <3
Serves: at leeeeast 60 mini animal cookies
Prep Time: does it matter when something is SO CUTE?!
SHIT YOU’LL NEED:
| GF SUGAR COOKIES | Recipe courtesy of: https://www.evolvingtable.com/cut-out-sugar-cookies-dont-spread/
½ cup butter COLD, cut into cubes
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups white rice flour
¾ cup tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
½ tsp salt
| CHOCOLATE COATING |
12 oz bag white chocolate chips
4 tsp. vegetable oil
Pink gel food color (stay away from water based dyes as it seizes chocolate!)
HOW TO DO THE SHIT:
| GF SUGAR COOKIES |
1. Whisk flours, xanthan gum & salt together. Set aside.
2. Combine sugar & COLD butter in electric mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed for 1-2 minutes until JUST combined (will look like big, coarse, sugary crumbs).
3. Add egg yolks & vanilla extract, mixing for 1-2 more minutes.
4. With mixer on low, add flour blend & salt. Mix until dough starts to form a ball.
5. Make a large ball/disc & wrap cookie dough in plastic wrap. Chill dough for 1 hour (you NEED the dough to rest & let the flour absorb the butter so your cookies don’t spread).
6. After chilling, roll dough between two sheets of plastic wrap (scroll for photos) to ¼ “ thick. This method makes rolling & cleanup a BREEZE. Not to mention your cookies pull straight off nice & clean <3
7. Place cookies on PARCHMENT lined baking sheet. Pleeease DO NOT skip the parchment. A greased cookie sheet WILL make your cookies spread (which we don’t want), & an ungreased cookie sheet is a crispy stuck mess. Fair warning lovies!
8. Put your cookie tray directly in the freezer while your oven preheats!
9. Preheat oven to 375F.
10. Bake your cookies for 7-9 minutes, or until your cookies are golden on the edges.
11. Cool cookies completely before dipping in chocolatey goodness.
| CHOCOLATE COATING |
1. In a large glass bowl, melt chocolate chips in microwave in 30 second increments. Stirring between.
2. Once fully melted, add vegetable oil & split chocolate evenly between two bowls.
3. To one bowl, add a drop of pink dye until you get your desired pink color! You will have two bowls: 1 white choc & 1 pink choc!
4. Using a regular fork OR 2 prong chocolate fork, dip each cookie into the chocolate coating (alternating between white/pink). Wait a few minutes before applying sprinkles so they don’t sink in your chocolate. ***NOTE: You may have to reheat your chocolate a couple times so it stays warm & runny!
5. Sprinkle cookies & love all over these cuuuuuuties! <3
Sugar cookie ingredients!
The mini animal cookie cutters! Can you even stand IIITTTT *heart eyes*
Sugar dough!
Rolling between two sheets of plastic wrap! Saves your dough. Saves flour. Saves time. Saves you!
See ^^ Peels like a dream.
Not a great photo, but it's the dipping procedure setup!
