September 3, 2021
Carmen Piñata Cookies
Do you need a treat that’s really going to surprise your guests? We’ve got just the thing! Join Pankobunny as she walks us through the steps to make these adorably festive Carmen Piñata Cookies that are bursting with sprinkles. This one-of-a-kind dessert is so fun to make! Recipe below!
Ingredients
Cookie dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
red food coloring
Royal icing:
3 large egg whites
4 cups icing sugar
red, pink, and black food coloring
½ cup sprinkles
Gold luster dust
Directions
Bake the cookies:
1. Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until it becomes light and fluffy. Add the milk, egg, vanilla extract, and red food coloring and mix well. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
2. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to ¼ inch thick. Cut into 4” round circles and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You will need 3 cookie rounds per cookie. Cut the center out of 1/3 of the cookies.
3. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, then bake at 350F for 10 minutes. Cool completely.
Make the royal icing:
1. Pour the egg whites into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until frothy. Add ¼ cup of icing sugar and mix until combined.
2. Gradually add the remaining icing sugar, then beat on high speed for 5 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. Add a couple drops of water, until the icing is smooth and spreadable, yet firm enough to still hold its shape.
3. Reserve ¼ cup of white icing. Divide the remaining icing into 3 bowls and dye it pink, red, and black with food coloring. Place them into piping bags fitted with small, round piping tips. Place the white icing into a piping bag fitted with a medium-sized round piping tip.
Assembly:
1. Flip a whole cookie upside down and place a cookie ring on top. Glue them together with some royal icing.
2. Spoon sprinkles into the center of the cookie ring. Pipe some more royal icing on top of the ring and top with another whole cookie.
3. Pipe an outline of Carmen onto the surface of the cookie with royal icing. Fill in the outline with more royal icing. Allow the icing to harden at room temperature for 1 hour.
4. Create Carmen’s eyes with the black and white icing and nose with the remaining pink icing. Allow the icing to harden for one more hour.
5. Dip a dry food-safe paintbrush into the gold luster dust and brush it onto the right side of the cookie. This will create Carmen’s gentle yellow glow. Enjoy!