OMG! My friend Joanne had a baby, and a few of us bloggers are celebrating. I brought unicorns to the party. Unicorn cookies, that is.
You might think that since she had a baby boy, I should go all blue, but I disagree, because I think that unicorns and magic transcend gender. And any boy who can embrace a sprinkled pink unicorn is a boy I'd like in my life.
Best of all, these cookies are easy to make. It's actually an adaptation of the DIY animal crackers from my second book, The Secret Lives of Baked Goods, but with a magical upgrade: pink icing and plenty of sprinkles.
BTW, I couldn't find a unicorn cutter and my existing one is in a different city right now, so I went and bought a pony-shaped one.
It was easy to affix horns by hand. So if you can't find a unicorn cutter, buy a pony cutter. Just don't let any un-horned ponies get cornered by unicorns.
OK, I know you're getting eager to make these babies, so let me help you.
Scroll to the bottom of the post for the recipe; meantime, directly below you'll find the links to other blogger creations inspired by Joanne, and check out the hashtag #fifteenspatulasbaby to follow the posts and story!
Appetizers
Italian Sub Sandwich Roll-ups from Michael of Inspired by Charm
Smoky Roasted Red Pepper Sun Dried Tomato Hummus from Jeanette of Jeanette’s Healthy Living
Creamy Sweet Potato Soup from Sadie of Dairy Good Life
Whipped Goat Cheese & Blueberry Balsamic Crostini from Meseidy of The Noshery
Rosemary Flatbread with Baked Goat Cheese from Heidi of FoodieCrush
Spring Herb Cream Cheese Appetizer Cups from Rachel of Rachel Cooks
Crostini with Almond Ricotta and spicy olive tapenade from Heather of HeatherChristo
Drinks
Fruit Freeze from Deborah of Taste and Tell
Mint Lemonade from Trish of Mom On Timeout
Ginger Lemonade from Kathy of Panini Happy
Desserts
Chocolate-Covered Rice Krispies Treats from Julie of The Little Kitchen
Orange Fluff from Jamie of My Baking Addiction
Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies from Susannah of Feast + West
Mini Ombre Heart Cookies from Bridget of Bake at 350
Mini Coconut Pound Cakes from Mary of Barefeet In The Kitchen
Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting from Jennifer of Savory Simple
Unicorn Shaped Cookies from Jessie of CakeSpy
Oreo Cheesecake Bites from Brenda of a farmgirl’s dabbles
Lemon Blueberry Bread from Glory of Glorious Treats
Blintz with Blackberry Sauce from Sommer of A Spicy Perspective
Pastel Rainbow Cake from Bree of Baked Bree
Individual Chocolate Souffles from Andie of Andie Mitchell
MAGICAL UNICORN COOKIES
Makes about 30 (Printable version here)
Ingredients
- 2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄8 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3⁄4 cup (1 1⁄2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to cool room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Icing
- 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 3-5 tablespoons cream
- pink (or red) food coloring
- LOTS AND LOTS OF SPRINKLES
Procedure
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, stirring until combined.
- Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, mixing after each addition just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Form the dough into 2 disks and wrap well with plastic; refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Chilling the dough will ensure that the shapes hold once cut out and that the dough will not spread too much during baking.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Allow the cookie dough to warm slightly at room temperature before rolling it. On a floured work surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough to about 1⁄4 inch thick. Use your unicorn or pony cutter to cut out as many cookies as you can; re-roll scraps to get more cookies from the dough.
- Let the cookies chill (on the baking sheets) in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking. This will ensure that they retain a crisp shape.
- Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, rotating at the 5 minute mark, or until firm, just lightly brown on the edges, and with a dull finish on top. Let cool on the pan for several minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Mix the confectioners' sugar with cream until it reaches a thick but spreadable consistency. Stir in the food coloring. Working with one cookie at a time, spread the icing on top, and then add the sprinkles right away (they'll stick best right after the cookies are iced).