Pinata Sugar Cookies

May 3, 2012 · by · 10 Comments

Here’s another fun, Cinco de Mayo themed post for your Thursday reading pleasure. The Hubs emailed me this recipe and I thought it was too funny not to try. Honestly, I wish I could spend every day working on cute projects like this one. 

As per usual, my cookie decorating/neatness skills were lacking, but I think these still turned out pretty good. If I had time to re-make them, I’m sure they would turn out a lot better as I quickly learned to be super careful with the legs, and that the baked cookies would become too firm to cut/maneuver in about a minute and a half. There was definitely some cookie cracking that occurred. Thankfully the “glue” was pretty darn useful, and I was able to reattach MOST of the broken pieces. In fact, I might even choose a different shape other than “burro” (or horse in my case) for next time. One last note; Reese’s pieces were too big for the center. I could only put 4-5 in each one. I could not find mini m n m’s anywhere, but next year I’ll start my search early.

Cinco de Mayo Pinata Sugar Cookies recipe from She Knows

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 5 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • Mini M&M candies
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar (frosting)
  • 2 teaspoons milk (frosting)
Cream sugars with butter. Beat in eggs. Add oil. Combine dry ingredients together, and then gradually add them to the mixture. Mix in vanilla and almond extract. 
Split dough into five, even-sized balls. Add food coloring to each of the dough balls until desired color is achieved. Gel food coloring gives you more intense colors than liquid. Use a container the same approximate width of your donkey/burro piñata cookie cutter, and line it with plastic food wrap. Split all of your colored dough balls in half (except the black) and begin layering the dough in the container, starting with the black dough on the bottom. Alternate the colors so that you end up with two layers of each color by the time you’re done. Cover the layered dough and freeze for four hours or overnight. 
Remove the dough from the container and unwrap from the plastic. Cut slices, approximately 1/4-inch wide. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake them at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes. Immediately after you take them out of the oven, use your burro piñata cookie cutter to cut the cookie shapes. Working in sets of three, be sure to cut two burro piñata cookies in one direction and one burro piñata cookie in the opposite direction. (Just flip your cookie cutter over.) That way, when you go to assemble them, the finished cookie will look “pretty” on both sides — because the baked, bottom sides will be hidden. For the middle cookies in each set, cut off the ears and legs, and cut out the center where the MnM’s  will go. I used a paring knife to cut out  a narrow rectangle. Try to work quickly, because as the cookies cool, they are more likely to crumble or break. Let them cool on the baking sheet before you move them and remove the excess, outer cookie.

To assemble, take the first piñata cookie and lay it upside down so that the baked bottom is facing up. Outline the center of the piñata body with a “frosting glue” mixture of milk and powdered sugar. (I used 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and two teaspoons of milk. If you put it inside a Ziploc bag and cut off a tiny tip of the bag’s corner, you can pipe it onto the cookie easily.)

Put the middle cookie on top of the frosting glue and add the M&Ms to the open center. Put another outline of frosting glue on the middle cookie and place the opposite-cut piñata cookie on top (so that the pretty side is facing out). Let these sit and harden for at least 30 minutes before you stand them upright.

 

Filed Under: Desserts/Baked Goods, Recipes · Tagged: , , , ,

Comments

  1. Sandra says:
    May 3, 2012 at 12:23 pm

    I’m soooooo proud of you! This is my piñata cookie recipe from SheKnows.com and you made it!!! Trust me, I know how difficult this little cookie can be. But you did a great job, really. Yea! I love bakers that take a chance and are willing to try, try again!

    Good job…. bake on!

    Reply
    • betsy says:
      May 4, 2012 at 12:14 am

      Sandra you are a genius! These were too cute to resist. I thought “if I can find a burro cookie cutter then I’ll do it” well, i found a horse so close enough. These were so much fun thank you so much for the inspiration! (yours looked a LOT neater than mine!)

      Reply
      • Sandra says:
        May 4, 2012 at 10:05 am

        Betsy – I might have a slight advantage over most bakers – I’m an art director. So I’ve learned how to make things look “really pretty.” That, and I’m completely obsessive/compulsive when it comes to my baking. I think Martha Stewart and I would be great friends. ;)

        Reply
        • betsy says:
          May 4, 2012 at 10:25 am

          I’m a food stylist, but baking and cake decorating is definitely my weak spot. Practice makes perfect! Have a great weekend

          Reply
  2. Kelley @ The Culinary Enthusiast says:
    May 3, 2012 at 5:42 pm

    Super cute! I might have to try them out this weekend.

    Reply
  3. Crystal says:
    May 3, 2012 at 5:53 pm

    How creative and fun! Perfect thing to bring to my niece’s 1st Birthday party on Cinco De Mayo! :-) I hope they turn out as good as yours!

    Reply
    • betsy says:
      May 4, 2012 at 12:15 am

      It definitely wasn’t as hard as it seems. Hubs was SUPPOSED to bring them to the office with him. Maybe tomorrow and you can check them out

      Reply
  4. LiZ @ YUM at first bite says:
    May 3, 2012 at 9:08 pm

    Betsy, these are awesome! They look like so much fun and I know my kids would love them. Hope I can pull it together and make them tomorrow. Otherwise, they may just have to wait until next year. Great job!

    Reply
    • betsy says:
      May 4, 2012 at 12:16 am

      They were not as hard as they seem. Keep in mind the dough has to freeze for a while. Everyone I’ve told about them say the same thing “my kids would love this!” Let me know how it goes

      Reply
  5. Katie says:
    May 3, 2012 at 10:54 pm

    Wow. You must have so much more patience than I do for projects like this. I love how cute your cookies are. I wish I could get up the enthusiasm to bake them!

    Reply

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