Llamas are without a doubt one of the cutest animals that have recently become trendy in the baking world. Perhaps it’s their sweet faces and fuzzy fur? Either way, it is refreshing to see new trends start to take shape and with the arrival of fall, the timing couldn’t be better for a llama and pumpkin sugar cookie fusion!
Llama Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
A step up from the basic white pumpkin sugar cookie, these llama pumpkin cookies are complete with cute faces, ears and stiff royal icing fur, which are easy to cut and decorate using the unicorn pumpkin cookie cutter from the shop.
To create the llama pumpkins, simply cut the cookie dough into unicorn pumpkin shapes, then remove the horn from each, thus creating a sweet canvas for the animal themed pumpkin design.
Decorating
Decorating the sugar cookies is easy with white royal icing! Since llamas are commonly white, you’ll only need two colors of icing for this project! White for the pumpkins and brown for the stems. Stiff royal icing is used to create the fur around the face of each llama and a simple black edible paint pen is used for the lashes, nose and mouth. Dab on a little blush with edible food paint and the llama pumpkin cookies are dressed up and ready for all the Halloween fun!
Watch the video below to use a reference when decorating these festive llama cookies.
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Llama Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
- Category: Baking
- Method: Sugar Cookies
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
Llama pumpkin shaped sugar cookies, dressed up and decorated with royal icing for fall and Halloween!
Ingredients
3/4 cups vegan butter (or real butter softened)
1 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
FOR THE ROYAL ICING:
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
2 TBSP Meringue Powder
1/4 warm water (+ extra to thin icing)
1 tsp Clear vanilla extract or regular vanilla extract
EXTRA SUPPLIES:
Edible black pen and pink paint for lashes, face and blush.
Food grade paint brush (for painting)
Tipless piping bags
Wilton star tip 18
Brown food coloring (Americolor)
Instructions
FOR THE SUGAR COOKIES
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream together butter and sugar in a mixing bowl, until combined.
Mix in eggs and vanilla until combined.
Stir in flour, baking powder and salt, 1/3rd at a time.
Mix on med-hi until combined.
You’ll know your cookie mix is ready when it pulls away from the mixing bowl.
Roll dough out onto a floured surface (about 1/2 inch thick)
Cut into shapes with the unicorn pumpkin cookie cutter, removing the horn from the cut dough with a pairing knife.
Bake cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet for about 4-6 minutes. (Pull from oven before brown)
Remove from heat and cool.
FOR THE ROYAL ICING:
Combine powdered sugar and meringue powder in the bowl of an electric mixer.
Add extract and water and beat on high for about 5 minutes.
For piping:
The icing will be very thick. Add warm water a few splashes at a time until the frosting is the consistency of toothpaste. This is for piping. Spoon out 1/4 of the toothpaste-like white icing to a tipless piping bag fitted with Wilton tip 18. Seal closed.
Transfer an additional few tablespoons of the stiff royal icing into a separate bowl and color with brown food coloring. (For the pumpkin stems). Transfer the brown icing to a tipless piping bag fitted with a star tip (18) and seal closed.
For flooding:
Thin the remainder of the stiff icing by adding a few drops of warm water. Stir and add a few more drops of water, or spray down with a spray bottle until the consistency of the icing is slightly runny when picked up with a spoon. If you run a spatula through the icing it should take around 5-6 seconds to disappear. That’s when you know the icing is ready! Transfer flood icing to tipless piping bag and seal closed.
DECORATING:
Slowly outline the the edge of each cookie with the stiff piping icing.
Using stiff royal icing pipe each pumpkin into quadrants: Pipe a half moon shape on either sides of the cookie and two angled lines down the center. (see video for more detail)
Flood the first and thirds sections of each pumpkin cookie with the white flood icing, using a toothpick or scribe to spread it evenly around the cookie.
Quickly poke away any air bubbles you find using toothpicks, before the icing dries.
Allow 10 minutes to set and then flood the second and fourth section of each pumpkin cookie until all sections of the cookies are filled.
The set time in-between the sections gives the pumpkins a more realistic look.
Repeat steps so all llama pumpkin cookies are fully covered in icing.
Allow the icing to set on the cookies and pipe a one inch round circle into the center of each pumpkin cookie.
Flood the round center shape of each cookie with thin royal icing and set aside to dry. (At least 1 hour (or longer) Important!)
Once all the flood icing has FULLY dried, use the edible black pen to create the nose and mouth of each llama pumpkin.
Use the stiff RI fitted with star tip 18 to pipe the fur around the llama pumpkin’s face. Repeat steps for all llama pumpkins.
Draw the lashes and outline the ears on each llama pumpkin, using the edible black food pen.
Finish each llama pumpkin with a dab of pink edible paint blush on either side of the face.
Pipe the stems for each pumpkin using brown royal icing.
Allow two hours for all cookies to dry.
Enjoy!
Notes
See royal icing decorating tips below!
Keywords: sugar cookies, pumpkins, fall, dessert, recipes, royal icing, llama
Royal icing adds such a beautiful glossy finish to sugar cookies. It reminds of paint on canvas and can be very forgiving with patience and plenty of practice!
ROYAL ICING DECORATING TIPS
- Using a steady hand will certainly help while decorating with royal icing, as will a scribe or toothpick for evenly blending the icing onto the cookies.
- For beginners, I recommend starting with just one or two colors of royal icing, thus allowing you to get familiar with the consistency and how the icing flows from the piping bag.
- Also use a few cookies to practice piping on so that you become more comfortable with the decorating process.
- If you make a mistake while outlining a cookie with stiff icing, not to worry! Mistakes can certainly be removed with tip of a scribe.
- Day old cookies hold up better for decorating, because they’ve had time to set. Pat the cookies with a paper towel to remove any excess oil from butter.
- Above all, practice and more practice, and decorating will continue to get easier!
Cookie of the Month
These llama pumpkin cookies make the sweetest party favors for the season! Easily package them up and give them out to trick or treaters on Halloween in lieu of candy, or just serve them up at your next Halloween party!
Special cookie cutter used to make the llama pumpkins can be found below!
Check out cookies of the month from previous seasons here.
Post titled Llama Pumpkin Sugar Cookies was seen first on Posh Little Designs. All Rights Reserved. 2019.
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