Dog shaped cookies. I mean, you had to know something like this was coming. These sugar cookies are easy to make and all kinds of impressive.
How easy are these? I used store bought pre-made cookie dough. See? I can be reasonable. True, my sourdough bread recipe starts with, 1. Plant your wheat.
But I can chill. I can do things the easy way if I see no other way out of a situation.
In this case it was either use Pillsbury sugar cookie dough and maintain the very tenuous thread anchoring me to sanity OR make the dough from scratch and risk developing hives and hysterical blindness.
I haven't had time to do much of anything other than work and take care of young Lip over the past couple of months but I really wanted to make some kind of fantastic cookies.
So cut and slice dough it was.
If you have the sort of relationship with baking that renders you incapable of using store bought cookie dough then have at it! Make your own dough. I wanted to focus on the fun of decorating, not the cookie recipe.
Table of Contents
Poodle Cookies
These cookies were 100% inspired by this Instructable and it's where I got the template for making the poodle shape.
- You do not need a poodle shaped cookie cutter to make these.
- You do not need talent to make these.
- You do not need to be a baker to make these.
You do need patience.
These cookies are easy but they're a bit fiddly. I've taken the instructions from the above linked Instructable and expanded on it a bit with a few tips and tricks of the trade. Ready?
- Break cookie dough into pieces in large bowl.
- Add ¼ cup of flour and knead. The flour will make the dough less sticky/greasy and easier to work with.
TIP
Add ½ teaspoon of your favour extract for flavour. I added almond extract but you can add whatever you like.
- Print off the poodle template from Instructables. Lay the template on a cookie sheet. (The darker the cookie sheet the more quickly your cookies will bake.)
- Lay a piece of parchment paper OVER the brilliantly designed template.
The inner circle on the template is the size of your dough ball, the outer circle will be the size after you press the balls down.
- Start rolling balls. You'll place your balls like this.
- Once all of your balls are formed, you can start to press them down with the heel of your hand or fingers. Press them out until they fill the circle. They'll be just shy of ¼" thick once you've squished your balls.
- Freeze your balls. Put the whole baking sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes. WHY?
Because ... freezing the dough stops it from spreading out too much.
(yes, I'm saying balls a lot and it's a bit distracting, especially with "squish your balls, freeze your balls" etc., but let's just press on here because we are all adults.)
- Using a paring knife cut off your balls. Just kidding. Following the dotted lines on the template, cut the poodle's face out.
9. Bake in a 325 F oven for 7 minutes. They're going to get puffy but don't be alarmed. They shrink back and settle down once they cool a bit.
TIP
If your cookies touch and fuse together, the second you take them out of the oven you can cut them apart with a paring knife and reshape them a bit. As soon as they start to cool down, you can't do this anymore so do it right away.
THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE FREEZING YOUR COOKIE DOUGH MAKES
The cookie on the left was cooked without freezing the dough beforehand.
It would be GREAT if I was making Chow Chow cookies.
ICING
- All of the icing (outlines and flooding) was done with the same Royal icing. Recipe below.
- Use a #4 tip with piping bag.
- Just outline each body part on the cookie separately in a circle. Then fill it in.
- If you flood the entire cookie, you'll lose the distinct body parts, which are so noticeable because the cookies are made with balls, and not rolled and cut.
The icing is regular Royal Icing but made with Meringue powder instead of raw egg whites so there's no need to refrigerate the cookies.
Royal Icing
Ingredients
- 2 cups icing (confectioner's) sugar
- 1.5 tbsps meringue powder
- 5 tbsps room temperature water
- gel food colouring
- black cocoa powder*
Instructions
- Add sugar and meringue powder to the bowl of stand mixer (or a regular bowl if you're using a hand mixer.) Mix until combined.
- Add 4 tablespoons of water and mix with the whisk attachment for 2 minutes.
- Lift the whisk. If the icing that runs off of it melts into the icing within 5-10 seconds it's good. Closer to 10 seconds will give you a good outline consistency and 5 seconds a good flood. You can adjust your icing by adding more water (the leftover tablespoon) or more icing sugar.
- If colouring, mix in a small amount of gel food colouring. Keep adding until you get it just right.
Notes
TIPS FOR GETTING THE BLACKEST BLACK ICING
*Adding black cocoa powder to black gel food colouring gets you a very deep, dark black without having to use too much imitation food colouring.
Powdered charcoal will also get you a very black icing.
Mix your icing and then let it sit overnight before using it for piping or flooding. It will darken over this resting period!
TIP
After flooding the cookies, let the icing dry for 30 seconds - 1 minute before sprinkling the sprinkles. This waiting period is especially important if you're using plain white sugar for sprinkles. If you put it on the cookie when the icing is still very wet, the regular table sugar will melt.
If a piece breaks off, "glue" it with icing. You can see with the black poodle head above, his head fell off when I was moving him around. I glued it with white icing, and once it dried I ran a thin line of icing across it so it looks like a collar.
Parti Poodle Obviously
What I'm getting at here is these cookies are fragile.
TIP
To help prevent the cookies from breaking at their joints cook them an extra minute. This may result in them being overbrowned on the bottom, but they won't be as likely to break.
All displayed on my DIY cookie display stand.
I love these and I can't stop looking at them which is the only thing preventing me from eating them all in a frenzy.
On account of that tenuous thread.
By the way over the years I've got a lot of my baking tips from Sally's Baking Addiction including today's tip about freezing the dough so if you're looking for a good no-nonsense baking resource, she's it.
Again, if you'd like the template for the poodles, head to this Instructables post.
This post is brought to you by that teeny tiny thread that's maintaining my festive season sanity.
"They’ll be just shy of 1/4″ thick once you’ve squished your balls."
*snickers* ^^
Not frozen dough cookie, frozen dough cookie.
Fat poodle, Fit poodle. lol!
Adorable. Absolutely adorable.
Karen - This. Is. Amaze-balls!! Hee hee. These are too wonderfully awesome and fun! I may or may not be making these for neighbors I see out the window, walking their dogs! They can all get poodles, I don't care what's kind of dog they own. Ima making then out of the most wonderful cookie in the world. Calumet cookies - recipe from the side of the can from 60? Years ago. It's probably just a sugar cookie recipe with lemon extract and nutmeg thrown in. Our (huge) family has been gobbling them down our whole lives. When our parents died and we were divvying up the kitchen, I became the proud owner of the fancy tumbler with the pretty pattern on the bottom! You dip it into a bowl of sugar, then press the cookie balls just a little, so it has a pretty design on it after baking! I said balls. 😁 Much love and extra Christmas spirit from me to you, since I'm not using much of mine this year! 😂 ❤️❤️
These are awesome. They make great tree decorations. Curious, do you eat the head first like a chocolate Easter bunny? Merry Christmas!
I eat whatever falls off first in my hand, lol. ~karen!
Ok, so you have way too much time on your hands. Not surprising since you live up north. I thought the letter straps and buckles on package wrapping was a bit labor intensive but these cookies top that. You are one amazing woman. The fun with you never ends. Merry Christmas!
P.S. Wish I was your neighbor!
Those are festive and fun. Balls rolling everywhere. Merry Christmas to you, Lip, and all your family.
looking forward to more dog stuff -owner of a 13 year old golden and lots of hair which you wouldn't know about
ditto for more dog stuff :) I've had 4 Goldens... they don't hold a patch for shedding like my German Shedder :)
OMG! Too cute! And thanks for the info on freezing to prevent spreading- and the pics to show the difference. Happy Solstice, one and all! Karen, you da best ;^)
I’m amazed that you can have a row of cookies on the counter without them being snatched by your ACTUAL poodle.
Would that be considered cannibalism…?
I immediately thought chow-chow on that unrefrigerated version! We are so brilliant, you and I. These cookies are adooooorable.
Sally's Baking Addiction has the BEST recipes. I learned about Sally from a co-worker that had bariatric surgery and then developed a hobby of baking these most delicious cakes. People really are strange. Merry Christmas!
It took me more time than I will ever admit to to see a poodle…I saw dog poo…I had a pup once who left poo in that pattern…I will be checking in to the cognitive testing office soon.
🙍🏼
now I only see poo..........the walking pooper pattern...
If only the poo had the sprinkles in it!!
Hahahaha!!! ~ karen
These are just the cutest ever…and a work of labor as well as love! I love seeing your creativity-and picking up tips along the way!
This is JUST what I needed to start my day. Perfection as usual! Well, close enough to perfection, and that's why I love what you do.
You gotta love a woman who can make a cookie recipe bust-out-laughing funny whilst still maintaining the possible threat of wanton castration. And yes.... your mind IS going over to the dog side..... but NO you're not going nutz. This is a wonderfully creative baking project too. Thanks for sharing. If I may make so bold, consider this my sending you a holiday e-hug too. Hope the season brings you happiness, peace and love.