Chocolate Butter Cookie Ornaments (Animal Shapes)
Make Festive Animal-Shaped Chocolate Butter Cookie Ornaments for Christmas
This Christmas in 2022, I decided to create adorable animal-shaped ornaments using these ‘Chocolate Butter Cookies’! They look so charming that anyone who sees them hanging on the Christmas tree will ask, ‘Can we eat these cookies?’ While they have a simple, pleasant chocolate butter flavor, their true appeal lies in their festive decoration. I received a lovely ‘thank you’ gift in return for my small Christmas presents to my family – gloves from my daughter, coffee from my son, and cash from my husband. Ah, the joy of receiving! It truly feels like there’s no such thing as a free lunch; it’s all about give and take, creating a warm, reciprocal feeling. Personally, I find the owl design to be the cutest! Hoot hoot, Merry Christmas!
Cookie Dough Ingredients- 135g unsalted butter, softened
- 75g powdered sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 4-5 drops vanilla extract
- 100g cake flour (low-gluten flour)
- 15g almond flour
- 8g unsweetened cocoa powder
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
1. In a mixing bowl, cream the softened butter (135g) until smooth and fluffy. 2. Sift in the powdered sugar (75g) and continue to whip until the mixture is light and creamy. 3. Add the room temperature egg (1) and vanilla extract (4-5 drops), and mix thoroughly until well combined. 4. In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour (100g), almond flour (15g), and cocoa powder (8g).
Step 2
Add the sifted dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Gently fold them together using a spatula until just combined and no dry streaks remain. Be careful not to overmix, as this can result in tough cookies.
Step 3
Gather the dough into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or parchment paper, and refrigerate for about 40 minutes. Chilling the dough makes it firm and easier to handle, preventing it from sticking excessively when rolled out.
Step 4
On a lightly floured surface or a clean cutting board, roll out the chilled dough to an even thickness of approximately 2mm. Use cookie cutters to create your desired animal shapes, or draw and cut them out freehand.
Step 5
Preheat your oven to 170°C (340°F). Place the shaped cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for approximately 16 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown. Baking times may vary depending on your oven, so keep an eye on them.
Step 6
Once the cookies have cooled completely on a wire rack, use the white chocolate decorating pen to add details like eyes, noses, and mouths to bring your animal characters to life. If you plan to hang them on a Christmas tree, remember to create a small hole near the top of each cookie before baking to thread a ribbon through.
