This cookie adventure started with a special cookie cutter we found at our neighborhood store. (We love dollar stores!) These cute little animal cookie cutters have extra long arms, long enough to wrap a small “gift”. Oh god, so cute, amirite?
What gifts could a cookie like this hold, you ask? You can use anything that can be baked with the biscuit. It could be a nut like an almond or cashew, a dried fruit, or even an M&M. It might even be a smaller cookie!
In the photo you can see that one of our cookie cutters is a hugging bunny while the other is a hugging bear. Sorry, the bear is upside down in the photo, I didn’t notice at the time, lol. Poor hugged bear 🙁
Here’s a photo of the dried cranberries we used as “gifts.” Usually these gift-containing sugar cookies contain nuts such as almonds and cashews. Which are wonderful and tasty gifts to bear for hugging bears and hugging bunnies.
However, we thought a softer option might be nice, so we decided to have our cookies contain dried cranberries, just the right size to fit them. Also a nice cheerful red! We also found that the tartness of the cranberry was the perfect complement to the sugar cookie!
Our cut out cookies are placed on a baking sheet. Cranberries are placed on each biscuit.
The biscuit arms are now delicately wrapped around the “presents” or cranberries. Oh god, are you feeling the sweet vibes yet? So adorable, amirite?
I used a small offset spatula to gently lift the arms before wrapping the fruit. The arms are small and delicate so be careful with this part. You’ll want to make sure the arms are wrapped gently but firmly, otherwise they may straighten out once cooked. You can also just use one arm to hold the “gift” and leave the other flat, so it will look like your gift cookie is waving goodbye!
The last thing to do is give your cookies some eyes. This is optional but damn, doesn’t the hugging bunny look so much cuter with the eyes? I made the eyes using my little girl’s dotting tools. I think these tools were once used for working with clay, but today they seem to be mostly used for nail art, lol. Oh, how the world changes. If you don’t have one on hand, anything with a rounded tip will do.
Your little cookies go into the oven for a quick bake and, tada!, your Huggy Bear Cookies with Gift are ready and ready to bring their cheerful gifts to all and sundry! Happy holidays!
(For 84 small biscuits)
Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 7 minutes
Allow the butter to soften by leaving it out for an hour. Cream softened butter and sugar together.
Add the egg, extract and mix. Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt, then add it little by little to the wet mixture until incorporated. The dough should not stick. If it is sticky add a little more flour until it is no longer sticky. Leave the dough to rest for 5 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 204°C (400°F).
Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough to 1/4″ thick. Cut out cookie shapes and place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Place a cranberry on each cookie in your arms. Use a spatula offset to lift and gently wrap the cookie arms around the cranberry Use the dotting tool to press the eyes into the cookies.
Bake at 204°C (400°F) for 6-7 minutes. The biscuits are ready when the edges have just turned golden. Leave to cool completely. The wrapping biscuits with gift are ready! Enjoy!
Warehousing: Stored in a cool, airtight container, these cookies will be good for 2-3 weeks.
