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After making my Soft, Less Sweet Ube Sugar Cookie Bears (Dairy-Free!), I started brainstorming other animal-shaped cookies I could make. I was browsing on Facebook when I saw a new post in my Pigspotting group, which inspired these cute pig cookies! I chose to whip up a vegan snickerdoodle recipe, but feel free to swap in regular butter, milk, and royal icing if you don’t have any dietary restrictions. I also made these again using gluten-free flour by King Arthur, and they were just as delicious.
These pig-shaped snickerdoodle cookies are pillowy, soft, tangy (due to the cream of tartar), and full of cinnamon flavor. As my housemate said last night, they’re like a dressed up sugar cookie with some spice! This recipe is also on the less-sweet side, which is perfect for my taste. Not only that, but they are pretty adorable if you decide to make them into pigs. You could also shape them into bears, cats, or whatever you fancy. Alternatively, if you just want a plain snickerdoodle, you can skip the food coloring + shaping, and only roll out balls for baking!
Shaping the dough
To make each pig cookie head, roll 1 & 1/2 tablespoon of dough into a ball, coat with the cinnamon sugar mixture, and place it onto a lined baking tray. For each of the ears, roll 1/2 teaspoon of dough into a ball, coat with the cinnamon sugar mixture, and cut two sides of the ball to form a pointed end. Place the dough on the upper left or right side of the head. As they bake, the ears will connect to the head and you will get these cute pig-shaped cookies. Once they are cooled, you can decorate them with (vegan) royal icing.
I really hope you enjoy this recipe. If you make these cute pig cookies, I’d love to see them. You can tag me at #bitesbybianca / @bitesbybianca on Instagram. Enjoy! 🙂
Pig-Shaped Snickerdoodles (Vegan)
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Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, can sub in gluten-free flour (160g, $0.39)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon ($0.16)
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar ($0.33)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda ($0.01)
- ¼ teaspoon salt ($0.01)
Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup dairy-free unsalted butter, softened (1 stick butter/8 tbsp, $1.25)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g, $0.19)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ($0.42)
- pink food coloring, gel or powder
- 2-4 tablespoons dairy-free milk, I have tried almond and oat! ($0.15)
For rolling:
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g, $0.10)
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon ($0.42)
Decoration for face:
- vegan royal icing, see recipe notes below
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.
- In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment (can alternatively use hand mixer or whisk), cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape bottom of bowl.
- Add vanilla and pink food coloring and mix until smooth. Add more pink food coloring until you get the shade of pink you desire.
- Dump in all of the dry ingredients and mix until combined. If the dough is crumbly, slowly add 2-4 tbsp of dairy-free milk until it comes together. The finished dough should be thick.
- Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C and line two baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon for rolling the dough.
- Use small cookie dough scoop to gather dough (about 1 ½ tablespoon each). Roll dough into cinnamon sugar mixture, shape into ball, then place onto lined baking tray. This will be the pig's head.For the ears, take ½ tsp of dough, roll into cinnamon sugar mixture, and shape into a triangle using your fingers. Place the ear on the upper left or right side of the head and repeat for the other ear.Place pigs about 3-4 inches apart. They will not spread much while baking.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cookies should look puffy, soft, and retain their pink color. They should not be browned.
- Let cool on pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Let cool completely.
- To add the faces, use pink and black colored vegan royal icing (recipe in notes below). Place into small piping bags and cut a small tip. First, use the pink to add the noses and ears, then black color for the eyes and nostrils.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- I remade this recipe using King Arthur’s gluten-free flour and they were just as delicious!
- I used this recipe for the vegan royal icing and I skipped the optional vegetable glycerin. It actually makes a lot of royal icing, so I already had a bunch of it stored in my freezer! It only takes about 10 minutes for it to thaw.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
My little one is obsessed with pigs, and this was the perfect recipe to make together. I love that simple ingredients are used and the vegan royal icing recipe was so good – only two ingredients! Weโre excited to make more recipes by Bianca. ๐