As I write this, I’m flying somewhere over the state of Texas on my way to Disneyland. I’m heading out to cover a social media event for The DIS, and I am incredibly excited to be returning to Walt’s park. I had no idea that I’d be able to revisit any time soon, and I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences on our social channels. If you missed the fun, be sure to check out our Disneyland Instagram story highlights, for starters.
One thing that I stumbled upon this week while sifting through the Notes app on my phone was my must-eat Disneyland snacks list from our first trip in 2018. My hubby and I were visiting during Pixar Fest, so my list consisted in great part of the limited-time festival treats that were being offered. The rest of the list consisted of some of the tried and true snacks that you and I can only find in Disneyland or Disney California Adventure. And, believe it or not, after spending 9 glorious days finally exploring the majesty that is the California parks, I got on the return flight home with unchecked boxes on my list. Crazy, I know. But there’s just only so much stomach space, right?
It’s with this in mind that I approach this weekend’s Saturday Snacks recipe. I’ll be turning to the Disneyland section in Delish Loves Disney to create Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe’s Mickey Sugar Cookies. While the cookies can be found at Jolly Holiday (an amazing place; eating a treat outside in the gorgeous Southern California weather as you gaze at Sleeping Beauty Castle? Yes, please.), it can also be purchased at various locations around both parks and the Downtown Disney District.
The recipe is simple, and the ingredients are, too. In fact, the idea of a sugar cookie itself is simple and quite unfussy; something that sounds pretty good on a summer’s weekend, n’est-ce pas? The recipe will also have us whipping up an equally simple icing that utilizes almond extract. I’m a huge fan of almond extract, so the moment that it was added to the icing was a bit of a HALLELUJAH in my kitchen. But I digress; let’s make the cookies first.
You can make your sugar cookies any shape that you care to, but if you’re shooting to have them as close to Disneyland’s treat as possible, you’ll need a Mickey Mouse-shaped cookie cutter. I found my off-brand version on Amazon, but after I ordered my cookie cutter (of course), I found them for sale on Disney property in Bay View Gifts at the Contemporary. Side note: regardless of which Mickey cookie cutter you decide to go with, can we all come to the agreement that everything tastes better when it’s Mickey shaped?
My first step was to grab a medium bowl and mix the dry ingredients together. I whisked together 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl and using a hand mixer), you and I now get to construct the sugar cookie dough. And yes, I must admit that I tasted some of the sugar cookie dough once it was thrown together. And, while I’m confessing things, I ate one of the uncooked spring roll wrappers while making last week’s Pongu Lumpia. Weird, I know, but I find myself more and more curious as to what the ingredients taste like as I go along with these recipes. Not that I would recommend eating uncooked spring roll wrappers (it really wasn’t tasty), but I find getting to know these ingredients a bit better fascinating. Please tell me I’m not alone. Ahem.
I dropped 3/4 cup of softened butter and 1 cup of granulated sugar into the bowl of my stand mixer and got things going. We’re to beat the two until they’re smooth, and that process will take a mixer set on medium speed and several minutes.
Next, we beat in the eggs and vanilla. Side note: see those farm-fresh, beautiful brown eggs? I have Teresa Echols’ beloved chickens to thank. 🙂 Once the butter and sugar were fully creamed, I dropped in 2 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and turned the mixer back on to ensure that everything was incorporated.
The next step called for me to start adding the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, so I first firmly affixed my beloved pouring shield. I added the dry ingredients a bit at a time (the recipe recommends adding it in three parts) and turned the mixer back on to get everything fully combined.
Once the dough came together, I topped the bowl with plastic wrap and popped it into the fridge for an hour. If we’re asked to be patient, I’m glad it’s only for an hour. We need those cookies in our mouths. Now.
After 45 minutes or so were up, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and spread flour out on my kitchen counter. When the one hour-mark came, I pulled the dough from the fridge and began rolling it out to 1/4-inch thick.
It took me a couple of tries to get there, and I ended up erring on the side of thicker rather than thinner.
Once I had the dough rolled out (using plenty of flour for both the counter and the rolling pin along the way), I went about the fun task of cutting out the Mickey shapes. By the way, the team at Delish recommends dipping your cookie cutter into flour before cutting out each cookie. Brilliant. It made the cut cookie dough pop right out of the cutter.
As I made the Mickeys, I placed them an inch apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and re-rolled the dough to make more.
Once all of the dough was cut, I placed my Mickey cookies into the oven and set the timer for 8 minutes.
FAST FORWARD THREE DAYS
Well, now as I write this, it’s three days later and I’ve had the chance to try Jolly Holiday’s version of the Mickey Sugar Cookie for the first time. The cookie is covered in coarse, brightly-colored sanding sugar, while just up Main Street, Candy Kitchen’s version of the cookie is half-dipped in pastel shades of sugary icing with circle-shaped sprinkles.
So, when it comes to decorating your Mickey cookies, you do you. Icing, no icing. Sprinkles or no sprinkles or ALL THE SPRINKLES; it’s totally up to you. Don’t you just love when your creativity is let loose?!
Since my Mickey cookies were on the thicker side of things, my cookies took the full 10 minutes to get to the point of being golden-ish brown. I pulled them out of the oven and allowed them to cool before attempting to ice them.
Remember the whole you do you aspect that we discussed? Well, I channeled that as I constructed the almond-flavored icing. When the recipe called for me to add 3 cups of powdered sugar to the two egg whites that I had beaten until frothy in my stand mixer, I saw that it said to gradually add said sugar, but I missed the thought that they were suggesting that I stop adding it when it reached my desired level of thickness. Friends, I added all three cups of powdered sugar, and while I could’ve bagged the whole thing when I discovered how very thick that all that sugar had made my icing, I decided to lean into it and embrace it. Thick icing? Yep. We’ll take it. And we’ll love it.
I divided the icing into a few ramekins and added drops of food coloring to create fun shades.
And I then applied my thick icing with a VERY HEAVY HAND to my lovely Mickey sugar cookies.
The end result? A delightfully simple and delicious cookie.
I enjoyed bite after bite of the soft-in-the-middle-yet-toasty on the outside treats.
If you wanted to continue the fun, you could add candy to the icing to create the buttons of Mickey’s shorts or sprinkles or dunk your cookies in melted chocolate or all of the above. You could even pair the cookie with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of hot fudge and call it a sundae! YUM.
The next time that I make the cookies I’ll likely back off on the powdered sugar to allow the icing to be just a bit less thick. That being said, I do not regret my actions. They led to some super-sweet and tasty icing.
My trip to Disneyland this week has allowed me to eat some incredibly delicious things, and I’m so thankful to have had the chance to visit. And, as I write this, I still have just over 24 hours to go and several remaining snack list items. It’s good to have goals, right?
Whatever you have planned for your weekend (mine will likely include a nap and Alka Seltzer), I hope that you have a great one, and that you find the time to enjoy a cookie or two. As my dear friend Jackie pointed out on this week’s episode of Off the Rails, adulting is hard. You deserve all the cookies you can get. Thank you for reading, friends.
Ready to whip up a little Mickey Mouse magic right in your very own kitchen? The recipe is below:
Mickey Sugar Cookies
Makes 18
We’ve had plenty of sugar cookies in our time, but why do Mickey-shaped ones always taste so much better? Could be the icing. Could be the dough. Could just be the magic of the mouse.
Cookies
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Icing
- 2 egg whites
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- Food coloring, optional
- Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Make dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture in three parts, mixing in between. Once dough comes together, cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Bake cookies: Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Using a Mickey Mouse cookie cutter, cut dough into Mickey shapes. Place cookies 1-inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely before icing.
- Make icing: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually add powdered sugar until mixture is thick but spreadable. Add almond extract and a few drops of food coloring, if desired, mixing in between until you reach your desired color.
- Decorate cookies: Decorate cooled cookies by covering with icing and letting it dry (placing cookies in the refrigerator will speed up this process).
Deni loves all things Disney, and, in 2013, moved to the Magic from Maryland. Walt Disney World is her happy place, and she loves getting to share it with others. Deni and her husband of almost 26 years have 2 grown children. Her favorite WDW snack? A Mickey Bar, of course. Is there any other?!
