Corgi Chai Cookies

Corgi Chai Cookies

Ingredients

Chai Cookies:
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Royal Icing:
• 1 pound (about 1/2 bag) powdered sugar
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons meringue powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons to 4 tablespoons warm water
• Brown food dye
• Yellow food dye
• Black food dye

Directions

1. To make the cookies: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and pepper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar. With an electric mixer on high speed, beat the mixture until creamy. Add the egg yolk, honey, and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until combined. Knead the dough until it comes together in one large mass. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and press it down so it’s a flat disk; refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or ideally overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough until it’s 1/2” thick. Stamp out cookies using any cookie cutter you like. Recombine the scraps and repeat the process with the remaining dough. Transfer to the baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes, or until the edges are light golden brown. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
4. To make the royal icing: In a large bowl, combine the powdered sugar, salt, meringue powder, vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons warm water. With the whisk attachment of the electric mixer, beat on high for 5 minutes or until thickened and glossy. If it needs to be thinned out, feel free to add an additional tablespoon of water. Add about 1/2 cup of icing to two bowls (you can eyeball this). To make the “corgi brown color,” add 2 drops of brown food coloring and 1 of yellow (adjust as needed). To make the “tricolor black,” add black food coloring or black food gel until the icing turns black. Transfer all three colors to three different piping bags.
5. To decorate cookies: line out the tricolor black strip on a few corgis. Allow to dry. Meanwhile, line out the face and long body part with the brown icing and then fill in. Allow to dry and then fill in the chest and feet with the white icing. Allow to dry completely and then eat, enjoy, stack on a plate!