Pig Cookies for Lunar New Year
Happy Lunar New Year, it’s time to welcome in the year of the pig! The pig is the last Zodiac animal in the Chinese lunar calendar. Pigs are hard-working and friendly, and they represent wealth and treasure.
Cookies are always fun to serve at any celebration, but these pig cookies are special because when you bust them open, you’ll find a surprise waiting. Filled with treasure—or intestines depending on how you look at—either way it’s a sweet surprise for the new year.
For this recipe you’ll need my Sugar Cookie recipe, just dye a batch pink for pink pigs, or split a batch, dyeing half gray and keep the other plain for spotted pigs. Fill them up with edible treats and you’ll have a great new year snack to celebrate!
Pig Cookies for Lunar New Year
Ingredients:
you’ll need:
5-inch pig cookie cutter
Sugar Cookie Dough
pink food gel dye (if you’re making pink pigs)
black food gel dye (if you’re making spotted pigs)
black icing
heart sprinkles
pink royal icing ingredients:
5 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons meringue powder
6 tablespoons warm water
Instructions:
If you’re making pink pigs, add pink food coloring to the sugar cookie dough and you’re ready to go. For spotted pigs there’s a few more steps. Divide the dough into two and dye one half gray.
Roll out the gray dough, then drop small pieces of plain dough on top. Continue to roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thick.
Use the pig cookie cutter to cut out the dough. Each cookie needs three pieces, so you’ll need three pig cut outs to make one cookie.
On one of the cookies, use a knife to cut an outline 1/4-inch away from the sides. Remove the center to make a hollow cookie.
Bake for 10 minutes and let cool on a wire rack.
For the royal icing, in the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the powdered sugar and the meringue powder. Add pink food gel dye, then slowly add the water until the icing is combined. Add a teaspoon of water if necessary, to get the right consistency.
Once the cookies are cool, use icing to stack the hollow cookie on top of a solid cookie. Fill with candy.
Use the icing to seal the top cookie onto the two other cookies.
Pipe details with pink and black royal icing, adding a small upside down heart sprinkle for the ear.
Once the icing is dry, the cookies are ready to serve and break open.
