Cinco De Mayo Sombrero Cookies (Printable version)
Festive sugar cookies shaped like Mexican sombreros topped with colorful icing and gumdrops.
# What you need:
→ Cookie Dough
01 - 2½ cups all-purpose flour
02 - ½ teaspoon baking powder
03 - ¼ teaspoon salt
04 - ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
05 - ¾ cup granulated sugar
06 - 1 large egg
07 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
→ Decorating
08 - 2 cups confectioners' sugar
09 - 3–4 tablespoons milk
10 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11 - Food coloring (various colors)
12 - 24 gumdrops or similar round candies (for sombrero tops)
13 - Assorted colorful sprinkles
# How To:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
03 - In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract, beating until fully incorporated.
04 - Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the creamed butter mixture, mixing on low speed until a smooth dough forms.
05 - Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out the sombrero brims. Using a 1-inch round cutter or bottle cap, cut out the sombrero crowns.
06 - Arrange both large and small circles on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 8–10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
07 - While the cookies cool, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and pourable. Divide the icing among separate bowls and tint each with desired food coloring.
08 - Spread colored icing over each large cookie circle to form the brim. Attach a small cookie upright in the center using icing as adhesive. Top each crown with a gumdrop, securing with a dab of icing.
09 - Pipe or spread icing along the edge of each brim and apply colorful sprinkles. Allow the assembled cookies to set at room temperature until the icing firms up before serving.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- These cookies turn a basic sugar cookie into a tiny edible sculpture that makes people grin before they even take a bite.
- The decorating part is genuinely fun, not stressful, and kids can go wild without ruining anything.
- You probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry already, which means zero emergency grocery runs.
02 -
- Do not skip the full cooling step because warm cookies will melt your icing into a puddle and your sombreros will look like sad little pancakes.
- Rolling the dough too thin causes the crowns to snap when you try to stand them up, so stick to that quarter inch thickness honestly.
03 -
- Chill the cutout cookie shapes on the baking sheet for five minutes before baking and they will hold their round edges perfectly instead of spreading into ovals.
- Use gel food coloring instead of liquid because it delivers knockout color without throwing off the icing consistency.