Hey beautiful people,

So I’ve been trying to write this post for a few days, and it just hasn’t happened until right now. Today my plan was to come home from work and get right to it.

Then my best friend sends me a text saying oh by the way she had a baby. For the record I knew she was pregnant. The belly sort of gave it away. She just wasn’t supposed to have it until next year. The little one just decided it was time at 4 am on Christmas Day. You know we are best friends because one of the first things I said to her was “You know this baby is going to resent you for combining their birthday party and Christmas present every year”. Ya only a best friend can make that kind of comment. She in turn asked me to hold the baby which she knows terrifies me because I’m convinced that I’m going to drop her. She knows I can’t say no either, because who refuses to hold a baby. Especially a newborn. Short version: the baby is cute and best friends are asses.

Today we are going to make these Disney Wreath Shortbread cookies. These are not an official Disney recipe, but they are obviously Disney inspired. It’s Mickey for goodness sakes. Why does Mickey shaped foods just taste so much better? It’s magic really.

First we need to make the shortbread cookies. I don’t know why people always say shortbread is hard to make. I can understand that it takes a while but it’s not hard. You just can’t rush it. Shortbread wants to take its time. Just like my husband when we need to be somewhere, he just takes his sweet time.

The classic shortbread recipe I use is from The Spruce Eats and you can find them by clicking here. It’s an easy recipe to follow and always works out for me. Check them out for great nonDisney recipes.

Shortbread ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups flour

Note: I would recommend doubling the recipe. It really doesn’t make enough with a single recipe I think. Unless you are making tiny cookies, but no one wants tiny cookies. Don’t be the person who brings 3 cookies to a party. Be the one who shows up with enough cookies for a stadium filled with people. Everyone likes that person.

Shortbread instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. If you don’t have any, do not grease the pan.
3. In a large bowl or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the room temperature butter and the sugar. I sometimes forget to take the butter out of the fridge early enough to come to room temperature. What I do is just cut it into small little pieces and let it mix for awhile before adding the sugar. It will soften right up. Officially use room temperature butter though.
4. Add the sifted flour slowly to the creamed butter mixture. Slowly people, or you will look like you did a little too much partying in the 80s.
5. Now you have your dough. On a clean and lightly floured surface roll out your dough to half an inch thick. I like to place parchment paper under and over the dough to help with rolling it out smooth. Sounds silly but works so well.
6. Use a Mickey cookie cutter to cut out the Mickey shapes. Use a small circle cutter to cut the middle holes. Place the cookies on the baking sheet about an inch apart.
7. Bake for 30 minutes.
8. When they come out of the oven, poke numerous times with a fork. Let cool completely before moving.

Let’s make the Royal Icing now! I use the Wilton recipe from their site. You can find their page here.

Royal Icing Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons meringue powder
• 4 cups icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
• 5 tablespoons warm water
• Green food colouring

Royal Icing Instructions:

1. In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk together the meringue powder and the warm water. Let it whisk until it’s nice and frothy.
2. Slowly add in the icing sugar. I always have to add more water here. The more water you add, the more runny it will become. At this point you want it thick but not running.
3. Mix in the green food colouring.

Ok lets get to decorating!

1. Using edible markers, trace a circle where you want to outside of the wreath to be. Then trace a circle for the middle of the wreath.

2. Place your stiff green icing in a piping bag and with a small tip. Pipe a wiggly line around the lines you have just drawn. It’s best to hold your pipping bag tip floating above the cookies and guide the falling icing down where you want it to go. Let this dry completely.

3. Mix in 1-2 tablespoons of warm water into the royal icing bowl. This will thin out the icing and make it easier to fill the cookie in. Place back in a piping bag and pipe in between the dried lines. I like to pipe a little and guide it into place. This is the point with royal icing where people have issues. Make sure to go slow and you should be fine. Do not put too much icing or it will flow over the sides.

4. Immediately sprinkle your favourite sprinkles over the cookie and let dry complexly. This drying period can take a few hours for a fully set cookies.

5. Let your family be amazed at your decorating and cookie making skills.

Et voila, you now have a super easy but fun looking holiday cookie. These were actually my husband’s idea and I’m glad I listened to him. He makes a lot of cookie suggestions but I think that’s just because he wants me to make more cookies.

Love you guys!