How to Make Sugar Cookies | Stegosaurus Sugar Cookies Recipe
Rummaging through a kitchen drawer, I came across a stegosaurus shaped cookie cutter. I bought it on a whim months ago (it cost less than a dollar) and forgot about it. After an internal debate over whether the cookie cutter in the shape of a stegosaurus or turtle, I decided it can work as both. While turtles are cute, I decided to make Stegosaurus Sugar Cookies at home– rawr!
I thought strawberries would work well as stegosaurus backplates and invented a strawberry roll-out cookie recipe. The only problem was…they were gross. The strawberry taste was powerful and unpleasant. I am all about taste, so I nixed the strawberry cookies idea. Instead, I went back to square one and went with a traditional sugar cookie recipe. My recipe is slightly adapted from Allrecipes’s The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies. I adjusted the sugar and vanilla extract ratios and altered the directions.
My Homemade Stegosaurus Sugar Cookies Recipe
I am so pleased with these pink dino sugar cookies! They are adorable and taste good. While sugar cookies are typically iced, I like these plain with fresh strawberries. They go well with a cup of tea or coffee. However, if you’ve got a major sweet tooth, you may want to add frosting.
These cookies are great for a special event: baby shower, child’s birthday party, even Valentine’s Day. Or, you can simply make ’em at home for fun (like I did)!
Obviously, you’ll need a stegosaurus/turtle cookie cutter. If you’re unable to find this design, go with a different animal or shape. However, strawberries make adorable stegosaurus backplates, so do your best to find it. I got mine at a locally owned kitchen supply store. Any store that specializes in kitchenware is a good place to look.
Before getting started, it’s important to know that the dough must be refrigerated overnight. If you try to skimp on chill time, your cookies won’t look as good, so plan on making the dough the night before. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 & 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Pink food coloring
- 2 & 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 16oz. package fresh strawberries, thinly sliced
- cooking spray
Directions
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add a few drops of food coloring and stir.
- Gradually stir in flour mixture. If the dough is not pink, add more drops of food coloring and stir. Continue to add food coloring and stir until dough reaches the desired shade of pink.
- Roll dough into a ball and wrap tightly in saran wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
- Thinly slice strawberries. Place strawberries inside a paper towel and pat dry.
- Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly grease baking sheets with cooking spray.
- Generously flour surface and rolling pin. Roll out dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with the cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Yields approximately 30 cookies.
- Bake 6 to 7 minutes in a preheated oven.
- After removing cookies from the oven, immediately press patted dry strawberry slices into the back and tail area of each cookie. Let cookies cool completely before removing from baking sheets. If you follow instructions exactly, strawberries stay on so well you can turn cookies upside down.