Dear Reader, once upon a time, I used to wish for certain things around birthdays and Christmas:
- To receive a Barbie Fashion Face-you can see my penchant for over applying makeup started here…
- To see snow.
- To ice skate-that was beyond sticking freezer bags on your feet and sliding around on the carpeted floor in the house (please tell me I’m not the only one that did this?).
- To have a birthday with a piñata. The idea of bashing about something and having lollies and candy rain down on top of my friends and I was like the childhood version of Oprah’s “You get a car!!” moment. What seven year old kid needed a car? Candy was a much more tradeable commodity. And bashing about a paper mache structure helped work off some of that red cordial buzz.
When I first saw some piñata cookies on Pinterest that contained a little sprinkling of mini m&m’s I was instantly delighted, my predilection for pinatas exposed. I thought the idea would be perfect for Christmas where I would make a Christmas gift version where you would bite into the 3D model of a Christmas gift made out of cookie and out would pour a little sweet surprise.
Surprise! You get a car! I mean you get candy! 
The cookies were surprisingly easy to put together and you don’t need to use a present cutter, just a square one will do and you can just tie them in the top with actual ribbon instead of fashioning it with fondant. What you end up doing is sandwiching three layers together with icing sugar “glue” and the middle layer has a cavity inside that hides the candy. You can make them a bit thinner although I made mine quite thick so that they could stand up as 3D presents. This does mean that there’s quite a bit of cookie to eat here which is not a bad thing (and kind of like a child’s dream come true).
I ended up nibbling on some as I was busy wrapping gifts. This year, I took a cue from Brydie who used an old map to wrap presents in. You can recycled old maps or street directories and not only do you save on buying paper, you can choose a map or an area that means a lot to the person to whom you’re giving a gift. Clever, chic and green! I usually recycle gift bags as I figure that people can use the bags to carry their presents home too.
So tell me Dear Reader, how are you tracking for Christmas? Are you ready and what are you making? And are you a wrapper or a bagger when it comes to gifts?
Christmas Gift Cookies…With A Surprise!
Makes 6-8 completed cookies depending on the size of your cutter
- 170g/6 ozs butter, softened
- 280g/10 ozs white caster superfine sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 360g/12ozs plain all-purpose flour (or more if using colouring)
- Colouring (optional)
To decorate and fill
- Coloured and white fondant
- Decorations
- Edible gold lustre paint
- 25 ml vodka
- Paintbrush
- 1/2 cup icing sugar and a few drops of water
1. Make cookies. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg, colouring if using and vanilla. Add in the flour on the lowest setting making sure that the dough isn’t too sticky-the stickier it is, the more the baked cookies will expand. If you have to, add a little more flour-if you are using liquid colouring, you will need to add more flour). Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface-the thickness will depend on how many m&ms you want to put inside and how thick you want the cookies-you will put three together. Cut into shapes with a square or gift shaped cookie cutter. If you use a gift cookie cutter and it’s not symmetrical, don’t forget to flip the cutter over and cut out the shapes using the slightly blunter side so that they will line up with each other.
3. Place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment paper. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. While they’re hot, cut them again using the cookies cutters as they will have expanded a bit from baking and you want them to line up exactly against each other. Then in the “middle” piece, cut out a hole as this is where the little m&m’s will sit. Cool completely and then just line each set up together.
4. On a non stick chopping board roll out the white fondant. I always find it easier to do the white fondant first as coloured fondant can transfer easily. Make the bows but rolling out a long thin piece of white fondant and shape into a bow-it may be hard to do this as first but gets easier with practice.
5. Roll out the coloured fondant and cut it using the same cookie cutter. Using a little water, adhere it to the cookie on the front and back. Affix little decorations using a little water-I used snowflakes and stars and also made little green dots using green fondant and punching them out using a straw.
6. Mix the vodka with the gold lustre dust and paint it onto the white fondant and allow to dry.
7. Make a simple icing sugar “glue” by mixing 1/2 cup of sifted icing sugar with a few drops of water and glue one side to the middle piece with the hole cut out. Fill the hole with mini m&m’s or small candies (those teeny tiny sugar hearts are also lovely) and then icing sugar glue the top to the middle. Allow both the fondant to dry and the icing sugar glue to set fully.
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59 Comments | Add your own
Oh, those are peretty and so original! I love the idea.
Cheers,
Rosa
You are so creative Lorraine! These are adorable.
GENIUS! I’ve never seen this before and would love to try this. I thinke veryone will go wild with this idea. Love it.
What a cute cookie, and such a creative idea, Lorraine! I’m not a huge fan of such a mass of food colouring, but they do make the cookies look incredibly festive. And the surprise on the inside is THE BEST.
Great post! It would never occur to me to be this brave with colour unless I had seen somebody else do it first
gorgeous cookies!! i really like this idea & the cute bows
CUTE! ex-window dresser. Wrapping is my life. I had a face-Barbie. Then I got all emo when I was 14 ang gave her a mohawk and a dozen piercings.
Tx
These are just awesome!! Forget a kids dream come true, this is my dream come true!!
Wow… so bright and colourful! Very festive indeed.
I love, love, love these. Such a great idea and so clever. I have to make them. Pinata cookies who could want more!! Oh and I just wish I’d thought of the Ice skating plastic bags. GG
You are so talented, Lorraine! These are absolutely adorable!
They are the cutest! What a wonderful treat for Christmas!
Very cute!! Merry Christmas Lorraine x
Officially on my gift list these are the cutest surprise cookies ever
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
What a cute idea indeed!
I always let my littlej have a pinata at her birthday- their little faces shine with excitement
I’m definitely a wrapper… but of course I have to only use a range of colour coordinated papers and ribbons that match in with and compliment the tree- please tell me I’m not the only one who does this?
omg… I love the rough edge look on these cookie gifts, it makes even more adorable than they already are!
Oh Lorraine, these are so cute…I always enjoy seeing your posts…always so creative. I would love to get one of this surprise cookie.
Have a great week!
Cookies are indeed nice but they are not so easy to cook sometimes. Great suggestion I will try to use during this Christmas
You have not only skill and imagination but great patience. These are adorable. I too ice skated wearing plastic bags on plush pile and longed to see snow. My children have never seen snow and they constantly remind me! Alfie has an end of year party tomorrow at school. I’m supposed to send him with 26 treats. These would have me labelled as ‘mum of the year’ but I fear there are not enough remaining hours to pull this off – but I am inspired! xx
So cute!
I’m definitely a wrapper and I coordinate all my presents with my tree (oh dear it sounds bad when I type it out). This year it’s white paper with red and white bakers twine.
Just absolutely love your blog Lorraine
WOW – i love the richness of colour that you’ve achieved with the dough. Beautiful.
i LOVE this idea! And like you said it’s not that difficult but kids (and big kids) would love this. Merry Christmas, Lorraine! xx
These are so clever! It’s like two treats in one. And who doesn’t want that — anytime of year.
HOW adorable, TRUE!
LOVE pinatas too!
I am a wrapper and a bagger, depends on the pressie,
I purchase Christmas items throughout the year as is fun to see!
When the Silly Season does arise,
I too am full of “I wonder what I wrapped” and surprise!
We don’t have snow and I always dreamed with a white Christmas, like in the movies. But we had piñatas, that was very common for birthdays celebration, but something changed, as experts said that piñatas are not good for kids, as they have to “kill” it to obtain surprises, can you believe that? As a result, my kids never had and never enjoyed a piñata.
I’m in love with this idea!!! I want to make these before christmas!!!
OMG – the kids would love this!
Gorgeous. I am obsessed with collecting those gift bags too, I have a huge bag of them and sometimes can’t bear to part with them! I honestly can remember back in the late 60′s early 70′s when they started making them and I was obsessed with them back then!! Merry Christmas Lorraine and thanks for the daily posts this year. x
These are soooo cute Lorraine! What a perfect gift idea
Aaaaaahaha! These are awesome!!
When I lived in America as a kid, a lot of the birthday parties I went to had pinatas (I think because of the Hispanic influence in California). So good!
These look like the perfect thing for my sweet little three year old neighbors!
OMG this is such a cute idea Lorraine
I love it!
It’ll definitely surprise me if I received one of these cute cookies hehe
I’m definitely a bagger cuz my wrapping skills are horrible!
These are so cute Lorraine
Thanks for the recipe xo
Too adorable and clever! I am a nagger
I meant bagger! Damnyouautocorrect!
They look amazing! I’ve also loved those piñata cookies since I saw them, though I haven’t made them yet. But this is a great holiday version
wowza! very impressive!!!
Sooo cute! I saw the piñata cookies too but never thought of making them into little gifts! That’s a super cool idea!
I LOVE these! So adorable and not only do you get a cookie but mnms too- double whammy.
I’ve always wanted to have a pinata aswell- I tried to convince the bf to get one for this xmas..not going to happen.
These truly are just too sweet Lorraine , great idea and one I must keep in mind, not just for Christmas but birthdays, kitchen teas, baby showers etc On my very long list of ‘To Do’ I have included some handmade Lego chocs for the little ones which I will colour red, yellow, blue and green, whether I can pull that off is another story! All I want for Christmas is 48 hours in a day, pleeeeeeease Santa!! Argh I’m running out of time….Oh and next year I’ve decided I’m colour co-ordinating my Christmas presents wrapping , just so I’ll look like I’m totally organised. My niece does it every year , her colours being red and white for 2012 but she is slightly on the OCD side,lol!
Only seven more sleeps but who’s counting….Help!
What a wonderful idea! This is just too cute. A gift of extra mini M&MS as well as the cookies! Double win
I love that you took the idea from those famous pinata cookies that went absolutely, sicko viral and made surprise gift cookies! They are gorgeous, Lorraine! If I had the patience and time..I would make them for this holiday, for sure! However..I doubt they would look as beautiful as yours!
On another note…I had a Barbie hair styling and fashion face HEAD..it was just a head, but I loved putting the curlers in ‘her’ hair and slathering old sky blue maybelline eye shadow on her lids… with hot pink lipstick (amazing what kind of makeup is HOT when you’re a little girl lol)
Years later, as a teen, we used the head to scare people in the dark. By then she had a super short hair cut, but I can’t recall who did that to her. I think she’s still at my parent’s house. I’ll have to look next time I’m there
Haha I stuck pieces of A4-sized paper under my feet to ‘ice skate’ around the house :p
Love those gift cookies – they’re so gorgeous!
Wow, that is so cool!
I’m a bagger for birthdays, but when it comes to Christmas I like to wrap and decorate the present with stickers and ribbons and stuff
These are just fab! I don’t have the patience to make these but I would be beyond excited if someone made these for me
Too cute! Such a great gift idea. Any kid, big or small, would love it!
What a nice gift! I loved Brydie’s wrapping paper idea as well
That is so adorable and amazing. I’d imagine kids would just love this!
ADORABLE and I love the cheery, bright red! What a fun surprise! Lovely photos:)
OMG Lorraine I am speechless, these are so creative and amazing. Very adorable. I think I settled on a red velvet cheesecake for the 24th. Oh and we have our first snowstorm today…come here is you want to see some.
Lorraine, I cannot express how much I enjoy your blog, especially when you make something like this. I adore these gift cookies, and the surprise inside. That will give lots of joy to the receiver when you found a little surprise while eating. Fantastic tutorial too!
Way too time consuming for me but they just look gorgeous! If only….btw – color co-ordinated present wrapping ?? Are you serious – mine are lucky to get wrapped at all sometimes!
Umm this is awesome. So awesome. My life is too busy right now that I am SO not going to be great with gifts this year. Next year…
Heidi xo
What absolutely gorgeous cookies with a delightful surprise inside!
Unfortunately half of the family is overseas at the moment, but we never did the big Christmas thing anyway. We conserve our energy for waking up at 6am on Boxing Day for the sales
cute and clever, lorraine! i’ve always been a wrapper, but my brothers tell me that if i want to unwrap their presents for me, i must wrap them myself. so i do.
How cute! I want one of those, unwrapped…
How cute are these? And I still love to wrap!
These are absolutely gorgeous! Can’t wait to make them over the Christmas holiday!
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