February 06, 2011

Penguin Icebox Cookies

That's right, penguins! I loved reading all your guesses and reasoning last post. Now I've got hippos, monkeys, elephants, and Totoro on the brain for future projects :). But, for today, let's talk about penguins.


For some reason, when I think "cartoon penguins," I picture cute little blue penguins, not black ones. But now that I've pondered over this, I realize that this may be the influence of too much Sanrio in my childhood, if there is such a thing :P. There used to be a penguin character named Tuxedo Sam, a little guy with a red bow tie and a spiffy sailor hat, and he was indeed pastel blue. But because I wanted to use my ube powder (purple yam powder), I decided to make these penguin cookies purple. And that is why these penguins are purple.

P.S. Two pictures above, you can see the last animal in this icebox cookie series. Not as difficult to guess as the penguins were, I think :P.

Penguin Ice Box Cookies
icebox cookie dough (with modifications below)
3 tbsp ube powder
purple food coloring
black nonpareils

Make the vanilla icebox cookie dough until it says STOP (for modifications). Split the mixture that you have so far in thirds and set aside for now. Get two separate bowls. To one bowl, add 1 cup flour. Add one third of the previously split mixture. Mix until you get a dough.

To the other bowl, add 1 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp flour and 3 tbsp ube powder, mix. Then add the remaining two thirds of the previously split mixture and mix. Add purple food coloring. Now you should have one vanilla cookie dough and one purple ube cookie dough.

NOTE: Ube powder (purple yam powder) can usually be found at Asian supermarkets. If you can't find it, that's fine. Instead, replace the powder with 3 tbsp flour (in addition to the other flour) and add a bit more purple food coloring.


Place the vanilla dough on a piece of plastic wrap. Roll it so it forms a log with a 2 cm diameter. Sandwich the purple dough between two sheets of plastic wrap. Use a rolling pin to roll it out to a 1.5 cm thick rectangle as long as the vanilla dough log. Now use the rolling pin to flatten the sides of the rectangle (as pictured above). The middle should remain thick and the sides should be able to wrap around the vanilla dough log.

Wrap the purple dough around the vanilla dough log. Use your fingers to smooth out the crease formed. Cover the entire log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Now go back to above instructions to where it says RESUME. Except, after the log is sliced, place 2 black nonpareils on each cookie on the top of the cookie where the purple dough is, as the eyes, then bake.

Makes approximately 90 cookies.

Decorating Penguin Cookies
white chocolate
yellow candy melts (or white chocolate + yellow candy coloring)

Melt the yellow candy melts and use them to draw a small triangle beak and two semicircle feet. Then, melt the white chocolate and use a toothpick to trace two wings. Let the chocolate dry before serving.

80 comments:

  1. They are so adorable! and great ideas!

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  2. These are clearly the most adorable cookies evarr! And what a cool technique, too. Definitely gets the wheels turning on the possibilities of "icebox" cookies. :)

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  3. so cuute! i lOVED tuxedo sam, i was so sad when they stopped making him. batz maru just doesn't have the same appeal (wait, batz maru is a penguin right? i just realized he kind of looks like an owl.)
    anyway, adorable cookie series, love love love.

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  4. OMG those are the cutest thing ever!

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  5. Love these little cookies. Very clever.

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  6. All the cookies are sooo cute! Too cute to eat! But since they look so delicious, I would end up eating them all. lol =D

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  7. They are soooo adoraaableeeee!!!

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  8. Oh my gosh, you've done it again! :) Can't wait for the elephant!

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  9. Excellent! I've been working on a Panda, but I love your PURPLE penguins!!

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  10. This whole series of little animal cookies are gorgeous! So creative =)

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  11. Nada, Katie Yoon, La Table de Nana, Amanda, Cathy, Theresa, CantStopBaking, chika, Jane Ko, Sue: Thank you all!

    { Penny Candy Studios }: Yup, icebox cookies really can be quite versatile.

    BellsInSpires: Thanks! Haha, I never realized Badtz Maru was a penguin. But yes, no competition with Tuxedo Sam for me either.

    justJENN: Ooh, panda. Can't wait to see that.

    Carly: Thanks! Only one more to the series for now. Though perhaps I will expand on this in the future, now that I think about it.

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  12. I think I could eat this all day long, because I love such delicious looking things :)

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  13. So cute! I love purple penguins!

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  14. So cute! We'd love to share your recipe at dishfolio.com!

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  15. adorable and gorgeous
    sweet pics too
    Delphine

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  16. How adorable. Thanks for all the great suggestions. I don't know if I will every take the time to make them, but I am glad someone else did!

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  17. your cookies are absolutely amazing!! i would love to try making these but how much purple food coloring did you add in? did you just use the liquid kind or gel..?

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  18. Paula, anna, Delphine, pigpigscorner, Nicole: Thank you!

    Lacey: Feel free to post it there.

    kiki: Thank you! I used gel food coloring (I usually use gel because then I can use less; liquid coloring is less concentrated so I feel like I always need to add a lot, which adds too much extra liquid). Sorry to say that I'm not too sure how much I used. I just added a little at a time as I was mixing it into the dough until that I was satisfied by the purple color.

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  19. wow absolutely love your blog! So creative and cute! I'm going to have to try these out with or without ube powder!

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  20. too cute for words! you have to do more animals now...and i love they are natural food colorings....(ps just bought some ube, couldn't find the powder, so may try some cupcakes with it...!) thanks for sharing this!!

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  21. These are precious!

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  22. purple penguins are adorable!! :) They're fat and cute! :] wish I could eat some. haha just wondering, did you make anything for chinese new year? :)

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  23. ILoveChocolateee!: Aw, thanks!

    Jess: Yes, do try them out! With ube or not; it's all good.

    Swee San, culinaryneophyte, hana: Thank you all!

    sugarswings: Haha, I guess I do :P. There are just too many animals out there in the world. Fresh ube cupcakes? Sounds cool!

    Mel: Hehe, I think it's the fatness that makes them cute. Nope, didn't make anything for CNY. I was thinking about it, but didn't have enough time. My mom made lots of good food though. Perhaps next year.

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  24. Turtles and Lions!! Haha I know that Tuxedo Sam character. I grew up on Sanrio too!

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  25. really cute! I couldn't wait to share them on facebook and twitter :) such cute penguins and oh that turtle!!!

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  26. These are gorgeous! I lobe how cute they are!

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  27. omg. the cuteness of it all. love them.

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  28. I heart penguins too! We are doing a penguin theme this year for the holiday! Totally doing these!

    hugs! Kim @ Party Frosting!

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  29. Jessica's Dinner Party: Sanrio <3!

    Diane, SweetSugarBelle, lora: Thank you!

    Nam: Haha, I'll def think about it. First I have to find some way to tackle Hello Kitty (my fav Sanrio character).

    Kim: That sounds really cute!

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  30. Soooo cute! I have a niece that adores penguins, these are going on my to do list!
    Thanks for sharing!

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  31. Really adorable, I need to start baking now. xD What is meant by icebox cookies anyways? Is there like a distinct taste or something?

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  32. I can't believe I only just found your blog today! I actually found it through MustHaveCute.com and I'm glad you did. I'm a follower and soon to be a copycat of some adorable looking recipes :D

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  33. Please do a tutorial on the turtle cookies too!

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  34. L & Cake Believe: Thanks!

    Nancy: Nope, nothing to do with taste. The "icebox" of icebox cookies refers to the refrigerator because the cookie dough is typically refrigerated before slicing and baking.

    LoLo: Welcome to the blog!

    missy-j: I'm definitely planning on it. Most likely next weekend. I took a break from icebox cookies this week to post a V-Day dessert.

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  35. Every so often I see a post that is just so cute and I think, wow... so much talent. That is what these adorable cookies are! :)

    Kindly, Lorraine

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  36. I must try those penguin cookies! I can't believe how cute and simple and absolutely perfect they are! Thanks for sharing the cuteness with us. Stopping by from One Pretty Thing.

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  37. Lorraine: Thank you! That's very sweet.

    Megan: Try them :P! Thanks!

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  38. These are ADORABLE. My mother-in-law loves penguins, and her birthday is tomorrow - I'll be making these ASAP and mailing them to her!

    Found your blog via FG or TS (can't remember) thanks to the turtle cookies and I will be revisiting often! :)

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  39. Putting these in the oven now :) Unfortunately though, my food coloring made violet penguins instead of lavender ones =\ and for some reason my vanilla dough wasn't as white as yours! definitely trying another batch again soon ;)

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  40. I discovered your blog thanks to Ucreate Food and I love it! I will post an entry about these cute penguins at my Tumblr account where I mention sweet, beautiful things (I'm linking back, of course). Keep up the great job! :)

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  41. Kate & Cristina: Thanks! Welcome to the blog :).

    P: They still sound cute. Hmm, maybe your eggs just have yellower yolks than mine?

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  42. You are so creative!

    I loved these icebox cookies, and I couldn't help but try them myself!

    The cookies alone were yummy, and with the animal characters they were a hit!

    Here are some of my trials, they're not as perfect as yours, but still cute ^_^

    http://i56.tinypic.com/x3d8np.jpg

    http://i53.tinypic.com/4qh5s4.jpg

    http://i55.tinypic.com/2jcugy.jpg

    The little penguins were a bit deformed, but who cares :D

    Thanks for sharing this :)

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  43. These are in my oven right now! I tried to make them a blue-grey but the dough was too yellow so it turned out a dark green. I also didn't have any white chocolate, so I used half a rice puff for the beak, and carved out the wings and the eyes.

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  44. My penguins did not turn out so cute, but they are certainly tasty!

    I had some issues rolling out the dough. It was moist, but it crumbled whenever I tried to roll it. I let it sit in the fridge for 30min before trying to roll again, and had a bit more success... but most of my penguins came out looking more like Daisy's up above.

    I think I'll try the lions next - maybe a simple circle is more to my abilities.

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  45. GORGEOUS COOKIES!! So gorgeous that... I just made these cookies! The first cookies i've EVER made... Except I made them butterscotch flavoured! I also turned half into Owls with chocolate chip eyes with icing piped on for the iris's and the front feathers.

    The actual cookies though turned out a leeetle bit wonky (I think I used too much colouring! As I didn't have any Yam Powder) and some of them look a bit sideways lol. I definitely need some practise.

    And others have said, the belly's on mine were yellow, not white! :( I think if I make them again I'll add some white food colouring because I can't think of another way to whiten them :(

    So yeah, just wanted to say, THANK YOU!! :) x

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  46. Daisy: Thank you for sharing your photos with me! I love seeing my readers' creations. Imperfections let people know that they were homemade, not store bought. Plus, I find that it gives the cookies character :D.

    Anonymous: The rice puff beak sounds quite interesting!

    Pale_Blue_Dot: As long as they taste fine, it's all good. Hmm, that sounds odd, moist but crumbly dough. Was your butter at room temperature (soft) when you mixed it into the dough? I find that when butter is still too firm when mixed into dough, the dough turns out crumbly. And letting the dough rest longer in the fridge helps too. The lions are definitely easier to shape than the penguins.

    Lux: You're welcome. Yay, I'm so glad this inspired you to bake cookies! I'm intrigued by your owl cookies. These are a tad trickier to shape than the lions because it's hard to get the belly centered. But you'll get there with practice.

    I think my light blue bg photos are a bit deceptive because of the bright lighting. The bellies weren't totally white (I'm not sure that would be possible b/c of the yellow of egg yolks). They were more of a cream color, like in the second and fourth photos.

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  47. @unmacaronrose: Hmm I think I was lazy with the butter. I'll have to plan better and let it sit at room temp next time.

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  48. The cookie dough was easy to make. The modeling was near impossible. I ended up with massively deformed penguins! I would be more interested in seeing your "mess ups" and more troubleshooting.

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  49. So adorable! I found these through Pinterest, you do an amazing job!!

    I featured these on my blog today, feel free to stop by & check it out :)
    http://artsyfartsymama.blogspot.com/2011/12/pinteresting-features-n-shtuff-12.html

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  50. Thank you for the receipe. I made these cookies and the result is on my blog, here:
    http://petit-pou.blogspot.com/2011/12/sables-pinguins.html
    I translated your recipe in french, and convert the "cups" into grams (cups are not used in France). Of course, I give the link to your original recipe. I have also copied your sketches of the way to do the penguins, because it is easier for readers who don't read english, but if you mind, tell me and I will remove them.
    Thanks again for this recipe.

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  51. Simmer And Sew: Thanks!

    Pale_Blue_Dot: Haha, okay.

    Cheryl: Well, pretty much all of my penguins turned out like the pictures above, except for the end pieces (which I ate :P). If it's difficult to shape the whole log of dough at once, it might be helpful to divide it up and make multiple shorter logs, so you can see where the bellies are.

    Lindsay: I will check it out!

    claire: If you want to use my illustrations, please put something along the lines of "Picture Source: Susan @ diamondsfordessert.com" under each picture used and link back to my post.

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  52. Hi Susan! As you already know, these cookies are uber adorable... they definitely look Sanrio influenced. ;-)

    xoxo,
    Margaret
    --
    thebitesizebaker.blogspot.com

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  53. wow!! super cute cookies...first time here, n love it!

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  54. Hi, I would love to make your adorable penguin cookies for my son's birthday party. Can you please let me know where I could find the vanilla icebox cookie dough recipe. Thanks!

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    1. Um, yeah, scratch that. I found it. Thanks for the cute creations!

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  55. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Uh... I think I accidentally clicked the wrong button and deleted your comment. So sorry!!! I'm still not used to this new commenting form.

      But it said: "My daughter wants to make these but I have a question... Is there a substitute for the ube powder? We have an allergy to yams in the house and so its not possible to use this.... Thanks"

      Feel free to leave out the ube powder. It's more optional than necessary. I only added it to give the cookies some texture and a bit of ube flavor. You can just leave the dough as vanilla and just add purple food coloring.

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  56. I am fan of your website. This penguin cookies are so cute. I want to cook too. Do you know where I can get purple yam powder?

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    1. I got my yam powder at a Chinese supermarket in the baking section. It should be available anywhere that sells ingredients for Philippine cuisine since this powder is often used in Filipino desserts such as halo halo. But if you can't find it, it isn't absolutely necessary. Just add a bit more purple food coloring.

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  57. I found your website from another one that posted your photo but did not post a link to your site. :( Luckily you posted your blog's name within the picture and that is how I found you! Great work. I'm definitley a new fan of your site. :)

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  58. O.M.G. so cuuuuuuuuuute XD

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  59. i made these cookies today and they turned out amazing. :D
    the only issue i had was with the cookie dough. it was so buttery that when i baked it, they spread out a lot and got kinda deformed. so i used a different cookie recipe with the same method and they were fine. thank you for such a lovely idea!

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  60. thank u for the great tutorial. u inspire me to make angry birds cookies with the same method..
    ^___^

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  61. These are so adorablee!! I'm making these ATM for my friends birthday present! I'm just wondering, is the dough for the vanilla third supposed to be really crumbly? I mixed it for like 5 minutes straight and it wouldn't come together (by hand)..so I added a bit of butter since I only used 1 stick+6 tbs of butter at first..should I add more butter? It's be great if you could reply today bc I'm giving these to my friend tmw ^^

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    1. Nope, the vanilla dough is definitely not supposed to be crumbly. Definitely add the full 2 sticks of butter (always follow the recipe exactly!!!) Also, is it possible that you didn't split the wet ingredients evenly into thirds? If the vanilla portion gets less of the mixture, then it won't be wet enough and it'll end up crumbly. And also make sure that your butter is at room temperature; if it's too cold, it won't fully incorporate into your dough and your cookie dough will be crumbly.

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  62. These are adorable cookies! I attempted them tonight for a cookie exchange tomorrow... though I haven't really managed to succeed yet. They taste great, but definitely look no where near a penguin...

    I've found that the dough is staying really sticky and won't roll out for me. Any ideas on what might be causing that?

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    1. If the dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour as you're mixing it, 2 tablespoons at a time until you get a consistency that you like. (Could it be that you added a lot of food coloring? That would be extra liquid that needs to be balanced out with more flour.)

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  63. I love love love your blog and all your cute cookie ideas! Thank you so much for sharing your creativity with us! I can't wait to try making these adorable penguin cookies soon!

    Do you have any tips for slicing the cookies - super sharp knife? Amount of pressure and motion to make? Thank you!!

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    1. Yup, a sharp knife definitely helps. Just make sure to slice straight down so you get even slices. Definitely make sure the log of dough is chilled and firm before you slice it so it'll hold its shape better. And even if the slice turns out a bit squished, you can always poke and prod at each slice a bit to get the shape that you want.

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  64. this is a great idea, was wondering if the icebox cookies can sub butter for coconut oil? my daughter has allergies to milk products.

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  65. These are so cute and I want to make them for my son's winter themed birthday party in a few weeks. Can I make both sets of dough in advance and freeze them, or is it best to make these fresh? Just trying to limit the amount of last minute jobs!

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