Festive Sombrero Shaped Sugar Cookies (Printer-friendly)

Festive sugar cookies shaped like Mexican sombreros with colorful frosting and gumdrop toppings.

# 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

→ Decoration

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
13 - Assorted colorful sprinkles

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly distributed. Set aside.
03 - In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 2–3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract, beating until fully incorporated.
04 - Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture, mixing on low speed until a smooth, cohesive dough forms. Avoid overmixing.
05 - On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to ¼-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 24 large circles for the sombrero brims. Using a 1-inch round cutter, cut out 24 small circles for the sombrero crowns.
06 - Arrange both large and small circles on the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake for 8–10 minutes until the edges are lightly golden. Transfer to a cooling rack and 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. Decorate the brim edges with additional icing and colorful sprinkles. Allow icing to set before serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The double cookie construction makes these surprisingly sturdy once the icing sets, so they travel well to parties.
  • Kids lose their minds over the bright colors and gumdrop tops, making you the hero of any classroom celebration.
  • You can prep the dough a day ahead and decorate at your own pace without feeling rushed.
02 -
  • Let the base icing set for about five minutes before standing the crown on top, otherwise the small cookie will slowly slide off and you will be reassembling sad tilted hats all afternoon.
  • Chilling the dough for twenty minutes before rolling makes it dramatically easier to cut clean circles that hold their shape in the oven.
03 -
  • Piping bags (or zip top bags with a corner snipped off) give you far more control over the icing than spreading with a knife, especially when attaching the crowns.
  • The icing should drip slowly off a spoon like honey rather than pouring like water, so adjust with tiny amounts of sugar or milk until it feels right.

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