Adorable Chiikawa cookies — buttery, soft sugar cookies decorated to look like the cute Chiikawa characters.
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract (optional, for flavor)
For decoration:
- Royal icing (white, pink, brown, black)
- Food coloring gels (to match Chiikawa characters)
- Piping bags with fine tips
- Edible markers (optional, for details)
Instructions
- Make the dough
- In a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in egg, vanilla, and almond extract.
- Gradually add dry ingredients until dough forms.
- Chill
- Divide dough into two discs, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Shape & Bake
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Roll dough to ¼-inch thickness.
- Cut out round or oval shapes (to resemble Chiikawa faces).
- Place on parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake 8–10 minutes until edges are lightly golden.
- Cool completely before decorating.
- Decorate
- Use white royal icing to flood the base of each cookie.
- Let dry, then pipe facial features with black icing (eyes, mouth).
- Add pink icing for cheeks, brown for ears, and other colors depending on the character (Chiikawa, Hachiware, Usagi).
- Allow icing to set fully before serving.
Tips
- For clean outlines, use edible markers after the icing dries.
- If you want extra detail, print Chiikawa face templates and trace them lightly onto cookies before piping.
- Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
