3D animal cookie elephants and bunny rabbits made with special cookie cutters. Recipe slightly adapted from Stella.
Ingredients
For the cookie dough:
⅜ cups (85g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (100g) sugar
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
14g ounce vanilla extract
1⅘ cups (225g) flour, sifted
40g egg whites; from one or two eggs, depending on size
For cutting out the cookies:
3D animal cookie cutters
For the icing glue:
~1/2 cup icing sugar
a couple of drops of water
Method
Prepare the cookie dough:
Cream together the butter and the sugar on medium speed until just combined, and not until "light and fluffy".
Add in the nutmeg, salt, and vanilla. Mix until combined.
Turn the mixing speed down to low, and add half the flour. Mix just until incorporated. Add half the egg whites, and mix until combined.
Repeat with the remaining flour and egg whites.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1½ hours.
Prepare the cookies:
Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll out the cookie dough on a lightly floured work surface until the dough is 0.6 cm (1/4 inch) thick.
Cut out the cookies using your cookie cutters and gently transfer them to the parchment paper, using the end of a spoon to remove the dough from the cookie cutter. Be careful not to change the shape of the cookie.
Preheat the oven to 350°F, and meanwhile place the baking sheets in the fridge.
Chill the cookies for at 30 minutes, and then bake for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges.
Cool completely.
Prepare the icing glue:
Mix the icing sugar with the water until you get a thick paste.
To assemble the cookies:
Slide the cookies together, using icing glue if necessary to keep them together.
If you are having trouble getting them to fit together, gently cut the slots larger using a paring knife (the cookies are hard, so cut very carefully to prevent them from snapping).
Recipe by IronWhisk at http://www.ironwhisk.com/2013/09/3d-animal-crackers/