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These delightful emoji cookies are just what you need to make your day a little more interesting!
Passionfruit-flavoured, vibrant, fun and an all-around good time in the form of a delicious buttery cookie.
So far, they’ve got to be the most fun I’ve had creating cookies. And I’m gifting you this recipe because you deserve to experience the same!
I highly encourage you to join in on the fun and make these too!
This recipe came into existence through my discovery of icebox cookies shaped into fruits, cartoon characters and various other cute cookie creations.
Admittedly, there is absolutely nothing I like more than food that fits a theme, so I knew I had to try it! And it just so happened that July 17th was World Emoji Day and I thought why not combine the two?
This is how this recipe for emoji cookies came to life!
Featuring the faces of good times, contentment and satisfaction due to eating all kinds of delicious foods. Mostly because these are some of my favourite emojis and also feelings in general. But you can get as creative as you like with these emoji cookies, customise as you please!
What are icebox cookies?
Icebox cookies are a little different than your roll-into-a-ball-and-bake type of cookies. Traditionally, the dough gets shaped into a log before it is placed in the refrigerator to firm up. This log then gets sliced into portions /disks before baking. Allowing it to hold its shape and remain uniform. Also known as refrigerator cookies.
But today we’re taking it a step further and giving these cookies a bit of personality and a face, an emoji face!
Emoji Cookie Ingredients
- Butter: The foundation for these cookies that makes them taste so buttery good and gives you that melt-in-the-mouth sensation! You’ll need to use room-temperature butter and whip it up until it is nice and fluffy. If you’ve forgotten to bring your butter to room temperature, cut it into cubes and pop it in the microwave at 50% power for 20 seconds at a time until soft.
- Icing Sugar: Make sure it’s sieved first so there are no big clumps, (it’ll make it easier to incorporate). Whisk together with the butter to create a smooth, light and fluffy mixture before adding in the salt.
- Salt: Just a pinch to lift the flavours of the ingredients in these cookies. It’ll need a quick mix-through before the egg is added.
- Egg: To help bind all the ingredients together. You’ll only need the tiniest bit. Whip up one egg and then measure out the amount for this recipe. Use the rest for scrambled eggs, an omelette, a quiche or something else delicious. Don’t forget to also make sure your egg is at room temperature.
- Vanilla Extract: Similar to salt, this will add flavour and lift the other ingredients in these cookies.
- Plain Flour: For the structure that holds these cookies together. Also known as all-purpose flour. If you find your flour has big clumps in it, feel free to give it a quick sieve before it’s mixed in with the other ingredients.
- Baking powder: Used to add a bit of extra volume to the cookies, resulting in a light, soft and delicious outcome. Stir this into the plain flour before dividing it out amongst the different coloured mixtures.
- Almond meal: Made from almonds that have been ground up into a powder form. Therefore they’re also referred to as ground almonds. Almond flour will also work for this recipe.
- Raspberry Puree: I defrost frozen raspberries and push them through a sieve to remove the seeds. It gives the pink parts of the cookies a bit of added fruity flavour and also a bit of colour. Used to make the tongues of the cookies.
- Red Food Colouring: To brighten up the raspberry tongues on these emoji cookies. I used a drop for the inner parts and then another drop or so for the outline of the tongues. This will help you achieve the two tones to bring the emoji to life!
- Cocoa Powder: Used to colour a portion of the mixture for all the facial features on our emojis. Including the small details of the eyes and mouths. It also provides a nice subtle chocolate flavour. I suggest using the best quality cocoa you can find.
- Passionfruit Powder: Adding a bit of a fruity twist to these icebox cookies. You can often find these powders in specialty stores. I used this one here from Fresh As. Tip: Store your freeze-dried fruits and powders in the fridge, they keep better and last longer.
- Ground Turmeric: Gives the emoji cookies their signature yellow colour. As a great natural colouring, the turmeric in these cookies is hardly detectable in terms of flavour. It also saves you from searching for yellow food colouring!
Shaping Emoji Cookies
After you’ve made the mixture for these cookies and coloured them accordingly, now comes the fun part! Also known as the complicated part if you happen to be a perfectionist, like me.
One of the most important things to remember is to always use baking paper. During this process, all of the shaping, moulding and cutting should either be on and/or between baking paper. It makes transferring pieces a lot easier and cleaner.
1. Shape the faces
The first step in this process starts with shaping your passionfruit dough for the emoji faces.
Start by moulding the dough into a log shape, making it as circular as possible. Then using the baking paper, roll it into an even uniform shape, pressing tightly with a dough scraper. You want to aim for a diameter of 4cm – 5cm and 8cm-9cm in length.
Once this is done and it’s all nice and round, push in the ends to flatten slightly and place in the fridge to set. This will take around 20 minutes or so and the dough at this point should have hardened. It needs to be solid enough to cut into so that it won’t lose its shape. So if you find it becomes too soft you can give it more time in the fridge.
2. Shape the mouths and tongues
The second step is shaping those facial features. Starting with the mouth and tongues, because they also need some time to set in the fridge.
For the mouths: Take a small portion of the cocoa brown dough and make a rounded log with a flat edge on one side. This is for the bottom section of the mouth. You’ll need enough to get 6 slices out of it (about 0.2cm each), for the 6 cookies. Therefore it’ll need to be at least 1.5cm long. I normally find it’s better to have an excess amount rather than too little, as it’s easier to work with. Keep in mind that the ends will also get sliced off.
Then using the white dough, make a rectangular piece (about 0.3cm in thickness) to fit on top of the flat edge of the brown log you have just created. These are your teeth.
Lastly, roll out a thin layer of the cocoa brown dough to fit over and around the shapes, you have just made. This is the outline for your teeth and mouth. Cut to size and then make sure all the pieces are sealed together tight. Place in the fridge to harden.
For the tongues: Using the light pink dough, make a cylinder about 0.8cm in diameter. You’ll need enough for 6 tongues about 0.2cm in width, again allowing for a little extra. Then roll out the dark pink dough (0.1cm – 0.2cm) to fit around the pink cylinder you have just created. Seal tightly and mould into an oval shape. Place in the fridge to harden.
3. Make the eyes and smiles
The final part of this process involves the most delicate part, the eyes and smiles. I’ve found the easiest way to do this is by rolling out the cocoa brown dough to 0.15cm or so in thickness and cutting thin strips. You can then gently roll these stripes using the palm of your hand and shape them into the curves of the mouth and the points of the eyes.
Congratulations you now have all you need to assemble it all!
Emoji Cookie Assembly
Once you’ve got all the pieces of the puzzle, the next part is pretty easy.
1. Slice the passionfruit dough log
When the passionfruit dough has hardened you can then go ahead and slice it into your 12 cookies. Aka the emoji faces. If you need to, at this point you can tidy up the shape by using a small knife or your hands to mould/round off.
2. Add on those mouths and tongues
It’s normally easier to start with the largest parts first so you can get the placement right.
Mouths: Remove the ends of the log, then slice off 6 pieces (0.2cm thickness) and place centred on the bottom half of your emojis, gently pushing to seal together.
Tongues: Slicing lengthwise cut off one side of the log, so there is one flat edge. Cut off the ends and then slice 6 pieces (0.2cm thickness). Next, place the bottom right of the other half of the emojis. Pushing gently to seal together.
3. Eyes and smiles
Place the smiles in line with the tongues, followed by all the eyes to match each emoji. I found it often helps to use a tool to transport the delicate details to your emojis such as a small knife or spatula.
Hooray, you are now all done! And you should have a lovely collection of emojis smiling back at you. All that’s left to do is return it to the fridge for another 10 minutes as you preheat that oven and then they’re all good to bake.
Note: You will have some excess dough from all the facial features you have created. Make them into fun shapes such as hearts or leave them as is and bake along with your cookies. Extra tasty cookie pieces!
Baking Your Emoji Cookies
These cute cookies will take between 12-15 minutes in the oven at 160 degrees Celsius. They should have a slight firmness to them when touched and will continue to firm as they cool.
Emoji Cookies
Ingredients
Butter mixture
- 60 g Butter Room temp
- 45 g Icing Sugar Sifted
- 1 g Salt
- 16 g Egg Room temp
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
Cookies
- Butter Mixture
- 110 g Plain Flour
- 12 g Almond Meal
- ½ tsp (2g) Baking Powder
- 3 g Raspberry Puree
- 2-3 drops Red Food Colouring
- ½ tsp (3g) Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp (5g) Passionfruit Powder
- ½ tsp (2g) Ground Turmeric
Instructions
Butter Mixture
- Whisk the butter until light and fluffy.
- Add in the icing sugar and whisk until well combined.
- Then add in the salt and give it a quick mix before whisking in the egg and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Cookies
- It's time to divide and colour the dough!White dough (teeth):Mix 3g butter mixture and 4g flour until a dough forms.Raspberry pink dough (tongues):Mix 10g butter mixture, 12g flour, 5g almond meal and raspberry puree until a dough forms. Add a drop of red colouring into the dough and mix until the colour is evenly distributed. Then add a further drop of red colouring to ⅓ of this dough to make a darker pink. Cocoa brown dough (mouths, eyes and smiles):Mix 10g butter mixture, 6g flour, 3g almond, 3g cocoa until a dough forms.Passionfruit turmeric yellow dough (faces):Mix the remaining butter mixture, flour and almond meal with the passionfruit and turmeric until a dough forms.
- Shape the passionfruit dough into a circular log (measuring approximately 4.5 cm-5 cm in diameter and 8cm – 9cm in length). Cover with baking paper and place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes or until hardened.
- Meanwhile, shape the facial features of the emojis*. For the mouths: Shape a small portion of the cocoa brown dough into a rounded log with a flat edge (Enough to allow for 6 slices 0.2cm in width). Shape a rectangle (0.3cm thickness) with the white dough and attach it to the flat edge of the log, cutting to size. Then roll out a 0.15cm thick piece of cocoa brown dough to fit over these pieces. Ensure they are all tightly sealed together before placing in the fridge to harden, around 5-10 minutes.For the tongue: Roll the light pink dough into a cylinder (0.8cm diameter). Then roll out the darker pink dough (0.1cm-0.2cm thickness) and wrap it around the light pink dough. Seal tightly and mould into an oval log then place in the fridge to harden, around 5-10 minutes.For the eyes and smiles: Roll out the remainder of the cocoa brown dough into 0.15cm or so in thickness. Cut thin strips, roll gently with your palm and shape the eyes and smiles.
- When the passionfruit dough has hardened, slice it into 12 equal disks and place it on a lined baking tray. Neaten edges with a small knife or your hands.
- Assemble and construct emoji faces, starting with the mouths and tongues. Mouths: Cut the ends off the log, then slice 6 thin pieces. Place centred on the bottom half of the faces. Tongues: Cut off the edge of the log lengthwise to make a flat edge, then cut off both ends. Slice 6 pieces and attach to the other 6 faces to the bottom right side.
- Next, add on your smiles on top of the tongues in alignment, followed by your eyes, pressing gently to seal them together.
- Place the tray of completed emojis in the fridge for a further 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat your oven to bake at 160°C.
- Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes or until firm to touch.
- Allow to cool on the baking tray. Then enjoy your delicious creations!
Notes
- For further detailed instructions on how to mould and shape the faces of these cookies refer to the information and explanations above this recipe.
I hope you have as much fun as I did when creating these cute cookies. Guaranteed fun times and a great baking activity to brighten up your day. Plus you get to enjoy a tasty treat at the end of it all!
And you can even add your spin on things by replicating your favourite type of emoji face.
If you give this recipe a go, don’t forget to tag @theculinaryletter and #theculinaryletter, so I can see all your wonderful creations!
Until next time, stay curious!
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