King Cake is the famous and classic Mardi Gras dessert. It’s basically a giant cinnamon roll in cake form, and it’s no wonder why people love it so much. I thought this year it would be fun to make a cookie version! The cinnamon brown sugar mixture that typically goes in the center of the cake is rolled into a basic cookie dough then topped with the same type of glaze to get all the flavors of a King Cake in a cookie!

 This recipe makes around 20 cookies.

 Ingredients:

1 ½ Sticks (3/4 Cup, 12 Tbs, 170g) Unsalted Butter at Room Temperature

3/4 Cup (150g) Granulated Sugar

1 Large Room Temperature Egg

1 Tsp (4g) Vanilla Extract

2 ¼ Cups (292g) All-Purpose Flour

½ Tsp (2g) Baking Powder

¼ Tsp (2g) Salt

½ Tsp (1g) Nutmeg

½ Cup (113g) Brown Sugar, Packed

1 ½ Tsp (4g) Ground Cinnamon

For the Glaze:

2 Cups (250g) Confectioner’s Sugar

Around 3 Tbs (43g) Water

Sprinkles for Decorating

Directions:

1.     In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg and set aside. 

2.     In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on a medium speed for about 2 minutes, until light. 

3.     Add the egg and combine completely, then add the vanilla. With the mixer on low, gradually and constantly add the flour mixture and mix until just combined and the dough comes together.

4.     Lay a large piece of parchment on the counter and dust it with flour, then dump the dough onto it. Gently flatten then dough out with your hand, then flour the top surface of it and place another layer of parchment on top of it. Roll the dough out into rectangle until it’s about 1/4-inch or .635cm thick, then wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for one hour, or until firm. 

5.     Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F (175 C). In a bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon, then once the dough is chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature for about 10 minutes. Flour a clean surface and remove the top layer of parchment from the dough and flip it onto the surface and remove the other sheet, gently peeling it off.

6.     Gently spread the brown sugar mixture evenly all over the dough, then fold the dough in half. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough back out to 1/4-inch thickness. The dough may crack initially while rolling, but as it warms up it should stay together. Continue to fold and roll the dough until the brown sugar is swirled nicely throughout. Cut the dough into 4-inch(10cm) circles and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Cut 1-inch (2.5cm) circle out of the center of each cut cookie, this will make it resemble a king cake ring shape. 

7.     Bake for 10-12 minutes, until just golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. 

8.     Combine the confectioner’s sugar and water in a bowl until smooth and dip the top surfaces of the cooled cookies in the icing, allowing the excess to drip off. Sprinkle the classic king cake sprinkle colors on the icing while it’s still wet and allow the cookies to set for 10 minutes before enjoying. 

-Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or store in the freezer for up to a month. You can bake cookies from half of the dough and freeze the dough tightly covered in plastic for up to a month as well.