It’s hard to believe that the major Avengers Infinity Saga, a storyline that has pulled together 22 different movies, is coming to an end this week. I hadn’t been super interested in Marvel comics or superheroes growing up (definitely more of a Batman girl), but I went along with my friends when the movies came out and found myself captivated by the different characters and stories. As the series has grown, I’ve become more and more excited to see what happens next and can’t wait to see how everything comes together.
While Marvel is a more recent addition to the Disney family, I knew I wanted to do something to commemorate the release of Avengers: Endgame and so I’m excited to share these Infinity War/Endgame inspired shortbread cookies.
When thinking about Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the aspect of the film that stuck out to me the most was the ending of Infinity War, [Spoilers] where Thanos collects all of the Infinity stones and turns 50% of the population to dust with a snap of his fingers. While it was certainly not a happy ending, and not the most lighthearted baking inspiration, I really liked the idea of incorporating the dust and the memory of those that were lost into this bake. With where the story picks up in Endgame, I feel like it’s an appropriate mindset to be in.
To achieve all of this, I knew I wanted something that could easily turn to dust but still have the ability to be decorated with aspects of the Avengers, and so I settled on these tasty chocolate shortbread cookies. Shortbread cookies are a bit firmer and harder than typical cookies and so I knew they would be a great fit for that dust imagery. I chose chocolate shortbread, as I love all things chocolate, but also because I wanted a darker color cookie.
To decorate them, I added the symbols of individual Avengers using stencils and powdered sugar. My first thought was to use a royal icing and pipe the different designs, but I was afraid my piping would look a bit messy and so decided to use stencils. I also really liked the added sweetness the powdered sugar brought to the cookie.
While there are places that sell Avengers stencils, I decided to make my own using my Cricut machine. I hadn’t used it for any baking projects before, so it was a bit of a learning experience but it worked out really well. To make my stencils, I first chose the images I wanted and made a template using the Cricut design application.
I chose to use the Avengers Logo, and then symbols for Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Captain Marvel, Spiderman, Black Panther, and Nick Fury. In keeping with the dust theme, I wanted a mix of those who survived Thanos’ snap and those that did not. After baking, my cookies were about 2 ½ inches in diameter, so I made my images that same diameter so they would fit. While there’s still a bit of trial and error and adjusting them onto the cookie, 2 ½ inches was a good baseline to aim for.
Once the images were all set in the application, I cut them into a light to medium thick cardstock, placed the stencil on top of the cookies, and dusted over them with powdered sugar using a small mesh sifter. I thought they turned out great and was excited to have a bit of the dust imagery brought into the decoration.
Since shortbread is a firmer cookie, these are great with a nice cup of tea or a glass of milk. Whether you’re planning on seeing Avengers: Endgame opening night or sometime in the future, I hope these cookies bring you a bit of action and adventure!
Avengers: Endgame Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
Decorations
- Avengers stencils
- powdered sugar
- small mesh sifter
Instructions
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In a small bowl, sift flour and cocoa powder together. Stir in coarse salt. Set aside.
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Beat butter on medium speed until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add sugar and beat for 2 minutes.
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On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, beating until the dough sticks together with pressed.
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On a sheet of wax paper, form the dough into a log about 12-14 inches long and 1 ½ inches in diameter. Roll the dough in the wax paper and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
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Preheat oven to 325 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Remove the dough from the wax paper and slice into ¼ inch thick slices.
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Place cookies on prepared baking sheets and bake until firm, 17-20 minutes.
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Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Once cooled, place desired stencil on top of cookie and gently sift powdered sugar on top. Carefully remove stencil from the cookie, and repeat with all cookies.
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Epicurious