Happy Tuesday! Today Mary Poppins celebrates its 60th Anniversary! I love Mary Poppins — the character, the story, and the wonderful Sherman Brothers music. And so, to celebrate this special day, I’m excited to share these Feed the Bird Snow Globe Cookies! Inspired by the snow globe in the film and the beautiful “Feed the Birds” song, these Earl Grey cookies are decorated with orange royal icing.
One of my favorite parts of the D23 event in California was being able to celebrate Mary Poppins and the legacy of Richard Sherman and the Sherman Brothers’ music. Learning more about the making of the film, how the Sherman Brothers wrote the music for it, and hearing Meghan Trainor’s beautiful rendition of “Feed the Birds” were such incredible experiences.
Disclaimer: Links in this post are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn a very small amount from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!
A while ago I got a set of holiday cookie cutters that included a snow globe cookie cutter. I wasn’t sure what to do with it, but as I was thinking about this week’s bake, I realized it would be perfect. Given that the movie is set in London, I went with a classic tea flavored cookie and used Earl Grey. Once of the things I like about Earl Grey tea is its hint of citrus and so I paired the cookie with an orange flavored royal icing.
While the baking aspect of this recipe is straightforward (cookies and icing), there is a lot of decoration and rest/drying time. So, definitely make sure to plan some time for making these cookies.
To make the cookies, first whisk together the flour, salt, and tea in a medium bowl. For this recipe, I used Harney & Sons Earl Grey Supreme tea. I really love Harney & Sons tea — they have high quality tea with great flavor; however, you can use any brand of Earl Grey tea that you’d like. The one thing you’ll want to do is make sure that your tea is finely ground so that it better blends into the dough. For the tea I used, I used a spice grinder to grind down the larger pieces.
Next, combine the granulated sugar and the orange zest together in a small bowl. Rub the orange zest into the sugar until the sugar is fragrant and has the texture of wet sand. Finally, in a large bowl, beat the butter and the sugar mixture on medium until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and until incorporated. Gradually add in the flour mixture, beating on low speed until fully combined.
Transfer the dough to a flat work surface and shape into a small rectangle. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to ¼ inch thickness. Use a snow globe shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. I used a cookie cutter from Ann Clark. I got it as part of holiday set from King Arthur Baking but it’s also available solo on Amazon. Re-form and re-roll the dough as needed.
Place the cookies onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and return the baking sheet to the refrigerator for 15 minutes before baking. Chilling the cut out dough will help the cookies keep their shape when baking. Bake the cookies at 350 F for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges. Let cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cookies are cooling, make the royal icing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add ¼ cup of warm water and orange extract and beat on low speed until well combined. Then, beat on high speed until glossy and the icing holds stiff peaks.
Stir in additional warm water, a tablespoon at a time, until icing creates loose ribbons when drizzled with a spoon. Aim to have the icing ribbons disappear back into the bowl within 10 seconds of being picked up with the spoon. If needed, add more powder sugar. Transfer icing into a piping bag with a small round tip. You can also use a tipless piping bag for easier clean up!
To decorate the cookies, first pipe an outline of white royal icing around each cookie. Then, pipe around the interior of the outline until the entire cookie is iced. Use a cookie pick to adjust or fill in spots as needed. Let the icing dry completely, about 2 hours.
Then, use a black edible food marker to draw the snow globe’s interior design onto each cookie. For these Feed the Bird Snow Globe Cookies, you’ll want to draw and outline of St. Paul Cathedral and some small wide v marks for birds. Finally, use a clean food safe paintbrush and gold food coloring to paint the snow globe’s base. Let dry, about 30 minutes.Let dry completely before serving.
Enjoy these Feed the Bird Snow Globe Cookies! Happy 60th Anniversary Mary Poppins!
Feed the Bird Snow Globe Cookies
Ingredients
Earl Grey Cookies
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons Earl Grey Tea (6 teabags), finely ground
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Royal Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons meringue powder
- ¼ – ½ cup warm water
- ¼ teaspoon orange oil or extract
Decoration
- black edible food marker
- gold food coloring
- clean food safe paintbrush
Equipment
- snow globe shaped cookie cutter
- piping bag
- small round piping tip
Instructions
Earl Grey Cookies
-
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and tea. Set aside.
-
In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and the orange zest. Rub the orange zest into the sugar until the sugar is fragrant and has the texture of wet sand.
-
In a large bowl, beat the butter and the sugar mixture on medium until light and creamy.
-
Add the egg and vanilla and until incorporated.
-
Gradually add in the flour mixture, beating on low speed until fully combined.
-
Transfer the dough to a flat work surface and shape into a small rectangle. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
-
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to ¼ inch thickness. Use a snow globe shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Re-form and re-roll the dough as needed.
-
Place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet and return the baking sheet to the refrigerator for 15 minutes before baking.
-
Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges. Let cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Royal Icing
-
In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder.
-
Add ¼ cup of warm water and orange extract and beat on low speed until well combined. Then, beat on high speed until glossy and the icing holds stiff peaks.
-
Stir in additional warm water, a tablespoon at a time, until icing creates loose ribbons when drizzled with a spoon. Aim to have the icing ribbons disappear back into the bowl within 10 seconds of being picked up with the spoon.
-
Transfer icing into a piping bag with a small round tip.
Decoration
-
Pipe an outline of white royal icing around each cookie. Then, pipe around the interior of the outline until the entire cookie is iced. Use a cookie pick to adjust or fill in spots as needed. Let the icing dry completely, about 2 hours.
-
Use a black edible food marker to draw the snow globe’s interior design onto each cookie. In this case, draw St. Paul Cathedral’s outline and some small wide v marks for birds. Let dry completely before serving.
-
Use a clean food safe paintbrush and gold food coloring to paint the snow globe’s base. Let dry, about 30 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Ann Clark