Happy Friday! Today, Disney & Pixar’s new movie, Turning Red, is premiering on Disney+ and I’m so excited to watch it! To celebrate its release, I made a batch of Mei’s Panda Cookies. Inspired by the giant red panda that Mei transforms into, these vanilla panda shaped cookies are decorated with royal icing!
In Turning Red, Mei has the ability to transform into a giant red panda when she feels excited or other strong emotions. It was Mei’s panda form that inspired me this week and so I decided these cookies are a recreation of it.
To make these cookies, I started with my favorite vanilla cookie recipe. These cookies are great for shaping with cookie cutters and decorating.
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Start by combining the flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl. Set it aside. Next, beat the butter and sugar until its light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating until combined.
To make the reddish-orange panda color, I used a combination of Wilton’s red gel food coloring and orange gel food coloring. I used a few drops of red and a few drops of orange and then adjusted as needed after the color was incorporated into the dough.
Shape the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Shaping it before it chills will make it easier to roll out later. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until firm.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out the cookies using a cookie cutter. For this, I used a large cat head shaped cookie cutter from Ann Clark. Place the cut out cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Bake the cookies at 350 F for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown. Let the cookies cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
I used royal icing to decorate the panda cookies. To make the icing, whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add the warm water and beat on low speed until combined. Turn to high speed and beat until the icing is glossy and holds stiff peaks. Beat in additional water, a 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until the 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 a few spoonfuls of icing into a small bowl. This will be used for the panda eyes and nose so you don’t need a lot. Add some brown gel food coloring and stir until well incorporated. For this color, I used the brown from Americolor. Transfer the icing to a piping bag. For decorating, I used tipless piping bags.
Transfer the remaining white icing to piping bag. Using the white, pipe a kidney bean shape near the bottom of the cookie to make the panda’s snout. Next, pipe who round shapes on either side of the face, two round eyes above the snout, two eyebrows above the eyes, and fill in the tops of the ears.
Let the icing set briefly before using them brown icing to pipe the pupils onto the eyes and nose onto the snout. Once decorated, let the icing set completely before serving.
Enjoy Mei’s Panda Cookies! And be sure to check out Turning Red on Disney+!
Mei’s Panda Cookies
Ingredients
Vanilla Cookies
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- red gel food coloring
- orange gel coloring
Royal Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons meringue powder
- 1-2 tablespoons warm water
- brown gel food coloring
Equipment
- cat head shaped cookie cutter
- piping bags
Instructions
Vanilla Cookies
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In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
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Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
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Gradually add the flour mixture, beating until combined.
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Add a few drops of red and orange gel food coloring and beat until well incorporated.
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Shape the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 1 hour or until firm.
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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thickness. Cut into shapes using the cookie cutter.
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Place the cut out cookies on the prepared baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes.
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Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown.
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Let the cookies cool 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Royal Icing
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder.
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Add 1 tablespoon of water and beat on low speed until combined. Turn to high speed and beat until icing is glossy and holds stiff peaks.
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Stir in additional warm water to the remaining icing, ½ 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.
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Transfer a few spoonfuls to a separate bowl. Stir in a few drops of brown gel food coloring.
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Transfer the brown and white icing into separate piping bags.
Decoration
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Using the white icing, pipe a kidney bean shape near the bottom of the cookie to make the red panda’s snout.
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Next, pipe two round shapes on either side of the face, two round eyes above the snout, two eyebrows above the eyes, and fill in the tops of the ears.
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Let the icing set briefly before using the brown icing to pipe the pupils onto the eyes and the nose onto the snout.
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Let the icing set completely.