Drop of Disney

Although Christmas celebrations are mostly over, it doesn’t mean the winter and holiday decorations need to come down. Sure, you might not want to keep a Christmas tree up for the rest of the winter, but there’s something nice about keeping the lights and wreaths or garland up a bit longer. Along those lines, I’m excited to share these Minnie Wreath Cookies! While they do have some Christmas colors, they’re a perfect winter treat! Packed with fresh mint, these adorable cookies are decorated with polka dot bows, white ornaments, and red hidden Mickeys!

I first came across the recipe for mint cookies as part of Bon Appetit’s holiday cookie collection. I loved the light green color–it seemed like the perfect color for a wreath! Mint is not usually my favorite flavor as it can be very overpowering. However, this recipe uses fresh mint leaves and so the flavor is light and refreshing. I adapted these cookies just a little bit and added a touch of royal icing for the decorations.

To make the dough, I used a food processor. I definitely recommend using one since you’ll need to chop up the mint leaves. The dough can become quite wet and sticky so having a food processor makes it easier to handle. Being able to pulse everything together saved me a lot of time. Once you have combined the dough in the food processor, transfer it to a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Divide the ball in half, shape into round disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill until the dough is firm, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

Once the dough is firm, roll it out one disk at a time on a lightly floured surface. To make the wreath shapes, I used a fluted round cutter. I then used a small round cutter for the circle inside of the wreath. Once the cookies are cut, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake!

Let the cookies cool completely before icing. To add the Minnie bow and wreath decorations, I used royal icing. I make mine with meringue powder, but you could also use egg whites. Once the icing was made, I divided into two bowls and added red food coloring to one. I then transferred both icings to piping bags and cut off a small part of the tip.

To make the Minnie bows, I first outlined the bow shape with red icing and then filled it in. After completing this on all of the cookies, I went back with the white icing and added small dots on top of the bow to create the polka dot pattern. I used a fingertip dipped in water to press down any dots with a sharp tip. I then added the round white dots to the upper part of the wreaths and the red hidden Mickeys, again using a fingertip dipped in water to press down any sharp tips. Make sure to let the icing set completely before stacking or storing.

Enjoy these fresh mint Minnie Wreath Cookies!

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Minnie Wreath Cookies

Keep the holiday spirit going with these Minnie Mouse inspired wreath cookies! Packed with fresh mint and topped with polka dot bows, white ornaments, and red hidden Mickeys, these adorable cookies are the perfect winter treat!

Course Dessert

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Rest Time 2 hours

Servings 24 cookies

Ingredients

Mint Cookies

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups mint leaves, no stems
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk

Royal Icing

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons meringue powder
• ¼ cup warm water
• red gel food coloring

Equipment

• 2 piping bags
• fluted round cutter
• small round cutter

Instructions

Cookies

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. Add mint leaves and granulated sugar to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mint is finely chopped. Add the butter and pulse until combined.
3. Add the flour mixture and pulse to combine. Add the egg and egg yolk. Pulse until a dough forms.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball. The dough might be a bit wet and sticky. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a disk, about 1 inch thick. Wrap disks in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours.
5. Once dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
6. Remove 1 disk of dough from the refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured surface, to about ¼ inch thickness.
7. Cut out rounds using the fluted round cookie cutter. Cut out a small circle in the center of the round using the small round cookie cutter. Transfer cut cookies to prepared baking sheets. Repeat with second disk of dough.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are lightly brown. Cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing

1. In a large bowl, beat sugar and meringue powder until combined.
2. Add water and beat on medium high speed until glossy. The icing should create loose ribbons when drizzled with a spoon. If needed, add additional water, a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Aim to have the icing ribbons disappear back into the bowl within 10 seconds of being picked up with the spoon.
3. Divide the icing into two bowls. Add red food coloring to one bowl. Transfer icings to separate piping bags. Cut the tips off of the piping bags.

Assembly

1. Place cooled cookies on a flat surface.
2. Using the red icing, pipe a small bow at the bottom of each wreath. Pipe two small Mickey head shapes on the top sides of the wreath. Use a fingertip dipped in water to press down any sharp tips.
3. Using the white icing, add dots to the bow and dots between the two Mickey heads.
4. Let icing set completely, 1-2 hours.

Recipe Notes

mint cookies adapted from Bon Appetit