King Cake Cookies

Ingredients

FOR THE COOKIES:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pinch nutmeg

FOR THE FROSTING:

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 to 6 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• Purple, green, and yellow sugar sprinkles
• Optional: 1 plastic baby to hide in the cookie frosting

Directions

TO MAKE THE COOKIES:

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and almond extract, and beat with the hand mixer until well blended.
2. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg and beat until the mixture becomes a firm dough. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll into 24 1 1/2-inch balls. Place on the prepared baking sheets and press down on each ball to flatten slightly. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom edges just start to turn golden. Remove the cookies from the pans to a wire rack to cool. Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting.

TO MAKE THE FROSTING:

1. In a second bowl, mix the powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of milk, butter, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract with the hand mixer. If necessary, add a little more milk at a time until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
2. Spread the frosting onto the cooled cookies and sprinkle with stripes of purple, green, and yellow sugar sprinkles.

Makes: 24 cookies

Optional: Hide the plastic baby in the frosting of one of the cookies. Just make sure whoever you’re serving is aware that one of the cookies has this figurine, as it could be a choking hazard.