Disney-Inspired Christmas in July Cookies Will Make You the MVP
Magical Parallels
I think the part of me that is obsessed with Disney is also the part of me that still embraces the wonder of Christmas. Both Disney and Christmas have magic that pull me away from the humdrum of every day life and sometimes offer an exciting distraction from reality. Naturally, I’d be someone who easily embraces Christmas in July and would bake Christmas in July cookies. While I am definitely the person who has great disdain for winter and hate to think of cold weather coming, I find myself enjoying this little Christmas break in the middle of summer. As I write this I am sitting on my back deck in some very humid Midwestern air. It has been extremely hot and muggy this past week. I am certainly not complaining. Mostly everyone else did, though. I will take this over snow and ice any day. I don’t care if I have to take 3 showers a day, bring it on.
Nostalgic Cookie Tradition
The recipe that I’m going to share today has been in my family for a very long time. It is handwritten in my mother’s writing on an old index card. There is a note that it was copied from one of my great aunts. This is the sugar cookie recipe that we made every single Christmas and Easter. Sometimes we’d even bake them up on Halloween or Thanksgiving, and sometimes Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day as we had a plethora of cookie cutters for all of those occasions. It is just such a tasty cookie – not too sweet, but just perfect. (Unless of course you put 1/2″ of frosting and 1/4 cup of sprinkles on each cookie like I may or may not have done when I was younger).
To get these Christmas in July cookies perfectly shaped like everyone’s favorite mouse, I used one of the cutters out this set that I purchased from Amazon not too long ago. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) I have had so much fun creating things with these cookie cutters. It’s the adult version of getting a new toy.
The Iconic Blue Spruce
Growing up, we had several fields of Christmas trees that my dad grew on our property. Every year starting at Thanksgiving he would sell “cut your own” trees for the holidays. Even though I was young, I had knowledge of the varieties that we had – Scotch Pine, Norway Spruce, and Blue Spruce. I could recognize them, knew what their needles looked like, and how much they cost per foot. So, when we’d make these sugar cookies for Christmas, I’d pile on the blue frosting and the sanding sugar and tell everybody they were Blue Spruce. Everyone else made green trees, or sometimes white (it snowed a lot on those I guess). But not me, it was blue all the way.
The magical, Disney-inspired version of these Christmas in July cookies does not have blue frosting. Technically they don’t have frosting at all. I opted for a different, more elegant look by partially dipping them in melted chocolate – white and semi-sweet. You could certainly use milk chocolate or another flavor of your choosing. The semi-sweet balances out the sweetness of the cookie, but that white chocolate is just so tasty (the older I get the more I’m into white chocolate – is that a normal thing?)
Disney-Inspired Christmas in July Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
- Add to the sugar and butter mixture the vanilla, milk, and eggs.
- Slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Stir until completely combined.
- Take approximately half of the dough, gently shape it with your hands into a ball, and flatten it onto a lightly floured surface.
- With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/4" thick.
- With your Mickey-shaped cookie cutter, start cutting shapes from the dough. (Dip your cutter in flour then tap off the excess before cutting to ensure that the dough doesn't stick to it.)
- Using a metal cookie spatula (again, dip it in four and tap off the excess), gently lift each of the cookie shapes onto a non-stick cookie sheet.
- Repeat the last 3 steps with the rest of the dough.
- Bake cookies at 425° for 5-7 minutes. Use the metal spatula to take a peek under one of the cookies – when it starts to get a little bit of color on the bottom they are done.
- Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
- Melt the semi-sweet or white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted and smooth.
- Partially dip each cookie in the melted chocolate. (I just dipped the left side, you can choose to dip the ears or the bottom or whatever makes you happy!)
- Place each freshly dipped cookie back onto the wire rack and sprinkle with festive Christmas sprinkles while the chocolate is still soft.
- Allow the chocolate to set up completely before storing. You can place the rack in the fridge for a bit to help it set up faster.
- Store them in an airtight container for 3-4 days. I usually leave a few out then freeze the rest to enjoy as I please.
More Magic
If you love these cookies, you will also love the different twist that I did using this same basic recipe. They are a little more festive without having to melt chocolate or do any additional decorating. It will be the next one that I post so stay tuned!
Even though we are celebrating Christmas in July, it is still definitely summer and we’ve got Independence Day right around the corner. If you need a great picnic recipe with a little bit of Disney-inspired magic sprinkled in, check out these fruit skewers. They will definitely have people talking as they are uniquely adorable and they are a sweet, healthy alternative to other desserts!
