Suprise Harry Potter Sorting Hat Sugar Cookies

It is the most wonderful time of the year again!

I have had the idea of turning my Christmas tree into a Harry Potter themed one for a year and this year that moment came - I made all of the magical tree ornaments.We have the house point scores,a couple of brooms,potions,the flying keys,Hagrid's cake and of course to top it off - a Sorting Hat to go on top of the tree.Everything turned out even better than I expected and the whole family loved it!

But where is the Christmas spirit if not in the food and snacks?

So I decided to make Harry Potter themed cookies to go with the tree and that's how these Suprise Sorting Hat Sugar Cookies came to life.

Let's get started!

Here is the recipe for the sugar cookies:

1. 227 g unsalted butter
2. 227 g granulated sugar
3. 1 large egg
4. 1 tsp vanilla paste
5. 510 g all purpose flour
6. 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
7. 1/2 tsp nutmeg
8. ½ teaspoon salt
9. 1 tsp milk
10. 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Other supplies you will need:

1. Rolling pin
2. Plastic Wrap
3. Cookie Cutter in the shape of a hat
4. Standing Mixer
5. Food Coloring
6. Piping Bags
7. Skewers
8. Kitchen Scale

In the bowl of your stand mixer, place your butter and granulated sugar.

Cream the butter and sugar using the paddle attachment and mix it on low until it’s smooth. The creamed butter should be fluffy and pale yellow in color.

Some tips and tricks for this step:

1. It is very important for the butter to be room temperature so that everything incorporates evenly.
2. Scrape the sides of the bowl ocasionally.
3. Even if you think your mixture is ready I would recommend you to cream it for one extra minute just to be safe.

While the butter is creaming whisk your dry ingredients - flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and baking powder together in a separate bowl and set it aside.

Return to your creamed butter and add an egg.Mix it on medium speed (speed 4 on KitchenAid mixer) until it is fully incorporated.Scrape the bowl when necessary to make sure the egg incorporates well.

Then, add in the vanilla paste and mix it until it’s just incorporated - do not overmix!

Add the dry ingredients into stand mixer about ⅓ of total dry ingredients at a time. Mix it until it’s fully incorporated.Start the speed on low until the flour starts to incorporate, then turn up the speed to a medium setting. Scrape the bowl as needed to fully incorporate the ingredients.

Once the flour is fully incorporated you will add the milk. Continue to mix it on slow until the dough becomes a solid mass.

Scrape out the mixer bowl and then wrap up your sugar cookie dough in plastic wrap.

Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

After 2 hours take out your dough,knead it and then roll it until it is thin enough to cut out the cookie shapes.

Use a hat cookie cutter to cut out uniform shapes.

Place the cookies on a baking sheet that’s lined with parchment paper and put them back in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to allow the dough to chill again.

Tips and tricks for this step:

1. Roll out your dough to about 5-7 mm thickness.If you roll it too thin your cookie will be crispy and if you roll it too thick the cookie will expand.
2. Do not skip the step to chill the cut out cookies - chilled cookie dough ensures your cookies will keep their shape in the oven.
3. Do not use flour while rolling out your dough - instead use cornstarch or keep the dough moving to avoid sticking

Bake the chilled cookies at 180 ºC for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the cookie.Cookies will be done once they are slightly golden brown on the edge.

Immediately after you take them out use a spoon and gently press down the centre of each cookie to form a dent.This is where the color of the Hogwarts house will go.

Set your cookies aside and let them cool completely before you get to the decorating part.

What is a sugar cookie without royal icing?

Here is the recipe I used to make enough royal icing to decorate about 20 cookies:

1. 1 egg white
2. 150 g of powdered sugar

Start out by sifting your powdered sugar to make sure it doesn't have any lumps in it.

Place your sifted powdered sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer and add an egg white.

Mix them on a medium speed until you have stiff peaks.

This is where the fun begins!

Transfer your royal icing to 6 different cups and color it with gel food coloring:

1. Yellow for Hufflepuff
2. Blue for Ravenclaw
3. Red for Gryffindor
4. Green for Slytherin
5. Brown for the Sorting hat - in two separate cups

The reason why you need two cups of brown is because there is a difference in the consistencies of the royal icing for the outline of the hat and the filling.

For the so called "flood" consistency add a little bit of water to one of the cups with brown royal icing - you will be using this one to fill out the cookies.

Transfer each colored icing to a piping bag and set aside.

Do not leave your royal icing out in the open - it will dry out and become stiff!

Take your colored royal icing and squeeze a tiny amount into the dent you created with the spoon.

Set the cookies aside and let the icing dry.

Using your "outline" consistency brown royal icing (the one you did not add water to) cover the color in the centre.Use a pallete knife to smooth everything out.

Once again - set everything aside for the icing to harden.

Start outlining the hat with royal icing - keep the pressure you put on the piping bag even and take your time.

Use a skewer to fix any thicker lines.

Draw out the eyes and mouth of the sorting hat - start out with a gentle stroke to the right and make the eye shape.Repeat the same with the left eye.Finally trace out the mouth of the hat.

Do not worry if it's not perfect - each cookie is unique on its own.

Decorate every cookie and set them aside.

The final step is to flood the cookies using the royal icing that you mixed with water - squeeze it out and distribute the icing evenly using a skewer.

Think of your cookie as a coloring book - do not go over the lines!

Once you are done "coloring" set the sorting hats aside for one last time to dry.

Your cookies are done!

Sure they are a labour of love but the end result is truly magical.Now all that's left to do is enjoy them and find out which Hogwarts House you belong to - Gryffindor,Hufflepuff,Slytherin of Ravenclaw?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this Instructable.

Have a magical New Year!