Cotton Candy Sugar Cookies

Thinking about fairies, pink, sprinkles and all things magical. Can it get any better than big soft sugar cookies with a thick swirl of cotton candy frosting? Our hearts are beating faster by the second. Puffy, soft and perfect! The cotton candy goodness is as light as a feather and meets your tongue like an angels wing. Let's go, shall we? Welcome to heaven. 

You will need

(For the cookies) 

150g of salted butter, slightly softened 

150g of vegetable shortening 

300g of granulated sugar 

Two large eggs

One teaspoon of vanilla extract 

One teaspoon of cotton candy flavouring oil 

420g of all purpose flour 

Two teaspoons of baking powder 

(For the cotton candy frosting)

1/2 a teaspoon of cotton candy flavouring oil 

Three sticks (345g) of salted butter 

625g of icing sugar

2-3 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream 

(For the cotton candy syrup)

100g of pink vanilla cotton candy sugar 

118ml of water 

Directions 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius and line baking trays with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine your flour and baking powder, then set aside. In the bowl of a mixer or a bigger bowl, cream together the butter, shortening and granulated sugar on medium speed for up to 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the eggs one at a time, beating well. Then mix in the vanilla and cotton candy flavouring. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture until a dough forms. 

Grab your dough and make medium sized balls, setting them on the parchment paper about two inches apart. Flatten the dough balls slightly with your palm and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cookies cool on the tray for about three minutes then remove onto wire racks. 

To prepare the frosting, make the cotton candy syrup. In a small, heavy saucepan, whisk together cotton candy sugar and water over a medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil for three minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Pour into a bowl and place in the fridge. 

Next, in the bowl of your mixer, beat butter, simple syrup and cotton candy flavouring on medium speed until smooth. Then slowly add the powdered sugar. Add heavy cream and increase the speed to high until the mixture is light and fluffy. Frost the cooled cookies and top with sprinkles! 

Majestic unicorn magicalness. Here's an idea! Candy cotton Gookie Dough!? Sounds bliss. Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

*Recipe and image credit: Confessions of a Cookbook Queen*