Hedgehog Cookies
- Autumn, Christmas, Cookies & Pastries, Desserts & Sweets, Germany, Holidays & Seasonal, Winter
Cute little Hedgehog Cookies. Simple shortcrust cookies covered in melted chocolate and chocolate sprinkles. They’re as delicious as they are adorable, and make a great fall cookie recipe.
Ingredients you will need for this recipe:
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 60 g of sugar
- 1 packet of bourbon vanilla sugar | 8 g
- 150 g cold butter
- 150 g dark chocolate
- 100 g chocolate sprinkles
How to make Hedgehog Cookies:
(1) For the Dough
For the dough, put 250 g all-purpose flour, 60 g sugar, 1 packet bourbon vanilla sugar and 150 g butter cut into small pieces in a mixing bowl. Using a stand-mixer or hand mixer, knead the ingredients together, until a crumbly dough forms.
(2) Shape & Bake Hedgehog Cookies
Knead the crumbly dough with your hands to form an even dough, shape into a flat rectangle and divide into 24 equal parts. Shape the small pieces into balls and use your fingers to shape one side of the ball into a pointed snout.
Place the hedgehogs on a baking tray lined with baking paper and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 160 °C with circulating air | convection. Bake the chilled hedgehogs in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, until they are lightly brown.
Allow the cookies to cool completely, this will further harden the cookies.
(3) Decorate Hedgehog Cookies
Melt 150 g dark chocolate and pour the chocolate sprinkles into a separate small bowl.
Brush each Cookie with melted chocolate, leaving the tapered snout exposed, then press into the bowl with the chocolate sprinkles, until the sprinkles adhere evenly and completely to the melted chocolate.
Using a toothpick or wooden stick, dab the hedgehog’s eyes and nose with the melted chocolate. Let the chocolate harden completely.
Some Recipe Tips:
Storage: Stored in a cookie jar or in an airtight container, the hedgehog cookies will keep for at least 2 weeks.
Hedgehog Cookies
Course: Cookies & Pastries, Desserts & SweetsCuisine: GermanyDifficulty: Easy24
Cookies30
minutes30
minutes15
minutes1
hour 15 minutesCute little Hedgehog Cookies. Simple shortcrust cookies covered in melted chocolate and chocolate sprinkles. They're as delicious as they are adorable, and make a great fall cookie recipe.
Ingredients
250 g all purpose flour
60 g sugar
1 packet of bourbon vanilla sugar | 8 g
150 g butter
150 g drak chocolate | couverture
100 g chocolate sprinkles
Directions
For the Dough
For the dough, put 250 g all-purpose flour, 60 g sugar, 1 packet bourbon vanilla sugar and 150 g butter cut into small pieces in a mixing bowl. Using a stand-mixer or hand mixer, knead the ingredients together, until a crumbly dough forms.
Shape & Bake Hedgehog Cookies
Knead the crumbly dough with your hands to form an even dough, shape into a flat rectangle and divide into 24 equal parts. Shape the small pieces into balls and use your fingers to shape one side of the ball into a pointed snout.
Place the hedgehogs on a baking tray lined with baking paper and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 160 °C with circulating air | convection. Bake the chilled hedgehogs in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, until they are lightly brown.
Allow the cookies to cool completely, this will further harden the cookies.
Decorate Hedgehog Cookies
Melt 150 g dark chocolate and pour the chocolate sprinkles into a separate small bowl.
Brush each Cookie with melted chocolate, leaving the tapered snout exposed, then press into the bowl with the chocolate sprinkles, until the sprinkles adhere evenly and completely to the melted chocolate.
Using a toothpick or wooden stick, dab the hedgehog's eyes and nose with the melted chocolate. Let the chocolate harden completely.
Notes
- Storage: Stored in a cookie jar or in an airtight container, the hedgehog cookies will keep for at least 2 weeks.
16 responses
Is there a liquid missing from this recipe? I found it really hard to get the dough to come together without being crumbly.
Hi, thanks for your question! 😊
No, there isn’t any liquid missing from the recipe. The dough can sometimes feel quite crumbly at first, especially when it’s made with very cold butter.
If you’re mixing it with a stand mixer, it can take a bit longer to come together since there’s no real warmth involved. I find it really helps to bring the dough together with your hands at the end—the warmth from your hands softens the butter slightly and helps everything come together more smoothly.
I wouldn’t recommend adding any extra liquid, as that can change the texture. Instead, a little bit of warmth (from your hands) or just giving it a bit more time usually does the trick.
Hope that helps, and thanks for trying the recipe!
hi! is the butter room temp or cold? also, can dark brown sugar be substituted for the white & bourbon sugar? thank you 🙂
Hi! 😊
Great questions—thanks for asking!
I actually use cold butter, cut into small cubes. It helps the dough come together nicely without getting too soft. I’ve updated the recipe to make that clearer—so thank you for pointing it out!
As for the sugar, yes—you can substitute dark brown sugar for the white and bourbon vanilla sugar. Just keep in mind that it will slightly change the flavor: instead of a more classic vanilla note, the cookies will have a deeper, more caramel-like taste. Still very delicious!
Hope that helps, and let me know if you try it 😊
Your recipe looks amazing and so easy to follow. I want to make these for my daughters’ baby shower Apr 12th, If I make the cookies now, can I decorate them and freeze them until that date or will it comprise the sprinkles?
Thank you! I’m so glad you like the recipe. I haven’t tested freezing these cookies after decorating them, so I’m not sure how the sprinkles would hold up. However, I think freezing the dough should be fine. You can even shape the cookies before freezing them unbaked. I’d avoid freezing the chocolate decorations, as they could develop a cloudy appearance.
You can defrost the dough up to two weeks before your daughter’s baby shower, then bake and decorate the cookies as usual. Store them in an airtight container in a cool, dark place to keep them fresh for the event!
Hope that helps—let me know how they turn out, and congratulations on the baby shower!
I was unable to find the bourbon vanilla packet in my country. I instead substituted dark brown sugar for all 68g of sugar and added 1.25ml of vanilla extract. They came out perfectly, and tasted very similar to a Milano cookie.
That sounds like a fantastic substitution! The combination of dark brown sugar and vanilla extract must have added such a lovely depth of flavor. I’m so happy to hear they turned out perfectly for you—and comparing them to Milano cookies is such a wonderful compliment! Thank you for sharing your experience. 😊
How much vanilla extract would you use?
You can use about ½ to 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to replace one packet (8 g) of Bourbon vanilla sugar. If you love a stronger vanilla flavor, go for the higher amount! Since vanilla extract is liquid, it might slightly change the texture in baking, but it should still work beautifully for this recipe. Hope that helps, and happy baking! 😊
Can I just use normal vanilla sugar
Yes, you can absolutely use regular vanilla sugar! Bourbon vanilla sugar just has a deeper, more aromatic flavor because of the high-quality Bourbon vanilla beans. But if you only have regular vanilla sugar on hand, don’t worry—it will still taste delicious!
Question about dark chocolate
My grandson chose 72% dark chocolate chips. I think it will be too bitter. Does it matter? Recipe says dark chocolate! Thanks
Thank you for your question! I actually used 72% dark chocolate in the recipe, and it works beautifully because the sweetness of the cookie itself creates a nice balance. However, if you or your grandson prefer a sweeter taste, you can absolutely use semi-sweet or milk chocolate instead—it’s all about personal preference! Let me know how it turns out! 😊
Hi!
Is there anything that you could substitute for the bourbon vanilla sugar? Would vanilla extract work?
Thanks
Hi!
Yes, you can absolutely substitute bourbon vanilla sugar with vanilla extract. While the flavor might be slightly different, vanilla extract will still give you that rich vanilla taste. Enjoy baking the Hedgehog Cookies, and thank you for trying my recipe! 🙂