Orange Scottish Shortbread Hedgehog Cookies

Grannie O'My opens the Dazeville Cafe every Wednesday night so the community can gather and have fun together. Grannie O'My knows that when people come together to share food, tell stories, and have fun, the world becomes a little nicer for everyone. This week, she invited Stumper to give a talk about the trip he and Beans took to Scotland a couple of years ago to see if they could spot the Loch Ness Monster.

Beans made orange-flavored Scottish Shortbread cookies shaped like little hedgehogs to share with her friends.

JR took one look at the cute cookies and immediately came up with a Hiakui.

Spiky sprinkle delight

Crunchy buttery goodness

Tummy happily growls

Stumper ate two before Beans could shoo him away.

Martin, of course, had many questions, which Beans patiently answered.

• Why are they called shortbread? (They have a short list of ingredients.)
• Can you eat the candy Eyes? (Yes, they are made of sugar.)
• Wait, when were you in Scotland? (Two years ago.)
• Did you see standing stones? (Yes)
• Do they have Corgi Beach Day there? (No, not when we were visiting)

Scottish Hedgehogs Cookies

Get ready to have fun! These Scottish hedgehog cookies are simple to make and are shaped by hand, so you can make them as large or small as you desire.

 

The example in this recipe is about the size of an average homemade cookie. They are very rich and you will want to take that into consideration when making them. Sometimes smaller is better when it comes to cookies!

Once you decide how big your cookies will be, you will need to adjust the cooking time. Smaller cookies take less time to bake and tend to be a bit crisper as well. You can also play around with how you frost and decorate the cookies. They can be frosted in hot pink buttercream with rainbow sprinkles or dipped in melted chocolate and covered in finely chopped nuts. Bean’s recipe has them covered with chocolate ganache frosting and chocolate sprinkles.

Instructions

Plan ahead. These cookies need to rest in the refrigerator for two hours before they are baked and cool down for an hour before you frost them. The recipe will make 8 to 10 medium-sized cookies or 16 to 20 smaller cookies.

Cookie Ingredients

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp orange zest (fresh is best, dried works too)

1/2 cup butter, softened but not melted

1 cup all-purpose flour

A pinch of salt

1/2 tsp orange extract. You can substitute vanilla extract.

Frosting Ingredients

3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup chopped semi-sweet or milk chocolate

[Note: Use chocolate from a bar, not from chocolate chips, unless you are using higher-quality chips such as Ghirardelli or Guittard.]

Decorations

Chocolate sprinkles or other sprinkle-type decorations

Small Candy Eyes, two per cookie

Specialty Equipment

Parchment Paper

To Make The Cookies

1. In a food processor, add the sugar, orange zest, orange flavoring, butter, salt, and extract. Pulse to combine. Run the processor for approximately 40 seconds until the dough comes together into rough clumps.
2. Turn the dough out on a clean surface and bring it together with your hands until it holds together.
3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
4. Take a large tablespoon of dough and form a teardrop-shaped cookie and place it on the cookie sheet. Shortbread cookies do not rise or change shapes when baking so make sure this is exactly the size and shape you want. The cookies back evenly when the height of the cookie is the same from the tip of the hedgehog's nose to the back of its body. Shortbread is crumbly, and it bakes well when it is 1/2 inch thick. Place the cookies about two inches apart on the cookie sheet.
5. Cover the cookie sheet with clear plastic wrap or a light kitchen towel to prevent the cookies from drying out while they are chilled.
6. Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
7. Preheat oven to 350F 
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes (adjusting for the size of your cookies) until the cookies are turning golden on the edges but are still pale on top. The longer you cook them, the crisper they will be.
9. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for a minute or so before transferring them to a cooling rack. Let them cool for at least an hour. Tip: If you are not frosting them right away, place the cooled cookies in an airtight container.

Note: You can freeze the raw, chilled cookies in an airtight container by separating the cookies with small squares of parchment paper. When you are ready to bake just a few cookies, take them out of the freezer before you preheat your oven. Then bake as normal. This is nice to do when you want freshly baked cookies but only need two or three of them.

To Make Chocolate Ganache Frosting

1. Place finely chopped chocolate into a heat-proof glass bowl large enough to hold twice the amount of chocolate then you are using.
2. Heat the cream until it is very warm but no boiling. This can be done on the stovetop or in the microwave.
3. Pour the warm cream over the chocolate.
4. Let sit for 2 minutes before stirring to let the heat of the cream melt the chocolate.
5. Stir until smooth.

Now you have three choices.

1. Let it cool enough (approximately 10 to 15 minutes) that it isn't runny but still pourable over the cookies. (Beans choice for this recipe)
2. Let it cool a bit longer (approximately 30 minutes), so it is very soft but spreadable. 
3. Let it cool completely in the refrigerator for an hour. Whip it with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Decorate The Cookies

Now it is time to let your imagination run wild. In our example, cookie Beans used chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles, but you do not have to do that. You can get creative and create your own combinations. Below is a list of a few options.

• Premade frosting - any flavor or color + sprinkles of your choice
• Orange flavored home buttercream frosting + chocolate sprinkles
• Chocolate candy melts, the color of your choice + sprinkles of your choice
• Peanut butter cream cheese frosting + Chocolate Sprinkles
• Nutella + finely chopped hazelnuts

One option is to frost only a few cookies at a time, but if you are doing this, chocolate ganache is not a good choice because it sets up too quickly and does not reheat well. 

1. Using the frosting or chocolate coating, cover the round part of the cookie. Make sure you leave the face area unfrosted. Place the mostly frosted cookie on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Cover with the sprinkles of your choice. Gently press the sprinkles into the frosting.
2. Use your frosting or mix a small bit of powdered sugar with a few drops of water to make sugar glue. Use a food-only paint brush to brush the back side of the sugar eyes with your frosting or sugar glue, and place the eyes just in front of the frosted area of your cookie. 
3. Using the tip of a chopstick, paint on a frosting nose.
4. Air dry until all the frosting has set.
5. Store in a flat, airtight container or on a plate covered with plastic wrap. Place parchment paper between the layers of cookies.
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Orange-Flavored Scottish Shortbread Recipe