Ice Cream Cone Cookies

Chocolate sugar cookies frosted (generously!) with vanilla orange frosting and dressed in their summertime best with festive sprinkles. What’s not to love? Half Pint and Pickle in the Middle actually giggled with joy when they discovered these cookies in the kitchen. Half Grown is too big to giggle over a cookie, but not too big to devour them with a (half hidden) smile.

These cookies freeze well, so tuck this recipe away for a bit of rainy day summertime fun. Make a double batch, and freeze them to bring along on your next picnic!

Ingredients (Makes about 3 dozen cookies)

For the cookies:

2/3 cup softened butter

1 egg

3/4 cup sugar

1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon rum (or vanilla extract)

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

For the frosting:

1/3 cup softened butter

3 cups confectioner’s sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sprinkles

Directions

Step 1) Cream together butter, egg, sugar, cocoa powder, and rum. Mix in flour and baking powder. Place in a covered bowl in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

Step 2) On a floured surface, roll cookie dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut into ice cream cone shapes with a cookie cutter. Carefully transfer cookie cutouts to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Step 3) Press a meat tenderizer very gently into the cone portion of each ice cream cone cookie cutout. If you don’t have a meat tenderizer, you could make a criss-cross pattern with the tines of a fork.

Step 4) Bake cookies in a preheated 375 degree oven for 8 – 10 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are slightly browned. Leave cookies on the baking sheet and allow to cool completely.

Step 5) Combine butter, confectioner’s sugar, orange juice, and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer on a low speed until frosting is well combined. If frosting is too thick, add a bit more orange juice. If frosting is too thin, add a bit more confectioner’s sugar.

Step 6) Cut the corner off of a sandwich bag, and add about 1 cup of frosting to the bag. Use this homemade pastry bag to squeeze frosting onto the ice cream portion of each cookie. Begin by outlining the shape of a scoop of ice cream (don’t forget the drips – see photo above). Then, squeeze frosting generously inside of the outline.

Step 7) Top each “scoop of ice cream” with sprinkles. Enjoy!