Shark Cookies

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This summer bake a batch of your favorite sugar cookies and decorate them with blue “water” frosting and a shark gummy to make these fun Shark Cookies.

Every summer I like to make a few fun treats that make me think of the pool or ocean.   While I often make desserts that deal with hanging out by the pool, the bright sun, or the ocean, I like to look for other themes as well.

One theme that comes up every summer is Shark Week.   A few years ago I made Shark Head Rice Krispies Treats for this week and they were an instant hit.  I was also thinking about changing the mermaid tails in my Mermaid Milkshakes to shark heads to make another fun shark sweet.  Shark week always occurs in July so I thought it would be fun to come up with a dessert to represent the sharks.

What is Shark Week?

Shark Week is an annual, week-long event on the Discovery Channel.   It features all shark based content.  It started back in 1988 and has become more popular every year.  Typically it includes documentaries, specials, and films that focus on sharks, their behavior, and their environment. 

I am a teacher but I usually don’t have students to share my sweets with in the summer.  This summer I’m teaching extended school year so I’ll be able to take these fun shark cookies in to share with my students.

The basis of this recipe is a sugar cookie.  I’m using my favorite sugar cookie recipe that holds it’s shape well.  If you have a different recipe that you prefer you can feel free to use it in these cookies.

Can I use refrigerated cookie dough?

You can use store bought refrigerated cookie dough for this recipe.   Simply cut into circles and bake as directed.  The cookies won’t be as good as homemade but they will be good enough for these cookies because they are mainly about the decorations.   However, I would definitely make homemade frosting as I think most canned frosting has a weird chemical taste.

Once the sugar cookies are baked it’s time to decorate with homemade buttercream frosting, crushed graham cracker crumbs, and shark gummy candies.   I got my shark gummies at the local market but Amazon has them as well.

Ingredients:

• all purpose flour
• baking powder
• salt
• unsalted butter (you can use salted if you prefer)
• granulated sugar
• egg
• vanilla extract
• powdered sugar
• milk (whole milk or plant based will work)
• blue gel food coloring
• graham crackers
• shark gummies

To make the cookies combine the flour, baking power, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.  In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.  Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until well blended.  At this point you need to form the dough into a ball and flatten it.   Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

When ready to make the cookies preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a floured surface.   Cut with a circle cookie cutter or a biscuit cutter and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes.   Remove from oven and let cool 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cooled, cover them with the blue frosting.   Sprinkle crushed graham cracker crumbs on one edge.  Put a gummy shark on the other side of the cookie. 

How can kids help?

These cookies were super fun to make and they were a huge hit!   I took them several places and everyone was just delighted to receive them.

The cookies are sweet and buttery and work well with the sweet buttercream frosting.  The shark gummy is tart which is perfect with the sweet cookie.

How do I store Shark Cookies?

It’s a little tricky to store these but I found if you leave them out for 8-10 hours the buttercream will form a crust.  Then you can put a layer of cookies in a container, top with parchment paper, and put down another layer of cookies.  Keep in an air tight container for up to one week. You can also individually wrap them in cookie bags and keep them for up to 10 days.

Shark Cookies

Sugar cookies topped with blue buttercream frosting and a shark gummy.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes minutes

Chilling Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 23 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 dozen

Author: Hezzi-D

Equipment

• 1 cookie sheet
• 1 Mixing Bowl
• 1 circle cookie cutter
• 1 hand mixer

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

• 2 1/2 c. flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks butter softened
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

For the frosting:

• 1/2 c. butter 1 stick
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• blue gel food coloring

For decorating:

• 4 graham cracker sheets
• 24 shark gummies

Instructions

• In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter until smooth. Gradually add in the sugar and continue mixing on medium until fluffy.
• Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until mixed well.
• Place the mixer on low and add in the flour mixture, mixing until just blended.
• Knead the dough into a ball and flatten into a disc shape. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• When ready to make the cookies preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• On a lightly floured surface roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out 3 inch circles and place them on a baking sheet.
• Bake for 8 minutes or until the tops no longer look wet.
• Remove from oven and cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
• To make the frosting use a hand mixer and beat the butter until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk and mix on medium high speed for 2-3 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.
• Add in the blue food coloring and mix.
• Place the graham crackers in a zip top baggie and crush.
• To decorate the cookies frost them with the blue frosting then sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on the edge of half the cookie. Place a shark gummy on the other half.

Notes

A Hezzi-D Original recipe

Welcome to this year’s #SummerDessertWeek event hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife. We’ve got 15 spectacular bloggers creating summer-themed dessert recipes that we’re going to be sharing with you all week! You can find them on our blogs (some of those recipe links posted in this post) and on social media with the hashtag #SummerDessertWeek.

Check out Monday’s Recipes:

• Shark Sugar Cookies from Hezzi-D’s Recipes Box
• Mixed Fruit Dump Cake from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• S’mores Brownies from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Lemon Blueberry Semifreddo from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse from Blogghetti
• Grape Popsicle Jello Mold from Sweet ReciPEAs
• Strawberry Upsidedown Cake from Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Peanut Butter Banana Icebox Cake from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Peach Berry Fruit Salad from Jen Around the World
• Christmas Tree Cake Cupcakes from It’s Shanaka
• Summer Rice Krispie Treat S’mores from For the Love of Food
• Blueberry Corn Cookies from The Spiffy Cookie
• The Best Oatmeal Cookies from Our Good Life