Star Wars Cookies

December 18, 2015: Premiere of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

May the Force be with you…and with your spirit! Fans are literally out in full force as the new movie in the third trilogy of the famous film/space saga, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, opens worldwide in theaters today (although some lucky fans got to see the movie earlier at the Hollywood/Los Angeles premiere). We had to reserve our tickets online a few weeks earlier to get good seats at the movie theater tonight!

In eager anticipation of the long-awaited Star Wars film, we made sugar cookies to share with co-workers and friends to observe the movie’s release date. What an excuse to use some of the cookie cutters that Highlander gifted Islander one year!

We have posted two simple recipes on our blog today: basic green Yoda sugar cookies and dark chocolate-cinnamon Darth Vader cookies. Even though these classic characters are part of the previous trilogies, enjoy these sweet treats for a multi-generational Star Wars celebration or for a unique holiday cookie exchange.

Recipes

For the Yoda Sugar Cookies

(Adapted from Williams-Sonoma)

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
• green food coloring (we used Wilton “leaf green” food paste/gel coloring)

Directions

In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with the sugar. Beat in the egg. Add the vanilla.

Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Mix until a dough is formed. Tint with green food coloring to the desired shade of “Yoda”. Roll the dough into a large ball, divide in thirds, cover and refrigerate until firm (about an hour).

Roll out dough ¼-inch thick. Cut out shapes with Yoda cookie cutter. Place on a lightly greased baking pan. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes to firm up the dough. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for five minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely and become crisp.

For the Darth Vader Dark Chocolate-Cinnamon Cookies

(Adapted from Southern Living Incredible Cookies)

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup cocoa powder (we used Hershey’s Special Dark—for an intense color and “dark side” taste)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ cups butter, softened
• 2 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt and ground cinnamon. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with the powdered sugar. Beat in the eggs. Add the vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Mix until a sticky dough is formed.

Roll the dough into a large ball, divide in half or thirds, cover and refrigerate until firm (about an hour). Roll out dough ¼-inch thick. Cut out shapes with Darth Vader cookie cutter. Place on a lightly greased baking pan. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes to firm up the dough. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for five minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely and become crisp.

Notes

• Jedi mind tricks and tips: Roll out the dough between sheets of waxed paper and chill until ready to use. Keep the cut-out cookie dough very cold to retain its shape while baking in the oven. Dip cookie cutters in a little flour to prevent them from sticking to the dough.
• We halved the Darth Vader cookie recipe for this post.
• Search our blog for other Star Wars recipe ideas.