King Cake Cookies (Mardi Gras cookies inspired by the traditional cake) - Fab Everyday (2024)

If you’re looking for fun new recipes to help you celebrate Mardi Gras, you need to make these King Cake Cookies! These Mardi Gras cookies are inspired by the flavors and colors of the traditional New Orleans king cake, cinnamon-y and fluffy with a hint of lemon. In addition to the king cake cookie recipe, I’m sharing my tips for making it, which includes one of my new favorite kitchen gadgets: The Hamilton Beach® Professional Hand Mixer with Easy Clean Beaters! Professional quality cooking results, the latest mixer technology, and less mess? Sign me up! I’m sharing more about the mixer below, but you can get it now at Target, or try your hand at winning one in my Instagram giveaway this week! If you’re looking for Mardi Gras cookie ideas and cookie recipes, you’ll want to save this one!

This post is sponsored by Hamilton Beach. All opinions are my own.

More Mardi Gras ideas:

• Mardi Gras Candy Melt Pretzels (kid-friendly Mardi Gras food idea)
• Easy DIY Mardi Gras Garland
• Let’s Party Gras! New Orleans Bachelorette, Birthday, or Mardi Gras-Themed Party Ideas
• Hurricane Mocktail (virgin hurricane drink recipe)
• Instant Pot Jambalaya Recipe with Shrimp and Chicken
• New Orleans-Style Sheet Pan Shrimp
• Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta with Sausage
• Cajun Tortellini Skillet (Easy One-Pan Dinner!)

About the Hamilton Beach® Professional Hand Mixer with Easy Clean Beaters

Professional-quality results in a compact and easy-to-clean device… that’s how I’d sum up the Hamilton Beach® Professional Hand Mixer with Easy Clean Beaters. Serious bakers or casual home cooks alike won’t find a better bang for their buck than this reasonably-priced hand mixer! The innovative Easy Clean beaters provide great mixing performance with a shape that prevents clogs. You’ll enjoy ultimate mixing power and control thanks to the professional-grade DC motor, which maintains speed through the thickest dough. The smart 7-speed system gives you flexibility, while the Slow Start™ technology helps reduce messy splatters (raise your hand if you’ve ever painted your kitchen in flour from mixers that start off way too fast!). In addition to the 2 Easy Clean beaters, Hamilton Beach® Professional Hand Mixer also comes with a storage case, 2 stainless steel wire beaters, and a whisk so you’re covered for all your mixing needs. A quick-release trigger makes it easy to remove the attachments, which are all dishwasher safe for extra convenience. The lockable swivel cord stays out of your way (hallelujah! I always had to hold my last hand mixer’s cord out of the way with my other hand while trying to mix). I also love the QuickBurst™ function that provides an extra burst of power at every speed level.

Convinced yet? Then get yourself the Hamilton Beach® Professional Hand Mixer with Easy Clean Beaters at Target now! You’ll thank me later!

What you’ll need to make this Mardi Gras cookies recipe

To make these Mardi Gras cookies, there are a few tools, ingredients, and accessories you’ll need to gather:

• Hamilton Beach® Professional Hand Mixer with Easy Clean Beaters
• Mixing bowls
• Cookie sheets
• Parchment paper
• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons butter, softened (divided)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract (divided)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 3/4 teaspoon almond extract (divided)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pinch nutmeg
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 to 6 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Purple, green, and yellow sugar sprinkles
• Optional: 1 plastic baby to hide in the cookie frosting

Wait… a plastic baby? Tell me more about the king cake tradition!

The king cake tradition is an old one that has taken on a number of forms throughout the world. These cookies are inspired by the traditional Louisiana king cake, a doughy cinnamon cake topped with a sweet icing and festive sugar sprinkles that is served throughout the Mardi Gras season in Louisiana. A small baby or fava bean (also called a fève) is stuck into the cake after it bakes. As the tradition goes, the lucky person who gets the baby in their slice will have good fortune in the year ahead, and will also be responsible for either hosting the next Mardi Gras party, or making the king cake for the next event. Click here to learn more about the king cake tradition in New Orleans.

Tips for making Mardi Gras king cake cookies

There are two parts for making this king cake cookie recipe: the cookies and the frosting.

To make the frosting, cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with your Hamilton Beach® Professional Hand Mixer until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and almond extract, and beat with the hand mixer until well blended.

For fluffier baked goods, and to prevent them from being too dense, be sure to always properly measure your flour. How do you measure flour the right way? It’s a method called “spooning and leveling.” Instead of scooping flour out of its container with a measuring cup, spoon the flour into your measuring cup, then gently level it with the back of a knife (as opposed to packing it down). You’d be surprised how much extra flour can accidentally go into a recipe by scooping (and packing) flour.

Next, add the properly measured flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg to the bowl with the creamed butter and beat until the mixture becomes a firm dough. Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

After chilling, remove the Mardi Gras cookies dough from the fridge and roll into 24 1 1/2-inch balls. Place the dough balls on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper (12 cookies on each sheet) and press down on each ball to flatten slightly. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom edges just start to turn golden.

Remove the king cake cookies from the pans to a wire rack to cool. Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting.

Next, it’s time to make the Mardi Gras king cake cookies frosting! To match the flavor and consistency of the cookies, I went for a thicker, creamy frosting topping (as opposed to the traditional glaze you’d find on a king cake). However, I wanted the frosting to taste like a glaze. The Hamilton Beach® Professional Hand Mixer with Easy Clean Beaters transitions perfectly from the thick cookie dough to the creamy icing.

In a second bowl, mix powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of milk, butter, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract with the hand mixer. If necessary, you can add a little more milk at a time until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.

Spread the frosting onto the cooled cookies. Be generous with that frosting!

Sprinkle with stripes of purple, green, and yellow sugar sprinkles. This is traditional for a king cake!

Optional: Hide the plastic baby in the frosting of one of the cookies. Just make sure whoever you’re serving is aware that one of the cookies has this figurine, as it could be a choking hazard.

Here’s the full recipe for King Cake Cookies! If you make them while searching for Mardi Gras cookie recipes or Mardi Gras cookie ideas, take a minute to let us know how you like them! Enjoy these Mardi Gras cookies, and look for the Hamilton Beach® Professional Hand Mixer with Easy Clean Beaters at Target! Laissez-les bon temps rouler!

Mardi Gras King Cake Cookies

Yield: 24 cookies

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

These Mardi Gras cookies are inspired by the flavors of the traditional New Orleans king cake, cinnamon-y and fluffy with a hint of lemon. Make these king cake cookies for your Mardi Gras fête.

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pinch nutmeg

For the Frosting:

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 to 6 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• Purple, green, and yellow sugar sprinkles
• Optional: 1 plastic baby to hide in the cookie frosting

Instructions

To Make the Cookies:

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and almond extract, and beat with the hand mixer until well blended.
2. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg and beat until the mixture becomes a firm dough. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll into 24 1 1/2-inch balls. Place on the prepared baking sheets and press down on each ball to flatten slightly. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom edges just start to turn golden. Remove the cookies from the pans to a wire rack to cool. Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting.

To Make the Frosting:

1. In a second bowl, mix the powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of milk, butter, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract with the hand mixer. If necessary, add a little more milk at a time until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
2. Spread the frosting onto the cooled cookies and sprinkle with stripes of purple, green, and yellow sugar sprinkles.
3. Optional: Hide the plastic baby in the frosting of one of the cookies. Just make sure whoever you’re serving is aware that one of the cookies has this figurine, as it could be a choking hazard.