I’m so excited to be covering how to make these cute fa la llama cookies on the blog today!
Got a Christmas party or cookie swap coming up? These cute fa la llama cookies are just what you need. Trust me.
The main inspiration for these cookies was my new fa la llama TOMS.
I bought my first pair of TOMS a few years ago during a great hang out weekend in Austin with my bestie. Ever since, I’ve only loved the brand more and more. And guess what? They just announced a donation of 5 million dollars to help ending gun violence! So the TOMS love continues.
Admittedly, TOMS are not my only fa la llama accessories. I have socks, ornaments, dish towels and pj pants. So yes, it might be an obession, but I figure there are worse obsessions.
But back to the fa la llama cookies, and how to make them:
First of all, before you begin, just remember that cut out cookies are a process. A multi-step, long labor of love. And frustration. Hopefully the love out weighs the frustration, but its ok if it doesn’t. Every time I got frustrated, I just reminded myself that this wasn’t my day-job. So unless sugar cookie decorating IS your day job, cut yourself some slack.
Supply list:
- Llama cookie cutter. You can find them at Amazon, or here at this cute Etsy store.
- Wilton tip #3 – for outlining the llamas with icing
- Wilton tip #5 – for filling in the llama cookies with icing and making the llama shawls
- Disposable icing piping bags
- Small cookie spatula or butter knife
- Rolling Pin
- Food dye – I used sunny side up bakery’s squeeze gel color (maroon, avocado and regal purple)
- Cookie sheet for baking
- Parament paper for storing and baking
How to make and decorate:
- Make your sugar cookie dough and refrigerate over night. I used this recipe. The taste was great, but the edges of the cookies did fluff up a little when baked, so if not having crisp edges is a deal breaker, I would use another recipe. By all means, if you have a great cut out sugar cookie recipe, leave it in the comments for me!
- Roll out the cookies, leaving the dough thick. Wilton has rubber bands for rollers to help create even thickness, but I just used two DVDS on each side of my roller, which worked fine.
- Bake the cookies according to recipe and allow them to cool
- Once they are cool, and only once they are cool, they are ready for fa la llama cookie icing!
- You will need to make royal icing to line, fill and decorate your fa la llama cookies. I highly recommend this Wilton recipe.
- Lining the fa la llamas: You need stiff royal icing to line the cookies. Consistency is key, so you want the icing stiff enough to form a soft peak (think Hersey kiss). The recipe I linked gives directions for stiff icing, although I find I always have to tinker with it a bit to get it just right for lining. Once you’ve got soft peak consistency, use your wilton #3 tip and fill a disposable piping bag. The second key to lining cookies is to keep your tip slanted (about a 30 degree angle) and move your hand quickly. This will help keep the icing consistent. The other key is christian music. I put Lauren Daigle Pandora on, and it helped.
- Wait for your lining icing to dry! Even though the icing is thin, I gave it an hour to dry.
- Using a piping bag with wilton tip #5 and thin royal icing (think watered down Elmer’s glue consistency), fill in your fa la llama cookies. Start filling them in the middle, and then use your small cookie spatula to bring the icing into the ears and legs. This will keep the filling from over flowing your lining.
- Wait for the filling to dry. This will take 3-5 hours depending on how thick the filling is.
- Garnish you fa la llama cookies with a shawl and leash (is that what you call it?) Split the rest of your thin icing into thirds or however many color choices you would like and create your llama shawls. I still used my wilt ion #5 tip for this, but if you wanted to be more detailed you could use a stiff icing and go back to tip #3. I just make either a semi-circle or small square for the shawl and a little swoop for the leash. Sprinkles are optional.
- Enjoy! These are perfect for gifts, cookie swaps, or maybe even a new cookie for santa to shake things up a little!
These guys are headed to a Christmas brunch!
Also for a pro-tip, I do NOT recommend attempting these with a toddler around. Seriously, do not attempt.
Cheers!