This week my son turned 21! I openly admit bias when I say I am awed by the bright, sensitive, talented young man he has become. Twenty-one is a big birthday in the United States.
At 18 my son could legally sign a contract, vote, and be drafted. At 21 he can legally buy/drink alcohol, gamble, rent a car, and check into a hotel; truly a mother’s dream come true.
I can only hope that my son’s intelligent and cautious nature will prevail, or at least temper the abandon, as he celebrates this milestone.
We will celebrate my son’s birthday as a family the next time we are together. For now, I created Birthday-in-a-Box 2.0 care package to enthusiastically mark the occasion.
Last year’s birthday care package included mylar helium balloons and birthday cake pops. This year the balloons were accompanied by Birthday Cake Surprise Cookies.
These cookie “cakes” are made from the same sugar cookie recipe I used for my Smiling Snowmen. The easy-to-work-with dough makes delicious, sturdy yet tender cookies that are great care package travelers.
I was inspired to decorate cookies to look like cakes by Anita at Sweet Hope Cookies. She even made ice cream cone cake stands for her miniature confections!
The piñata cookies from SheKnows.com are well known to any Pinterest addict. They must have been viewed (and recreated) gazillion times.
Those little donkey shaped cookies with a surprise candy center are as close to a real piñata as anyone is ever going to bake! I combined the two genius ideas to create 21 (plus 1 for good luck) Birthday Cake Surprise Cookies. 
The sugar cookie dough, in your choice of vanilla or chocolate, is first rolled then cut into sets of 3 circles (mine were 2 ½ ” in diameter).
Holes are made in the center of two of the circles. One small hole in the top circle can be made with a straw.
I used a small medicine cup to make the hole (or hollow center) in the middle circle. The layers of the cookie cakes are glued together with a faux (corn syrup) royal icing and mini m&m’s are hidden in the hollow of the middle layer.
Dripping frosting, sprinkles, and real candles finish off these birthday treats. 
A note about the center holes:
- I recommend cutting out the two center holes AFTER the cookies are baked. I know it sounds crazy, but it works.
- When you try to cut out the holes before baking, the circle diameter expands when the cutter is inserted. You end up with different sized layers.
- Also, the doughnut shaped middle layer is difficult to move onto the cookie sheet. The centers of the cooked layers are still quite soft immediately out of the oven.
- Cutting the holes out is easy and does not change the diameter of the layer.
Sugar cookies are always a good choice for care packages. The icing sets firmly, sealing in moisture. These Birthday Cake Surprise Cookies will stay delicious for 2-3 weeks if wrapped and stored in an airtight container.
Birthday Cake Surprise Cookies
Print RateIngredients
- 1 batch sugar cookie dough
- 1 batch faux royal icing
- ¾ cup mini m&m candies
- 12 small birthday candles
- Decorative sprinkles
Instructions
- Prepare and roll out Sugar Cookie dough. Cut out 3 circles for each Birthday Cake Cookie.
- Bake cookies according to recipe. Press out a small candle hole in what will be the top cookie using the tip of a plastic straw. Cut out the center of what will be the middle cookie to create a doughnut shape. Cool completely before moving on to the next step.
- Prepare icing to the consistency of honey. Spoon icing into a plastic bags or icing bags. If using a plastic bag, cut off a tiny piece of the bottom corner. If using an icing bag, cut off a tiny piece of the tip.
- Place the cookies on a wire rack over waxed paper.
- To assemble the cookie sets into “cakes”, squirt a line of icing around the top edge of the solid bottom cookie. Place the middle doughnut shaped cookie on top, pressing gently. Icing should show between the cookies like on the layers of a cake. Allow this icing to set for at least half an hour.
- Pour a small amount of mini m&m’s into the hole of the middle cookie. The top of the m&m’s should be even with the top surface of the cookie so that the next layer will lie flat on top.
- Using a scissor or knife, trim small birthday candles to a height proportionate with the size of your cookie “cake”. Insert a candle into the hole on each top cookie.
- Squirt a line of icing around the top edge of the middle cookie. Place the top cookie (with the candle) over the icing and press gently. Allow icing to set for at least half an hour.
- Pipe icing onto the top of the cookie “cake” covering the surface and dripping down the sides. Apply sprinkles to the top of each cake immediately after icing.
- Allow the icing to set completely for at least 2 hours or overnight before wrapping, storing, or mailing. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, Birthday Cake Surprise Cookies stay fresh for at least 2 weeks.
Notes
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 4 or 4 ½ cups all purpose flour
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar just until combined.
- Mix in eggs and vanilla. Then mix in baking powder and salt.
- Gradually add flour, 1 cup at a time. If making the cookies right away, use 4 ½ cups of flour. If refrigerating dough for use in several hours or several days, use only 4 cups of flour.
- Roll out on a lightly floured surface to slightly less than ½” thick ( about ⅜”)
- Cut out circles in sets of 3. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and bake for 6-7 minutes.
- Immediately after removing from oven, cut out a large center hole from one cookie in each set ( for filling with candy) and a tiny center hole in one cookie from each set(to hold a candle). (I used a little medicine cup to make the large hole and a plastic drinking straw to make the tiny hole.)
- Cool on baking sheet for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup shortening
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅔ cup cocoa
- 3 or 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar just until combined.
- Mix in eggs and vanilla. Then mix in salt, baking powder and cocoa.
- Gradually add flour, 1 cup at a time. If making the cookies right away, use 3 ½ cups of flour. If refrigerating dough for use in several hours or several days, use only 3 cups of flour.
- Roll out on a lightly floured surface to slightly less than ½” thick ( about ⅜”)
- Cut out circles in sets of 3.
- Transfer to prepared baking sheet and bake for 6-7 minutes.
- Immediately after removing from oven, cut out a large center hole from one cookie in each set ( for filling with candy) and a tiny center hole in one cookie from each set(to hold a candle). (I used a little medicine cup to make the large hole and a plastic drinking straw to make the tiny hole.)
- Cool on baking sheet for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Ingredients
- 4 cups confectioners sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For chocolate icing: 2 tablespoons baking cocoa
- 2-3 drops brown food coloring optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine sugar, cocoa if using, and milk until smooth.
- Add corn syrup and vanilla. Continue beating together until smooth and glossy. Add additional milk in tablespoon increments until desired consistency. (Icing consistency should be thin enough to spread easily but thick enough not to drip excessively off the cookies.)
- Mix in food coloring, if using.
- Spoon icing into piping bags or ziplock bags.
Reeni
These are so ADORABLE Wendy! I can't stop staring at them! They look like just like cakes. I love that they're not. I bet your son is having fun eating them. I HAVE to make them someday soon. . . I'm trying to think of when the next birthday is. Not until May. I don't know if I can wait that long! 😉
themondaybox
Thank you so much, Reeni! Sometimes, adorable desserts are just adorable to look at, but I love that these taste as good as they look! Wouldn't some little green iced cookie cakes be cute for St. Patrick's Day?The leprechaun's gold could be inside!
Jocelyn@Brucrewlife
These have got to be the best birthday cookies ever!! 🙂 Love them!!
themondaybox
Thanks, Jocelyn! I was hoping for something that would make my son's special birthday a celebration! 🙂