These cookies are AMAZING!

Seriously.  I love spice cookies.  And I love cream cheese.  And these are spicy and silky and gooey and sweet… *sigh*

But the most exciting part?  These can be adapted to every holiday.  Just change the shape of the cookie cutter and possibly the flavor of cake mix.

I’m drooling just thinking about it.

Anyway, I used spice cake for these.  Cake mix cookies are usually pretty soft and these were no exception.

I also used cream cheese because I thought it would compliment the spice flavor, but I’m going to try these again with other cake flavors and still stick with the cream cheese.

Incidentally, I used both butter and cream cheese in both the cookies and the icing, and the total amount used between the two was one stick of butter and one 8 oz. package of cream cheese.  Makes things easier.

Oh, and speaking of easy – do you see that photo?  Four ingredients.  Four.  (Technically it becomes six if you add in the vanilla and sugar from the filling, but that still qualifies as super easy in my book.)

Here are all the cookie ingredients, except for the cake mix, creamed together.

Isn’t that beautiful?  Off to the fridge!

Remember:  if your cookie cutter is not symmetrical (like mine isn’t), you’re going to have to use both sides of the cutter to make cookies that will fit together when the icing is sandwiched in between them.

The shape I used it available in this set and this set.

So, cut out one cookie, then flip over the cutter to make the next one.

You don’t want your cookies to get brown around the edges.

And yes, mine are already brown from the spices, but I mean “browned” as in crispy.

The finished cookies need to still be soft if you want to eat them sandwich-style without your icing flying out the sides when you bite into them.

And this is the icing.  I waited until the cookies were cooled before I made it.  It only takes a minute.

I used a baggy in lieu of a decorating bag to draw on the cookie icing.

The easiest way to fill a baggy full of icing is by placing it in a cup with the top of the bag folded open over the edge of the cup.

Before adding the icing, I lined up the cookies to make sure I had the right number of tops and bottoms.

You can see that I didn’t add a large amount of icing to the inside of the cookies.

I was happy with this amount, but could have put more.  I had handful left over, but it also makes an awesome dip for pretzels and fruit, so I just stuck the extra in the fridge.

Then, I melted some white chocolate chips (in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time at half power) and drew on some bunny tails.

Store the cookies in a closed container.

Oh, and this recipe makes about a dozen large sandwich cookies (so, 24 3-inch cookies).

Easter Bunny Spiced Sandwich Cookies

Cookie Ingredients:

1 box (16.5 oz.) spice cake mix
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg

In a large bowl, use a mixer to cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add egg and vanilla and blend until fluffy.

Slowly sprinkle in the cake mix and flour and blend until combined.

Shape cookie dough into a flattened disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a half hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough to a 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. If you want to make a sandwich cookie with a cutter that is not symmetrical (like in the photo), then make sure you cut out an equal number of matching cookies, using both sides of the cookie cutter.

Bake on parchment lined cookie sheets for 5 to 8 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of your cookies. They should not yet be noticeably browning on the edges. Do not overcook them or your sandwiches will be difficult to eat.

Allow cookies to rest on the hot pan for a few minutes, then remove to cooling racks. Cool cookies completely before adding icing.

Icing:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups confectioners sugar
White chocolate chips (optional)

With a mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Mix in the vanilla. Add in the sugar a half cup at a time, and then the cinnamon.

Put icing in a decorating bag or a baggy with the corner cut off, and squeeze it onto the bottoms of half of the cooled cookies. Place another cookie on top of the icing and press down gently.

If desired, melt some white chocolate chips to draw on a bunny tail.

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To get the printable PDF, click here:  Easter Bunny Spiced Sandwich Cookies

Enjoy!