I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas Cookies

I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas Cookies | The Bearfoot Baker

We all know that this is the most wonderful time of the year and I think it has to do with cookies! Don’t you agree? Or maybe it is because I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas! Don’t you want a hippopotamus for Christmas? How about hippopotamus cookies for Christmas?

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas - Decorated Christmas Cookies www.thebearfootbaker.com

People who have never decorated a cookie or never even thought about it get the “Cookie Fever” and those of us that have it year round seem to be on some kind of weird sugar rush that turns us into crazed elves on crack! It scares everyone we come in contact with but, it’s OK! We will be back to normal come December 26th.

Like most kids, I thought the magic of Christmas was asking Santa for anything you wanted. I was a weird kid and asked for all kinds of weird things that never in a million years would have fit in Santa’s sleigh. One year I wanted a tree that would be perfect for a tree swing that I didn’t have. I also wanted a monkey. I wanted it to help me clean my room. Then, I heard it! The song that was the inspiration of my Christmas list for years to come! “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas!” How did they know I wanted a hippo? Have you heard the song? Sing it with me:

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
Don’t want a doll, no dinky Tinker Toy
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy

YEP! For the next 4 years, I wanted a hippopotamus! To bad my mom didn’t make cookies ’cause, I think these simple little cookie would have done the trick and then I could have asked for what I really wanted, an ELEPHANT!

Supplies for Hippopotamus for Christmas Cookies:

Gray Icing
Black Icing or 4mm beads for eyes.
Sugar Cookie Recipe
Royal Icing Recipe

I got this super cute cutter from The Cookie Cutter Company. It was perfect for this project! Outline and flood the hippo with the gray icing and add the eye while the icing is still wet! SO SIMPLE!

Can you tell what this cutter is? I trimmed the bottom a little but, if you look close, I bet you can see it. It is a ladybug! I did squish it a bit.

Anyway, outline the hippo. Flood the ears and let dry for a few minutes.
Next, flood the face and add the eyes and let it dry for a few more minutes.
Then, flood the rest of the big guy and let it dry enough to add 2 black circles for the nose. You can make them with a food safe marker like this one.

NOTE: If you have trouble with the bead eyes bleeding, try making your icing thicker. The extra water in your icing will draw out the colors of the bead and it will bleed. Want to know where I learned this? It was from Sweet Sugar Belle ’cause she is so super smart!!! I don’t think she has blogged about it but, I asked her one day.

So, the next time your kids ask Santa for something that he could never ever in a million years fit into his sleigh, make them “I want a hippopotamus Christmas Cookies” instead. Maybe they will get a good laugh out of it and ask for something smaller.

Happy Creating,

Lisa