Baby Hedgehog Cookies

I don’t think I have seen anything cuter than a baby hedgehog. Their awesome adorableness has inspired many great writers, including Shakespeare. He mentions them in The Tempest and Midsummer Night’s Dream, and refers to them as “hedgepigs” and “urchins.” He used poetic license – the proper name for a baby hedgehog is a hoglet!

I didn’t think anyone would want to eat “Hoglet Cookies”, “Hedgepig Cookies” or “Urchin Cookies” so I stayed with “Baby Hedgehog Cookies” for today’s recipe.

Know Thy Hedgehog

Here is the difference between a non-edible and edible hedgehog.

It appears my cats were confused about the difference. Dante couldn’t keep his eyes or paws off these cute little guys.

I almost had a casualty.

But in the end, Dante just wanted to kiss its chubby little cheeks because they were so cute. Not.

Dolce on the other hand, decided it wasn’t his cup of tea. He much prefers a cuppa with the Chai Tea Cookies from my last blog post.

Today’s Recipe: Baby Hedgehog Cookies

This is more of a guide than a recipe. You can use your favorite shortbread recipe or click here for the Chai Tea Shortbread recipe.

These Baby Hedgehog Cookies were an afterthought when I was rolling my Chai Tea Cookies for the  Food Blogger Los Angeles cookie exchange. I wanted to do something with the scraps, so I was just going to make balls when I remembered this idea I saw on Pinterest.

To form the shape, roll a one-inch piece into an oval shape with a pointed end.
Dip them in chocolate. Or spread chocolate on top only.

Roll them in toffee bits. You could also use nuts.

Use a toothpick to paint on their eyes and nose.
Make an array of hedgehogs on a plate and wait for all of the oohs and ahhs.

Both cookies were brought to the Food Blogger Los Angeles Cookie Exchange. They were in good company, with so many delicious cookies. Check out all the cookie recipes links below.

Fellow food blogger, Valentina from Cooking on the Weekend saved a hedgehog for her 7-year-old and he said, “WOW! I’m gonna love eating this!”  That is my kind of response!

Fun Facts about Hedgehogs

• Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant (please no dunking these guys in milk out of respect)
• Hedgehogs have excellent senses of smell and hearing, but poor eyesight (at least they taste good)
• The collective noun is “an array of hedgehogs.” (They proliferated in my kitchen like rabbits)

Since it is illegal to own a hedgehog in California and a few other states, it is all the more reason to make your own array.
…and then, she paused for thought

FBLA 2013 Cookie Exchange Recipes

• Chai Tea Cookies — Cathy Arkle of  She Paused 4 Thought (She also got tired of rolling the dough and refashioned the rest into Baby Hedgehog cookies.)
• Lemon Blueberry Cookies — Valentina Wein of Cooking on the Weekends
• Butter Pecan Fudge — Dorothy Reinhold (me!) from Shockingly Delicious.
• Antioxidant Chocolate Bark — Erika Kerekes (our hostess) of In Erika’s Kitchen.
• Sweet Potato Marshmallow Bars with White Chocolate Chips — Jennifer Richmond of Kitchy Cooking.
• Chocolate Chip and Apricot Walnut Rugelach and Vegan Chocolate Mini Cupcakes (“Naughty & Nice Cookies”) — Dana of Foodie Goes Healthy
• Vintage Sponge Drops with Double Fudge Filling — Leslie Macchiarella of Bake This Cake.
• Sicilian Christmas cookies — Judy Lyness of Two Broads Abroad.
• Cranberry Orange Walnut Sugar Cookies — Patricia Rose of Fresh Food in a Flash.
• Brown Butter Praline Chocolate Chip Cookies — Valentina Wein of Cooking On The Weekends.
• Mini Chocolate Nut Sandwich Cookies — Kelly Page of Tasting Page.
• Rosemary Raisin Cocktail Shortbread — Sharon Graves of Cheesy Pennies.
• Saketini Christmas Balls, Chocolate Macarons with Japanese Wine Cream Centers, and Matcha Green Tea Cookies with Chocolate Centers & Espresso Cookies with Caramel Fillings — Kim Watkinson of Ninja Baking.
• Blueberry Coconut Mini Cupcakes, Rainbow Chocolate Bark, and Vegan Gingersnaps — Judy Weintraub of Bumbleberry Breeze.
• Chocolate-Dipped Apricots with Pistachios — Adair Seldon of Lentil Breakdown.
• Spumoni Shortbread — Nancy Rose Eisman of Adventures with Nancy Rose.
• Crispy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies and Cardamom Gingersnap Cookies — Alison Ashton of Nourish Network .
• Gluten-Free Pumpkin Oat Bars — Alanna Waldron of Eats Real Food.
• Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cookies — Tanaya Ghosh of Tanaya’s Table. (Tanaya’s Table, the blog, will launch in 2014.)
• Black and White Cookies — Tina Kil. (Her blog isn’t up yet, but watch for her contributions in the future!)

Non-Cookie Items

• Chiang Mai Chicken in Endive Spears — Cathy Arkle of She Paused 4 Thought.
• Seasonal salad — Nancy Rose Eisman of Adventures with Nancy Rose.
• Barrel-Aged Sazerac — Jennifer Richmond of Kitchy Cooking.

Yum