Panda Cookies

These were Panda Cookies. Why Panda? Because I like Panda.

I made them as a birthday, more precisely to say, a very belated birthday gift for my long-time friend. They were buttery Sablé cookies with a hint of vanilla. A part of the dough was mixed with cocoa powder to make Panda's eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

Assembling was challenging. I needed to carefully but quickly handle the butter-rich dough by resting it in the refrigerator after each shaping step. I couldn't see how the face looked like until I cut the assembled dough into individual faces. At this point, you can't fix the face. OK, some had dimples, but they were acceptable. In fact, this wasn't my first time to make Panda cookies. Pandas changes their expression each time I make. 

Baked 20 min in the oven, Pandas were ready to visit my friend. My friend had guests, a family who just came bake from a long journey in Swaziland, and their parents. My friend shared my cookies with them after dinner. I was so happy to see the family's four beautiful young daughters quickly picked Pandas and enjoyed them! Even the youngest two year old girl did! Panda made everyone smile.