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A recipe for rainbow donkey piñata cookies, decorated with rainbow sprinkles. One of the best desserts for Cinco de Mayo!
Why Make These Rainbow Donkey Piñata Cookies?
May 5th is Cinco de Mayo, and what better way to celebrate than with these festive rainbow donkey piñata cookies?
A celebration of Mexican heritage, Cinco de Mayo (literally translated as “the fifth of May,”) commemorates the Mexican Army’s victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1862.
Today, Cinco de Mayo is more widely observed in the United States (originally in California, but now nationwide) than it is in Mexico. Celebrations often feature parades, festivals, events highlighting Mexican culture, music and dancing, alcoholic beverages, piñatas, and of course, plenty of food.
One of the Best Desserts for Celebrating Cinco de Mayo
A platter of my rainbow donkey piñata cookies makes a perfect centerpiece for any Cinco de Mayo party. The playful donkey shape (created with the help of a metal donkey cutter) pays homage to the traditional Mexican piñata, while the bright rainbow stripes and crunchy nonpareil coating add a sweet and colorful dose of fun..
These vibrant, multi-layered cookies not only look festive, but they’re fun to make, too. Baking piñata cookies offers a creative activity for families to enjoy together. With two layers of dough and a cacophony of rainbow colored-dough, they do require a little bit of elbow grease, but I promise the results will be worth it!
Creating the Rainbow Mosaic
To form the rainbow layer, you’ll tint half of the sugar cookie dough into various colors, then roll, cut, and shape them together to create a mosaic. This process isn’t an exact science. The important part is to form a multicolored pattern, so that when you cut out the piñatas you’ll see all (or most) of the rainbow colors on each individual cookie.
I chose to cut my dough into strips and press them back together. But, squares or rectangles or even abstract shapes will work, too. If you want to use my method, I’ve included some screenshots in the instructions below to show how I assembled the strips.
Donkey Piñata Cookie Tips and Tricks
Be sure to use gel food coloring to color your rainbow dough, rather than water-based colors, which aren’t concentrated enough to achieve the bright colors shown here. I like the Chefmaster brand of gel food coloring, but any good-quality gels will work.
The egg wash is only necessary to adhere the sprinkles or nonpareils to the tops of the cookies. If you’re not using sprinkles, you can skip the egg wash step, too.
I purchased a donkey piñata cookie cutter from Amazon, but KaleidaCuts has a good option as well. If you don’t have a donkey cutter, feel free to use this method to make rainbow cookies in any shape you’d like.
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
Donkey piñata cookies are best enjoyed on the day they are made. Store leftover Cinco de Mayo cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.
Piñata cookies also freeze well. Layer cookies between sheets of parchment and freeze in an airtight container for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature.
Other rainbow recipes you might enjoy:
Rainbow Whoopie Pies
Buttercream Rainbow Cookies
Slice and Bake Rainbow Heart Cookies
Rainbow Rice Krispie Treats
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
PrintRainbow Donkey Piñata Cookies
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 16 3 1/2-inch cookies 1x
Description
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with these rainbow donkey piñata cookies, decorated with plenty of rainbow sprinkles!
Ingredients
540 grams all purpose flour (4 1/4 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
340 grams unsalted butter, softened (1 1/2 cups / 3 sticks)
415 grams granulated sugar (2 cups)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Gel food coloring (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)
Rainbow sprinkles or nonpareils
Instructions
In a large bowl, sieve the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the butter on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the sugar, followed by the eggs and vanilla bean paste and continue to whip on high speed until well-combined.
Add the flour mixture to the butter bowl and mix on medium speed until just combined.
Separate the dough into two equal portions. Flatten one portion into a disc, wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap, and transfer to the refrigerator to chill, at least 30 minutes.
Separate the other portion into six equally-sized balls. (You can use a kitchen scale if desired, but it’s not necessary to be exact.) Add gel food coloring to color each portion with a different rainbow color, using your hands* to knead the color into the dough.
Roll each color into a tube about 10 inches (25 centimeters) in length. Press the tubes together to form a rainbow-colored slab, then use a sharp knife to cut the slab in half:
Press the two halves together with the stripes aligning horizontally, forming one long rainbow slab:
Cut the slab in half lengthwise:
Then cut into strips. Rearrange the strips** to form a mosaic pattern:
Press the strips together, making sure there are no gaps in the dough:
Wrap the rainbow slab in clingfilm and transfer to the fridge to chill, at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two baking trays with parchment or silicone baking mats, and set aside until ready to use.
Remove the disc of sugar cookie dough from the fridge. Roll between parchment to approximately 1/2-inch (1 1/4 centimeters) thickness. Peel away the parchment from the top of the dough.
Remove the rainbow dough slab from the fridge, unwrap, and roll between parchment to approximately 1/2-inch (1 1/4 centimeters) thickness. Remove the parchment from one side and flip the rainbow dough on top of the sugar cookie dough.
Roll the two doughs together, making sure to keep the edges relatively even. (You shouldn’t see too much sugar cookie dough peeking out from beneath the rainbow, nor should the rainbow dough overhang the sugar cookie dough.) Continue rolling until the two have formed one sheet of dough measuring about 5/8 inch (1 1/2 centimeters) thick. Remove the parchment.
Use a donkey-shaped cutter to cut the dough into 15-16 cookies. Use a metal spatula or stepped palette knife to transfer cutouts to prepared trays.
With a pastry brush, very lightly brush the top of each cookie with the beaten egg white****, and sprinkle generously with rainbow nonpareil sprinkles.
Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely prior to serving.
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. They also freeze well.
Notes
*I highly suggest wearing rubber gloves for this step!
**Creating the mosaic isn’t an exact science. I chose to cut my dough into strips and press them back together, but you could also cut it into squares or rectangles and press them together. The important part is to form a multicolored pattern, so that when you cut out the piñatas you’ll see all of the rainbow colors on each cookie.
***Be careful not to roll the dough too thin, or it will be too thin when re-rolled with the rainbow dough on top.
****The egg wash is only necessary to adhere the sprinkles or nonpareils to the tops of the cookies. If not using sprinkles, you can skip the egg wash step.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Chilling Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 12-14 minutes
- Category: Biscuits and Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Dessert
Amazing article! this rainbow cake is looking awesome. I definitely try this. Thanks for sharing this with us.
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