Anna’s Kitchen & Crafts

These Smiley Face Cookies feature a soft cookie with a hardened glaze icing with irresistible vanilla and almond flavors. They are modeled after Savages Bakery’s Smiley Face Cookies that those of us that have lived in and around Birmingham, AL loved before the bakery closed in February of 2026. Now you can create your own smiles from the comfort of your home!

These Cookies Are:

• Soft with a hardened glaze (not super hard, but hard enough to stack cookies)
• Super tasty with almond, vanilla, and chocolate flavors
• Quick: only 30 minutes-an hour of chill time
• A perfect desert for all festivities

Smiley Face Cookies Video Tutorial:

Watch and learn how to make these irresistible Smiley face Cookies. you will need a mixer for the dough and either a piping bag or squeeze bottle for the chocolate icing.

Ingredients in The Cookies:

• Butter: Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature prior to beginning. The butter adds flavor and structure to the cookies.
• Granulated Sugar: Creamed butter and sugar is the base of today’s dough.
• Vanilla & Almond Extract: These adds the irresistible flavor these cookies are known for. The almond extract is what sets these apart from other similar cookies.
• Large Egg: The egg adds structure, stability, and flavor.
• All Purpose Flour: In this recipe you can add the flour directly into the wet ingredients. No need to mix in a separate bowl.
• Salt: Used to offset the sugar and add a little extra flavor.
• Milk: Used to slightly thin out the cookie dough, only need 2 Tablespoons for this recipe.

Ingredients in The Icing’s:

• Confectioners Sugar: This is the base of today’s icing, it keeps the icing thick .
• Vanilla & Almond Extract: Adds a little extra flavor to really make these cookies stand out from others. (Can replace the vanilla with water if you are wanting to create a stark white icing).
• Light Corn Syrup: Corn syrup gives the icing sticking power and creates a light sheen on the dried icing. I don’t recommend skipping it.
• Salt: Offsets the sugar and adds additional flavor.
• Water: Used to slightly thin out the icing until you get the correct consistency. if you can drizzle icing off the whisk into the bowl, the icing should hold on top for a few seconds before melting back into the rest.
• 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate: Used for the smiley face, adds the slight chocolate flavoring we all love. I use the Ghirardelli Premium Baking 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate bars.

Anna Pham

Smiley Face Cookies

Using only 11 ingredients make these soft vanilla-almond flavored cookies with a hardened glaze icing. I recommend chilling the cookie dough for 30 minutes to an hour before forming the cookies.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Chill Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Servings: 20 cookies

Course: Dessert

Calories: 269

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

  

Cookie Dough

• 1 Cup Unsalted Butter Room Temperature
• 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tsp Almond Extract
• 1 Large Egg
• 2 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 2 Tbsp Milk I use Whole Milk but you can substitute if needed.

Icing

• 6 Cups Confectioners Sugar
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tsp Almond Extract
• 4 Tsp Light Corn Syrup
• 8-10 Tbsp Water Room Temperature
• pinch Salt
• Food Coloring Red and Yellow

Chocolate Icing

• 4 Squares 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate I use the Ghirardelli Premium Baking Bars.
• Water As needed

Equipment

• 1 Stand Mixer
• 1 Paddle Attachment
• 1 Whisk Attachment
• 2 Parchment Paper
• 1 Plastic Wrap
• 1 Piping Bag or Squeeze Bottle
• 2 Baking Sheets
• 1-2 Cooling Racks
• 1 Large Measuring Cup
• 1 Toothpick

Method

 

1. Read through the recipe completely prior to beginning. Make room in your refrigerator to put your dough in to chill for 30 minutes-an hour. Without chilling the dough will over-spread and won't hold it's shape. This recipe involves an icing that needs time to set and harden, prepare to leave cookies uncovered to harden for 8-12 hours OR you can speed this time by putting in the oven at 100 °F for 1-2 hours.

Make the cookie dough:

1. In a Stand Mixer with a Paddle Attachment beat the butter and granulated Sugar until creamy on a medium/high speed (~2 minutes). Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and beat on high speed until combined (~1 minute). Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
   1 Cup Unsalted Butter, 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar, 1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract, 1 Tsp Almond Extract, 1 Large Egg
2. On a low speed, slowly beat in the flour and salt. Turn up to a high speed and beat until completely combined. On a medium speed, beat in 2 Tablespoons of milk. You want a dough that's creamy but still thick. The milk makes the chilling imperative so the cookies do not over-spread.
   2 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour, 1/2 Tsp Salt, 2 Tbsp Milk
3. Set out some Plastic Wrap and spoon your dough onto it. Wrap it and flatten it until it is roughly 1 inch in thickness. Put wrapped dough into fridge to chill for about an hour.
4. Remove dough from fridge and preheat oven to 350 °F
5. Grab 2 large Baking Sheets and line with Parchment Paper. Roll dough balls about 2 Tablespoons in size. Use something with a flat bottom (I use a large measuring cup) to press down the dough balls until they are roughly 1/4 inch thick.
6. Put cookies into the oven and bake for 13-15 minutes, swapping trays halfway to ensure they cook evenly. You want the cookies to be soft but firm. Once cookies are done baking, let them chill on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring to Cooling Racks to cool completely before icing.

Make the icing:

1. In a Stand Mixer fit with a Whisk Attachment mix together the confectioners sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, and corn syrup. Add water (start with 5 Tablespoons, mix, then add 1 Tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency). You want to be able to drizzle the icing off the whisk and it sit on top for a few seconds before melting back into the rest of the icing.
   6 Cups Confectioners Sugar, 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract, 1 Tsp Almond Extract, 4 Tsp Light Corn Syrup, 8-10 Tbsp Water, pinch Salt, Food Coloring
2. Once you have the icing the desired consistency, add in the red and yellow Food Coloring. Start with 10 drops of the yellow and 12 drops of the red. Mix and add more of each until you reach your desired orange color.

Icing the cookies:

1. To ice the cookies, I place them on a Cooling Rack on top of the Parchment Paper that I baked them on to catch the run off icing. I transfer the icing from the Stand Mixer into a Large Measuring Cup (you can use an alternative if needed) with a spout and slowly pour the icing over each cookie.
2. After pouring the icing I go back with a Toothpick and pull the icing to any spots that didn't get covered on the cookies.
3. Scrape any excess icing off the Parchment Paper and put back into the Large Measuring Cup to use for the chocolate icing.
4. Put in the oven at 100 °F to harden while we make the chocolate icing.

Make the chocolate icing:

1. To make the chocolate icing, I melt 4 squares of chocolate and mix it into the remaining orange icing. Add a small amount of water to thin icing out.
   4 Squares 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate, Water
2. Put the chocolate icing into a Piping Bag or other container you use to decorate with. (I use a squeeze bottle).

Make the Smiley Face:

1. Once you have finished mixing together the chocolate icing, remove the cookies from the oven and begin drawing the faces on each cookie however you like.
2. Once finished drawing the Smiles, put finished cookies back into the oven at 100 °F for 1-2 hours to set the icing.
3. Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.