Leprechaun Gnome Cookie Cups
on Mar 02, 2022, Updated Feb 09, 2024
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For St. Patrick’s Day, make some Leprechaun Gnome cookie cups using chocolate dipped strawberries, sugar cookie cups, delicious vanilla frosting, and chocolate candy noses. Who’s feeling lucky?
Cookie gnomes are so incredibly simple to make and they taste so good! The juicy strawberries balance out the sweetness of the icing in the best way.
And honestly, I will never get tired of how cute these little guys are!
Serve them with other St. Patrick’s Day snacks or some Irish cream brownies and rainbow cereal treats or even on top of some rainbow bark for a fun celebration.
Leprechaun Gnome Cookie Shopping List
Easy holiday desserts are as fun to make as they are to eat. Let your kids help you with these and make a day of it!
The best part about our lucky leprechaun gnome cookies, is the strawberry hat. And since we dipped them in chocolate for our Valentine Gnomes, we’re doing it again!
What to Buy
- Refrigerated sugar cookie dough (Pillsbury break apart cookies are my favorite)
- White Frosting (or orange if you can find it)
- Orange gel food coloring
- Fresh Strawberries
- Yellow candies (use whatever you can find – I chose M&Ms)
- Mini cupcake liners
- Green melting chocolate
- St. Patrick’s Day sprinkles
Bake Cookies in Mini Muffin Tin
To get started, preheat your oven to 350°F and line mini muffin pan cups with cupcake liners. We’re going to peel these off later so don’t worry about it if they don’t match.
Note: You can skip the liners and coat with cooking oil spray if you want to, but some people have had trouble with that method. It’s important to be sure the pan is very well coated because these cookies like to stick.
Place one cookie piece into each muffin cup. You don’t need to flatten or roll them. Just drop them in, easy peasy!
Bake cookies and place pan on a wire rack to cool.
While cookies are still warm, take a small scoop to gently press the tops into a cup shape. Then cool completely before removing from the pan.
Make Green Strawberry Hats
While the cookies are baking, wash and dry strawberries and slice off the tops so you have a straight edge on the large side of your strawberry.
Add the green melting chocolate to a bowl and microwave with a little bit of Crisco. You will melt in 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval until smooth.
Then, dip the strawberries completely and gently lift with a fork to remove.
Allow excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl and transfer strawberry to a wax paper lined platter to dry.
Before the chocolate hardens completely, place a few shamrock sprinkles on the hat if desired.
If you want to use another color, allow strawberries to dry and then drizzle the second color over the dipped strawberries and let dry completely.
Frosting Leprechaun Beards
To assemble the leprechauns we have to start with the beard!
First, transfer your cooled cookie cups from the pan. If you used liners, you can peel them off. If you are using muffins, unwrap and place them on your work surface.
If you don’t have orange frosting, place white frosting in a bowl and stir in orange gel food coloring until completely mixed.
Pipe a generous amount of frosting onto each cookie cup or mini muffin.
Then push a strawberry on top of the icing and add a yellow candy nose just in front of the strawberry.
Take a toothpick and spread some of the icing downward to create the orange beard.
You will fall in love with our little Leprechaun gnomes. Gnome cookie cups are so fun to create for every holiday! Just wait until you see our Easter gnomes!
Print the Recipe
Make these adorable St. Patrick’s Day gnomes with your kids along with a fun printable leprechaun hat or make them with friends and enjoy right away!
Leprechaun Gnome Cookie Cups
Ingredients
- 1/2 pkg Refrigerated Sugar Cookie Dough, I used Pillsbury break apart
- 16 oz Vanilla Frosting, About one can
- 12 Strawberries
- 12 Yellow candies
- 4 drops Orange gel food coloring
- 1 cup Green candy melts
- 1 tbsp Shamrock sprinkles, optional
Instructions
Cookie Cups
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a mini muffin pan generously with cooking oil spray. You can also use mini cupcake liners if you have them (preferred method).
- Place one cookie piece into each muffin cup. You don't need to flatten or roll them.
- Bake cookies for 20 minutes and place pan on a wire rack to cool.
- While the cookies are still warm, take a small scoop to gently press the cookies into a cup shape.
- Cool completely before removing from the pan.
Decorate the Gnomes
- Wash and dry strawberries and slice off the tops of strawberries so you have a straight edge on the large side of your strawberry.
- Add green melting chocolate to a bowl and microwave with a little bit of Crisco until smooth. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval until smooth.
- Push a fork into the large side of a strawberry, then turn it over and dip into the green melted chocolate.
- Allow excess to drip back into the bowl and transfer strawberry to a wax paper lined platter to dry. To do this, gently slide the large side of the strawberry off the fork and allow to dry so it looks like the hat is right side up. Repeat for each strawberry.
- Before the chocolate sets completely, add some St. Patrick's Day sprinkles if desired.
- If you want to decorate with a second color, wait until dipped strawberries are dry. Then, add melted chocolate to a piping bag and drizzle over dipped strawberries.
- Add orange food coloring to vanilla frosting and mix well. Transfer to a piping bag.
- Pipe the orange frosting onto your cooled cookie cups.
- Then push a strawberry on top of the icing and add a candy nose just under the strawberry. I used yellow M&Ms for these.
- Take a toothpick to spread some of the icing down to create the lucky leprechaun beard.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
