Tosh.O likes my cookies.

Last year, Pee-wee Herman tweeted my pinata cookies. This year, Tosh.O blogged my taco cookies.

Thanks guys! I love you both. If I knew you were watching, I would have baked a cake too. :)

Mini Taco Cookies

Could someone please explain why I have this crazy obsession with Cinco de Mayo desserts? - Pinata cookies, maraca cookies, and taco cookies.

I swear, it's not on purpose. I'm not from Mexico. I pretty much use the holiday as an excuse to drink margaritas and eat chips & queso. Don't we all?

Regardless, I made some taco sugar cookies a few years ago for work, and decided to attempt them again for a tutorial. I remember struggling with the cookie dough, trying to get it to bake in the shape of a taco shell, on top of a wedge of tinfoil. It wasn't impossible, but it was frustrating. And although they turned out lovely, there's always an easier way to bake something, right?

Like, for instance, not baking at all! This new recipe uses Oreo cookies and is assembly-only. If you can't figure them out by these photos, then head over to SheKnows for the complete step-by-step and list of ingredients. Super easy. I promise.

Now that I think about it. I also have an obsession with making foods out of other foods. - Broccoli, pumpkin pie, steak, kabobs, sushi, rice and fortune cookies. What's wrong with me?

Maraca Cookies

Shake your maracas. And then eat them. 

These candy-filled, maraca-shaped cookies sound as good as they look (and taste.) Wouldn't they be fun for Cinco de Mayo or some other mexican-themed fiesta?

Lately, I've been finding alternative ways to bake with my cake pop pan. I still have yet to make ACTUAL cake pops. Probably never will. (Bakerella is the cake pop queen. That woman blows me away with her creativity.)

Anyway, I came up with this idea for shakeable, edible maracas in April of 2012, but never really experimented with them to see if they'd work. It was about this time last year that I had my 15 minutes of Pinata Cookie fame. Oh what fun, to see my little cookie make it big. Wonder if Pee-wee Herman likes maracas?

If you want to attempt these sweet treats yourself, hop on over to SheKnows for the full tutorial. They're not hard, just a little time consuming. (Ha. That sentence should be a disclaimer on every thing I do.)

Cinco de Mayo Piñata Cookies

It wouldn't be a piñata without a candy surprise in the middle!

After baking these multi-striped, burro piñata sugar cookies, I frosted them together in sets of 3's. (The middle cookies have hollow centers so that I could insert a stash of mini M&M's.) That way, when you break open or bite into the cookie, the M&M's come spilling out. Just like a real piñata. 

Olé! 

I recently teamed up with SheKnows.com to make a complete tutorial for these cookies with lots & lots of helpful, step-by-step photos. Check it out here!