Strawberry Lemonade Sugar Cookies
An adaptation of a Sarah Kieffer cookie recipe from the book, 100 Cookies, these cookies are full of fruity flavors and beautiful to boot.
- Yield: Makes about 22 to 24 cookies 1x
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1.5 sticks)
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar
- Zest of two large lemons (this doesn’t have to be an exact amount)
- 1 egg plus 1 yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- .8 to 1-ounce package of freeze-dried strawberries (raspberries also work)
- A few drops of red and yellow food coloring, optional (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until nicely combined.
- In a bowl using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy; about 3 minutes. Add the lemon zest, egg and yolk, lemon extract, and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
- Crush the freeze-dried berries into as fine a dust as you can (a food process or just your fist/a rolling pin will do the trick). Transfer half of the dough to a bowl and to the half still left in the mixer/original mixing bowl, add the crushed berries and as much red food coloring as you like. You can add a few drops of yellow to the other half, if you like. Mix both colored doughs just until combined, so the color is well distributed.
- Roll all of the dough (both colors) into ½” to ¾” balls. To make a cookie, gently press and roll together a red ball and yellow ball until you have one smooth, dual-colored cookie. Place them on cookie sheets, leaving at least 2 inches in between.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until just done. They’ll be nice and flat – chewy in the middle and crisp around the edges once they’ve totally cooled. Let them cool almost completely before transferring elsewhere.
Notes
Cookies will keep, covered, in a cool, dry place for up to 5 days.