Tag Archives: butter cookies

Rose Water Sugar Cookies 

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I’ve never been good at drawing. Really, if you ask me to draw something right now, it’s going to look like it was drawn by a six years old ! That’s why I admire people, including my daughter, who has the talent to draw. Her pictures are always full of creative ideas and her characters are very lively. Like this one here….Coffee and Tea are having a battle ! 

And this one, which she drew last week at her art class, illustrates people taking photos of the beautiful Cherry Blossoms.

And yes, thanks to the Cherry Blossoms, otherwise we wouldn’t even notice that Spring is here! The weather is still rainy and pretty cold…….To help “spring” our spirits back, I made these Rose Water Sugar Cookies ! The rose water gives the cookies a nice floral flavour, but you don’t need very much. I decorated the cookies two ways, with coloured sugar and with royal icing. (This is the time when I really wish I am as artistic as my daughter, so I can make my cookies prettier !) 

People often wonder what I do with all the goodies I made. I mostly share them with friends and family.  But this time, I wrapped them up nicely and sent them to my kids’ school for their annual Spring Fair ! Being able to share them and help raise money for our school feels fantastic ! Happy Spring everyone !

Makes about 3-4 dozens 

For the cookies 

    • 360 g all-purpose flour 
    • 3 g baking soda 
    • 2 g salt
    • 120 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
    • 180 g granulated sugar 
    • 1 egg + 1 egg white for brushing 
    • 5 mL pure vanilla extract 
    • 30 mL lemon juice 
    • Zest of 1 small lemon 
    • 5 mL rose water
  1. Preheat oven to 325°F
  2. Sift together flour,baking soda and salt, set aside 
  3. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy 
  4. Add 1 egg, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest and rose water, mix until blended 
  5. Mix in flour mixture, 1/3 at a time  
  6. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is formed
  7. Roll out to about 0.3 cm in thickness 
  8. Cut with cookie cutters (You can collect the dough scraps all together and re-roll, cover unused dough with a damp cloth or plastic wrap)
  9. Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper 
  10. If decorating with coloured sugar, brush top with egg white, sprinkle with sugar, then bake for 8 minutes. If decorating with royal icing (see recipe below), bake first for 8 minutes, cool completely, then decorate. 

Royal Icing

    • 45 g meringue powder,sifted 
    • 500 g icing sugar
    • Pinch of salt
    • 90 – 120 mL warm water
    • 5 mL pure vanilla extract
    • 10 mL corn syrup 
    • Gel food colouring
  1. Mix meringue powder with about 45 mL of water, let sit for a few minutes 
  2. Stir in vanilla and corn syrup 
  3. Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, start mixing icing sugar and salt at low speed 
  4. Add meringue powder mixture 
  5. Slowly add in more warm water until shiny and desired consistency (thicker for outlining and thinner for filling)
  6. Add gel food colouring 

This recipe is also part of the Canadian Food Creatives’ round up. Our topic this month is “Bring On Spring” !  Be sure to check out the links below for more Spring recipes from other Canadian Food Bloggers. You can also find them on social media using the hashtag #CDNFoodCreatives. Many thanks to Melanie Maxwell at The Refreshanista for hosting. 

 

 

 

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Checkerboard Cookies 

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Making these checkerboard cookies may seem complicated, but once you made the dough, it’s pretty easy. It’s a fun recipe to get the kids involved. They can help measure and assemble. They can also make them in other patterns, like pinwheels or stripes. It’s like playing with clay or play dough, and they can learn about math and geometry at the same time !  (Another reason for me to bake more, yeah !) You can freeze the dough logs for up to 1 month, so you can have freshly baked cookies whenever you want ! 

Makes about 16 checkerboard cookies

For the vanilla dough

  • 50 g granulated sugar
  • 100 g unsalted butter
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 150 cake and pastry flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the chocolate dough

  • 50 g granulated sugar
  • 100 g unsalted butter
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 140 g cake and pastry flour
  • 10 g unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

You will also need 1 egg white for assembling cookies

  1. Mix together cold butter and sugar using a wooden spoon until no more lumps
  2. Add egg yolk and vanilla, mix until blended
  3. Add flour and salt (and cocoa powder for the chocolate dough) all at once, mix with the wooden spoon, then transfer onto a table or counter and gently knead dough together (just work until ingredients are mixed in)
  4. Wrap with plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours or overnight
  5. Knead dough until pliable
  6. Roll out 2/3 of each dough to about 0.8-1 cm in thickness 
  7. Cut into 0.8-1 cm wide strips and assemble into checkerboard pattern, brush egg white between pieces to help sticking 
  8. Roll out remaining 1/3 of each dough to about 3 mm in thickness
  9. Brush with egg white and wrap sheets around checkerboard logs 
  10. Trim off excess dough.
  11. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours  
  12. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325ºF 
  13. Cut cookies and place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper
  14. Bake for 8-10 minutes 

Notes: The dough scraps can be re-rolled, but not more than twice or it may crack. You can also gather them together, roll into a log and make some marble cookies! 

Originally recipe by Chef Marco Ropke at the Vancouver Pastry Training Centre 

Halloween Cookies

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I made these cookies for my kids’ school last week. They have bake sale about 3 times a year to raise money for the school. It is a very exciting event and the kids just love it ! These are Halloween cookies but you can make them for any occasions, Christmas, Valentines, birthdays, etc. Get creative and have fun ! The icing take at least 6 hours to dry depending on humidity.  So plan ahead, you may need up to 2 days to make them.

For the cookies

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 cups pastry flour
  • 1 + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. Sift flour, baking powder, salt together, set aside
  3. Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment,  cream butter and sugar until fluffy
  4. Add egg, vanilla and milk, mix well
  5. Add flour mixture in 2 – 3 portions
  6. Mix until a dough is formed, scraping sides of mixing bowl
  7. Roll dough flat on flour surface, about 2-3 mm thickness
  8. Cut with cookie cutters
  9. Bake on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper for about 8-9 minutes until edges turn brown
  10. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes,  then completely on rack

If the dough is too soft to roll, you can put it in the fridge for about 1 hour before rolling.  Cool cookies completely before icing.

For the icing

  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 2 teaspoons corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons water
  • food coloring for icing
  1. Sift icing sugar
  2. Add milk, corn syrup and vanilla
  3. Add water, a few drops at a time to get the desired consistency
  4. Add food coloring
  5. Mix until smooth

Use a thicker icing to outline the borders, let dry, then use a thinner icing for the middle.  The icing is almost transparent, so you will need to add white food coloring to make it white.

Butter Cookie Sandwich with Chocolate Ganache

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This cookies are so fun to make. You can use any of your favourite cookie cutters to make different shapes and decorate any way you want. Get the kids involved ! They would love it. For the fillings, I used chocolate ganache just because I love chocolate. You can actually sandwich these cookies with any fillings, e.g. fruit jams, nutella, peanut butter, vanilla cream….even ice cream!

Makes about 20-25 sandwiches

For the cookies

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 cups pastry flour
  • 1 + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. Sift flour, baking powder, salt together, set aside
  3. Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy
  4. Add egg, vanilla and milk, mix well
  5. Add flour mixture in 2 – 3 portions
  6. Mix until a dough is formed, scraping sides of mixing bowl
  7. Roll dough flat on flour surface, about 2-3 mm thickness
  8. Cut with cookie cutters
  9. Bake on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper for about 8-9 minutes until edges turn brown
  10. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes,  then completely on rack

If the dough is too soft to roll, you can put it in the fridge for about 1 hour before rolling.

For the chocolate ganache filling

  • 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate,  finely chopped
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  1. Heat whipping cream in a non-stick pot just until starting to boil
  2. Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate
  3. Wait 1 minute, add vanilla, then stir until smooth
  4. Let cool to room temperature

To assemble, spoon chocolate ganache between 2 cookies and decorate

Thumbprint Cookies

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This is really easy and kids can choose their favourite fillings ! 

Makes about 24

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1+1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Fruit jams or fillings of your choice
  1. Preheat oven to 325 ºF
  2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside
  3. In an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
  4. Add egg and vanilla, mix well
  5. Add flour mixture in 2 to 3 portions, mix well, scraping sides of bowl
  6. Roll dough into small balls, about 2 teaspoons each, and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, 2 inches apart
  7. Gently crate an indentation in the middle of balls with thumb or end of a wooden spoon
  8. Bake for about 10 minutes, remove from oven, crate centres again
  9. Return cookies to oven and bake for another 8 minutes or until golden
  10. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes and then on rack until completely cooled
  11. Fill centres with fruit jam or spread of your choice (Nutella, peanut butter, etc.)

Cranberries and Chocolate Chips Butter Cookies

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I like to make these cookies around X’mas time. They are great to share with others during the winter holidays.

Makes about 30

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting
  • 1/4 cup self-rising flour
  • 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. Sift together self-rising flour, all-purpose flour and salt, set aside
  3. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter at medium speed until fluffy
  4. Sift in icing sugar, beat again until fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl
  5. Reduce speed to low, add in flour mixture in 2-3 portions
  6. Add vanilla and milk, mix until dough comes together
  7. Stir in chocolate chips and cranberries
  8. Place large tablespoonfuls of dough, on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches apart
  9. Bake for about 18 minutes, rotating trays half way through, bottoms of cookies should be lightly brown
  10. Let cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely
  11. Dust tops with icing sugar

You can gently roll each tablespoon of dough into balls with hands, then press down to shape cookies before baking