My cookie recipe searching has finally come to an end. I have been trying different sugar / rolled cookie recipes so I can have a dough that I can roll out easily, and can press my alphabets onto the dough and produce reliable results without my words smear (no baking powder / baking soda allowed) / produce uneven surface after baking. Then I came across this recipe (from a baking forum) and I realized all I needed is a simple butter cookie recipe and this is it. Four ingredients only, nothing fancy but the dough is smooth and don’t need any extra flour to help roll out the dough. To make these cookies more exciting, I combined the glass cookie idea and added in colored hard candies for colored glass effect in these beautiful Easter cookies.
My 2015 Easter cookies
The hardest part to make these cookies is BUYING hard candies. Why is the two grocery stores I visited filled with only gummies / soft candies? I just want a simple pack of lifesavers, but seems like these traditional candies are no where to be found. I can only find a pack of Easter lollipops (green, light blue, peach, and light pink colors). I went home and while my kids are watching TV, I grabbed one of the hardest toy (a wodden dinosaur) and started to hammer the lollipops into smaller pieces (in a ziplock. But the dinosaur now has dents all over and I’m glad it has never been my son’s favorite toy, so probably he won’t notice the damage). The first batch I baked was all ruined: all green / blue / pink became the same color of dark brown glass center. I followed one recipe and filled the hole with crushed candies before baking cookies. 15 mins to bake cookies would turn candies all over-caramelized, making the baked candies so bitter that I cannot give them out. The nicer cookies were all distributed to my colleagues, but I have to warn them not to eat the glass center anyways because the stupid Easter flavors of green apple and blueberries are so sour it’s a horrible match with the delicious cookies. So, I urge you to choose your candies wisely if you want your friends eat the whole thing! For me, I don’t care and still gave them away because they are so adorable to just look at! Here are the simplest yet the best butter cookies:
Preparing cookies with cookie cutters and alphabet stamps, then add crushed hard candies after
INGREDIENTS:
- butter 226 gm (softened at room temperature)
- icing sugar 136 gm
- 1 extra large egg (57 gm)
- cake/pastry flour 456 gm
- optional: crushed hard-boiled candies
DIRECTIONS:
- Beat softened butter and icing sugar til pale white (using electric mixer with the paddle attachment)
- Add one egg and beat until mixed.
- Stir in flour with a spatula and mix into a dough using hands. Flatten slightly into two discs and wrap each with a plastic wrap to chill for 30-60 mins till hard. Roll out the dough to about 4-5mm thick and cut into desired shapes.
- Bake at 330 degrees for 11 mins. (every oven is different, I baked mine at 350 degrees F and needed 15 mins total time). Then add crushed candies into the center and put back to bake for 4 to 5 minutes and remove from oven once you see all candies melted but before changing colors. If skip the candies, total baking time should be 13-16 depending how golden you like the cookies be.
- Remove from baking pan once the candy hardens and cool completely on a wire rack.
Tips: May chill the cookies after shaping / pressing molds for 15-20 minutes before baking. I did both with chilling and without chilling and both yield similar results. It’s important to use parchment paper to line the baking sheets to avoid candy / cookies sticking to the sheets.
The dough is excellent for any molds / stamps. Most importantly it tastes good too!
Grace's Kitchen 