This recipe was inspired by the huge sugar cookies sold in Costco and at most coffee houses here in the Pacific Northwest (you know the ones! Bright pink frosting…..) As part of my testing out natural dyes I used organic beet powder to dye the frosting (You can get alrge quantities from Frontier Natural online) . It works well. Really well! After today’s tests with beet powder I am hooked on it for creating pink and red treats without all the chemicals. No beet flavor or hard work involved either.
And yes, they are good!
Super Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
Cookies-
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large dairy eggs, room tempature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup low-fat dairy milk
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
Butter cream frosting-
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room tempature
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp organic beet powder
2 to 3 Tbsp low-fat dairy milk
Directions:
Cookies-
In a large bowl whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.
In a stand mixer bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs in, one at a time and then the vanilla till smooth. Add the flour mixture and milk in two batches, letting each addition blend in.
Pack the dough into a small mixing bowl, cover tightly and refrigerate for at least an hour to set up.
Heat oven to 350° (preferably use convection setting if oven has it) and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Dish out the cookie dough with a 2 Tablespoon size disher on the prepared baking sheets. Wet the bottom of a glass and press down gently on each ball, re-wetting every 2 cookies. For best results only bake 6 per tray, 1 tray at a time. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes. You want the cookies set but not turning brown all over (a little browning on the edges is OK).
Let cool on tray for a couple minutes, then move to a wire rack till cold.
Frosting-
With a hand mixer beat the butter till light. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and 1 Tbsp milk. Add more milk as needed, 1 Tbsp at a time. Stir in the beet powder. If you want a brighter pink, add more but do it in tiny amounts. Let the frosting chill for an hour or two to set up and thicken. Stir before frosting cookies.
Makes about 22 cookies.
~Sarah
mmmm, yummy!!