Sunday, June 22, 2014

Strawberry Shortbread Cookies



Aren't these fun?!  My mom gave me a cookbook ("Prize Winning Recipes from Current Customers") years ago that had a recipe similar to this one .  I adapted the recipe (called "Bowl of Berries") to create these Strawberry Shortbread Cookies. 

I could hardly keep my daughter's little hands away the entire time I was making these. She is usually my little helper, but today she just wanted to taste the entire time. (Except the green stems--she had no interest in those.) 

These are truly a shortbread--no eggs or leavening (baking powder/soda)--but with a strawberry twist. They melt in your mouth. And they are a joy to present because they look so darn cute.

AND...they are easy to make. Here's how:

Soak slivered white nuts (almonds, peanuts, or even pecans if you want to sliver them), in 1/3 cup water with 4 drops of green food coloring in it. I soaked mine while I was a church so 3+ hours, but I think 1 hour will be plenty of time. 

Drain the green nuts and let them dry on some paper towels.

Make the shortbread dough. Refrigerate it 30 minutes. Then divide it into 32-36 portions (mine made 32, but I had little friends tasting the dough a bit along the way. I may have tasted some too...after all, no eggs!). Roll the portions into balls, then taper one end to make a strawberry-ish shape. As you can see, perfection with the shape is optional. 


Now prepare two bowls of sugar sprinkles for rolling--one red and one green. Roll the dough into the red to coat all but the top. Dip the top in the green. Stick a green nut sliver into the middle of the green top.

Here they are all ready to go into the oven. They should be 1 inch apart from each other on the baking pan. I used a new silicone baking mat I ordered a while back from Pick Your Plum. It is pretty awesome, and I don't get paid for saying that. These cookies cooked beautifully, evenly, and didn't stick at all (no cooking spray required)--which is amazing since they were coated in sugar. 

Bake at 375° for 12-14 minutes.  They do grow a little (despite no eggs or leavening). A couple of mine ran into each other, but didn't stick together at all when I removed them from the pan (phew!).

A fun, delicious summer shortbread cookie that is a sure hit! Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortbread Cookies

Stems:
1/3 cup slivered nuts (almonds, peanuts, or other white nut)
1/3 cup water
4 drops green food coloring

Cookies:
1 cup salted sweet cream butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 of a 3oz package of strawberry Jello
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
Red sugar sprinkles 
Green sugar sprinkles

Directions
1. Place nuts into water in a small glass bowl. Add food coloring. Let sit 1 hour, or until nuts are tinted green.
2. Beat butter, powdered sugar, Jello, and vanilla in a bowl until creamy. Slowly beat in flour until evenly mixed.  Chill dough 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 375°.  Divide dough into 32-36 pieces. Roll pieces into balls, then taper one end to form a strawberry-like shape.
4. Put red sprinkles in one small bowl and green in another. Roll the dough in the red sprinkles around the sides and bottom, then dip in the green on the top. Stick one green nut sliver into the center of each green top.
5. Place on a non-stick or parchment lined baking sheet 1 inch apart. Bake 12-14 minutes.



9 comments:

  1. These are so adorable. I know that there are a lot of little (and big) fingers around here that would like to try these out!

    Thanks for sharing at Marvelous Monday on Smart Party Planning :-)

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    1. Thank you!
      I enjoyed all the sharing at your party. Thanks for hosting!

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  2. These are so cute and I bet they are delicious! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. How nummy do these look! I would love to taste test one or three, heehee. Stopping by from Teach Me Tue Party. Carrie, A Mother's Shadow

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  4. WOW! These are TOO cute and Amazing!! I love them. If you get a chance I'd love if you could link this up on My Favorite Things: http://timeforseason.blogspot.com/2014/06/my-favorite-things-saturdays-628.html

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    1. Thank you, and thanks for the invitation to link up. I look forward to seeing all the new ideas!

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  5. These are very creative and real looking ;)) Love it!

    Thanks so much for linking up with Teach Me Tuesday @3GLOL last week. Your link up is very much appreciated! Hope to see you again this week. Starts tonight @8pm CST. http://3glol.net/2014/06/30/teach-tuesday/

    Have a great day!

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    1. Thank you.
      And thanks for hosting a great link-up! I look forward to participating again!

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