These raspberry sugar cookies are like common cut-out sugar cookies, however with two main upgrades within the dough: tangy cream cheese and freeze-dried raspberries. Naturally coloured, these fairly pink cookies are lovely proper out of the oven, however be happy to garnish with melted chocolate or every other beneficial toppings. You’ll love these for Valentine’s Day or any event the place you crave a enjoyable, berry flavored cookie.
Have you ever ever baked my common sugar cookies earlier than? They’re a conventional sugar cookie with delicate facilities and barely crisp edges—undoubtedly a favourite round right here particularly after I make Valentine’s Day cookies, Easter cookies, and Christmas sugar cookies (similar dough recipe). A recipe with year-round versatility!
It’s one in every of my most-used recipes, proper together with chocolate chip cookies and pie crust. I even have a printed recipe for cream cheese cut-out cookies with Nutella glaze, which takes sugar cookies to the following degree. The cream cheese offers a creamy-like texture and slight tang in every chunk. I normally want them over our common sugar cookies!
I took the identical cream cheese sugar cookie dough and experimented with freeze-dried raspberries. The consequence was an additional tender berry-flavored cookie with probably the most attractive (and pure!) pink/magenta coloration. I figured you’d take pleasure in making an attempt these at residence.
Inform Me About These Raspberry Sugar Cookies
- Texture: Cream cheese makes the dough further delicate and creamy, which I really like in so many cookie recipes, like apricot cream cheese thumbprints and maple walnut tassies.
- Taste: In case you’re ever craving FLAVOR in your sugar cookies, begin right here. We’ve got a slight tang from the cream cheese, however many of the taste comes from raspberries. I recognize that we’re utilizing actual berries which were freeze-dried, not synthetic raspberry flavoring. Almond extract is totally elective, nevertheless it provides one other degree of taste.
- Ease: Cookie cutter sugar cookies, of any selection and taste, aren’t fairly as straightforward as drop cookies. Nonetheless, when you’re snug utilizing a rolling pin and cookie cutters, the method received’t appear arduous. This recipe requires an additional step nevertheless it’s fairly easy: grind the freeze-dried berries into powder earlier than utilizing.
- Time: The cookie dough comes collectively rapidly. Roll it out, then chill it within the fridge for at the least 2 hours. With out chilling, the cookies will utterly lose their form. After that, reduce the dough into shapes, then bake. Put aside a number of hours to finish this recipe.
Freeze-Dried Raspberries are the Secret
I really like utilizing freeze-dried berries in frostings. Have you ever tried this strawberry buttercream earlier than? While you grind freeze-dried strawberries right into a powder, you may simply use it in frosting. Freeze-dried berry powder or “mud” is ideal as a result of it’s not moist and, subsequently, doesn’t mess with the consistency of frosting. Actual berry taste with out compromising texture. We additionally apply it to the coating of chocolate raspberry crinkle cookies. And, because it seems, you are able to do the identical factor with sugar cookie dough so long as you don’t go overboard with amount. 2 cups (about 56g) of freeze-dried raspberries grinds down into 1/2 cup of powder, which is the proper quantity for this sugar cookie dough.
- The place to purchase freeze-dried raspberries: I at all times discover them in my common grocery retailer within the dried fruit aisle. Maintain your eyes peeled– they’re extra frequent than you assume. We like Dealer Joe’s model and Goal carries a pleasant choice, too. You may as well buy them on-line and here’s a model we’ve examined earlier than. (They’re much cheaper in shops if you will discover them!) You want 2 cups, which is a bit more than 1 normal 1.2 ounce (weight) bag.
- Can I do that with one other sort of freeze-dried fruit? Sure, completely. I’ve examined this sugar cookie dough with freeze-dried strawberries, blueberries, and mango. The mango taste wasn’t as intense because the berries, although. Use the identical quantity—1/2 cup of the bottom powder.
- Can I do that with common dried fruit or frozen fruit? No, don’t use chewy/gummy dried fruit and don’t use frozen fruit. You want freeze-dried raspberries, that are raspberries with the entire moisture eliminated—that means they will grind right into a powder.
Overview: Making Raspberry Sugar Cookies
- Grind freeze-dried raspberries into powder.
- Make sugar cookie dough. The recipe directions under embrace creaming the butter and cream cheese collectively earlier than including sugar. You additionally want 1 egg and vanilla extract. Almond extract is elective, however a tasty addition when you have some available. The dry substances embrace flour, your raspberry powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Divide in two items.
- Roll out cookie dough. Roll every part out to 1/4 inch thick. Have further flour available as a result of the dough is sticky.
- Chill rolled out dough for at the least 2 hours.
- Reduce into shapes. Re-roll all of your scraps—you’ll be stunned what number of cookies you get from this quantity of dough. I really like these coronary heart formed cookie cutters, however you should utilize no matter form you’d like.
- Bake & cool. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets earlier than adorning.
The Trick is the Order of Steps
Discover how I roll out the dough BEFORE chilling it within the fridge? Let me clarify why. To stop the cookies from over-spreading, the cookie dough should chill within the fridge. Roll out the dough proper after you put together it, then chill the rolled-out dough. (At this level the dough is simply too delicate to chop into shapes.) Don’t chill the cookie dough after which attempt to roll it out as a result of it will likely be too chilly and tough to work with. Divide the dough in half earlier than rolling it out as a result of smaller sections of dough are merely extra manageable.
I observe this similar order of steps when making brown sugar cut-out cookies.
After chilling, reduce into shapes, organize on lined baking sheets, bake, after which cool.
Ornament & Topping Concepts
I really like utilizing royal icing on common sugar cookies. That icing would undoubtedly work right here (and right here’s my adorn sugar cookies tutorial if you wish to accomplish that!), however I didn’t need the raspberry and cream cheese flavors to be overpowered by tremendous candy icing. So as a substitute I dipped them in melted darkish chocolate and drizzled with melted white chocolate. So easy, so scrumptious. Listed below are some choices:
Garnish the chocolate or icing with sprinkles or leftover freeze-dried raspberry powder:
Raspberry Sugar Cookies
Prep Time: 2 hours, half-hour
Prepare dinner Time: 13 minutes
Whole Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Yield: 36 3-inch cookies
Class: Desserts
Methodology: Baking
Delicacies: American
Description
Floor freeze-dried raspberries add coloration and taste to this cream cheese sugar cookie dough. You’ll be able to depart the cookies plain, however we love them garnished with melted chocolate.
Non-compulsory Chocolate Topping
Directions
- Utilizing a blender or meals processor, course of the freeze-dried raspberries right into a powder. You’ll have round 1/2 cup. Be happy to grind further and use as garnish in step 9.
- Whisk the raspberry powder, flour, baking powder, and salt collectively in a big bowl. Put aside.
- In a big bowl utilizing a hand-held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese collectively on medium-high pace till utterly easy and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat till combination is fluffy and mixed, about 1 minute. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract (if utilizing) and beat on excessive pace till mixed, about 1 minute. Scrape down the perimeters and up the underside of the bowl and beat once more as wanted to mix.
- Add the dry substances to the moist substances and blend on low pace till mixed. Dough will probably be very delicate and creamy.
- Generously flour your palms and rolling pin. Divide the dough into 2 equal elements. Roll every portion out on a calmly floured piece of parchment paper or silicone baking mat to about 1/4-inch thickness. The rolled-out dough will be any form, so long as it’s evenly 1/4-inch thick.
- Evenly mud one of many rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a bit of parchment on high. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on high. Cowl with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at the least 2 hours and as much as 2 days.
- As soon as chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 giant baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Rigorously take away the highest dough piece from the fridge. If it’s sticking to the underside, run your hand below it to assist take away it. Utilizing a cookie cutter, reduce the dough into shapes. (I like these coronary heart cookie cutters.) Re-roll the remaining dough and proceed slicing till all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. Notice: It doesn’t look like lots of dough, however you get lots of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.
- Organize cookies on baking sheets 3 inches aside. Bake for 12-13 minutes till very calmly browned across the edges. In case your oven has sizzling spots, rotate the baking sheet midway by way of bake time. Enable cookies to chill on the baking sheet for five minutes then switch to a wire rack to chill utterly earlier than adorning.
- For elective chocolate adorning: Soften the chocolate in a double boiler or use the microwave. Microwave in 20 second increments, stirring after every till utterly melted. Dip cooled cookies within the melted chocolate and/or drizzle with melted chocolate, then place again onto the baking sheets. I dipped the pictured cookies in melted semi-sweet chocolate after which drizzled with the melted white chocolate. If desired, sprinkle with further freeze-dried raspberry powder. Enable chocolate to set within the fridge or at room temperature.
- Cookies keep contemporary lined at room temperature for as much as 3 days or within the fridge for as much as 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Directions: Plain or embellished sugar cookies freeze properly as much as 3 months. Look ahead to the chocolate/icing to set utterly earlier than layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw within the fridge or at room temperature. You may as well freeze the cookie dough for as much as 3 months earlier than rolling it out. Put together the dough by way of step 4, divide in half, flatten each halves right into a disk as we do with pie crust, wrap every in plastic wrap, then freeze. To thaw, thaw the disks within the fridge, then carry to room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough as directed in step 5, then chill rolled out dough within the fridge for 45 minutes – 1 hour earlier than slicing into shapes and baking.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Meals Processor | Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Rolling Pin | Coronary heart Cookie Cutter | Freeze-Dried Raspberries | Cooling Rack | Double Boiler (elective)
- Cream Cheese: Need to pass over the cream cheese? Use our common sugar cookies recipe and add 1/2 cup of the raspberry powder to that cookie dough. Whisk it in with the dry substances, simply as you do right here.
- Freeze-dried raspberries: I at all times discover them in my common grocery retailer within the dried fruit aisle. Maintain your eyes peeled—they’re extra frequent than you assume. We like Dealer Joe’s model and Goal carries a pleasant choice, too. You may as well buy them on-line and here’s a model we’ve examined earlier than. (They’re much cheaper in shops if you will discover them!) You want 2 cups, which is a bit more than 1 normal 1.2 ounce (weight) bag.
- Can I do that with one other sort of freeze-dried fruit? Sure, completely. I’ve examined this sugar cookie dough with freeze-dried strawberries, blueberries, and mango. The freeze-dried raspberries gave probably the most potent taste. Use the identical quantity—1/2 cup of the bottom powder.
- Can I do that with common dried fruit or frozen fruit? No, don’t use chewy/gummy dried fruit and don’t use frozen fruit. You want freeze-dried raspberries, that are raspberries with the entire moisture eliminated—that means they will grind right into a powder.
- Different Toppings: See Ornament & Topping Concepts in weblog publish above.
- Make sure you take a look at my high 5 cookie baking success suggestions AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking instruments.
