One of my top five favorite cookies. These make you feel fancy without requiring a ton of work. They give you some practice with a piping bag and allow you to experiment with buttercream flavors. With a dusting of powdered sugar on top I mean, what’s not to love?
Equipment
- Mixer (hand or standing)
- Zester
- Fine Mesh Strainer
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Spatula
- Piping Bag
- Fluted Star Piping Tip
Ingredients
COOKIE
- 13.5 tbsp butter, softened
- 5 tbsp sugar
- ¼ lemon zested
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
BUTTERCREAM
- 7.5 tbsp butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup fruit puree*
Instructions
COOKIE
- With your mixer on low speed, beat together your butter, sugar, and zest. Then turn your mixer up to high speed for two minutes*- set a time. The mixture should become much paler.
- In a separate bowl, sift together your flour and cornstarch.
- Once your butter mixture is ready, add in your flour/corn starch mixture and cut through with a spatula from the top of the bowl to the bottom, to cut down on “dust.” Quickly combine with mixer to finish. The mixture should have a pipeable consistency.
- Transfer to a piping bag with a fluted (star) nozzle.
- On a parchment paper-covered baking tray, pipe* cookies in clockwise circles, about an inch to an inch and a half in diameter. Make sure to leave no gaps in your circle, These will spread a little as they bake so I prefer to be on the smaller side. You should look like you have a tray full of snails by the end of it
- Place cookie-covered baking tray into the fridge for 30 minutes to firm
- Preheat oven to 338F convection (374°F non-convection)
- Bake 13-15 minutes*, until nicely golden in color.
- Immediately remove cookies from the baking tray and place on a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
BUTTERCREAM
- In a bowl, beat butter with a mixer until soft and glossy
- Add half of your sugar and, using a spatula, smear it in lightly before completely incorporating it with your mixer. This will save you from a dust plume if you go for the mixer first.
- Add in the remaining sugar and combine.
- In a small saucepan, add your fruit puree and reduce until you can draw a line through it and it holds
- Add your fruit puree to the butter/sugar mixture and combine
- You can leave the buttercream in the bowl or place it in a piping bag.
- Flip one cooled cookie over (flat side up) and, depending on the size of your cookie, place about a teaspoon of buttercream on it. Take another cookie, flat side down, and gently press on top of the buttercream. Repeat until all the cookies have been sandwiched.
- If desired, place cookies together, and lightly dust them with powdered sugar. It adds a little pizzazz to your overall look.
- Enjoy!
Notes
*Instead of a fruit puree, you can sub in a squeeze of vanilla paste (or approx. ¼ tsp vanilla extract) or a teaspoon of lemon juice
*It’s imperative to the structure of the cookie to beat the first mixture for two minutes, to help aerate the butter. Set a timer and count the tiles on your backsplash or whatever you need to do to maintain that time.
*This batter is stiff, so take your time piping. You will likely need to use your finger to gently pull the tip from the tray after each circle.
*If using two trays and baking together in the oven, bake for eight minutes and then switch the positions of the trays and complete your bake.
*I received this recipe from Chef Ashley during my patisserie course in Scotland.
