I participated in a cute little Valentine’s Day pop-up market last week. For it, I created three new seasonally-inspired cookie recipes and sold gooey little cookies wrapped in cute cellophane. And this month, I’m sharing all three recipes with you! There will be a deep dark chocolate hazelnut cookie swirled with cocoa hazelnut butter and an soft and chewy oatmeal cookie filled with rosemary butter, tart cherries, and shards of white chocolate coming to your inboxes later this month, but today is all about these strawberry vanilla sugar cookies.
These might be one of my favorite recipes I’ve created in the last few months—they are big sugar cookies, filled with malted milk powder and threaded with swirls of strawberry powder. Then they are rolled in sugar creating a crunchy outside which contrasts perfectly with a soft, gooey interior. I’m in love. And since we’re always swimming in chocolate recipes this time of year, I thought we’d change it up a bit. Make a batch for your valentine (or yourself or whoever) and they’ll love you forever.
in practical notes…
Chilling is super important to help prevent the cookies from spreading too much when baking. Refrigerating the dough for even 30 minutes allows for the flour to hydrate properly and flavor to develop. I like to scoop the dough immediately after mixing and nestle the dough balls on a parchment-lined quarter sheet tray and then pop them into the refrigerator. After they have chilled a few hours, I can bake as many as I’d like and freeze the rest in a gallon freezer bag for later enjoyment.
I wrote this recipe to make 12 large (3 ounce sized!) cookies because I like big cookies. If you would like to make them smaller, go for it! But watch them in the oven as they will bake slightly faster (probably closer to the 6-8 minute mark) but keep a close eye! You’re looking for lightly browned edges and tops that look dry, not glossy. If you’re unsure, I’d recommend erring on the side of underbaking as they will continue to cook a little on the pan while they cool and I am never in the mood for a crunchy cookie.
One last thing! I played around with adding a PDF copy of the recipe at the bottom of this email. You can just click the attachment to easily download or print the recipe—let me know if this is something you like!
a few other great valentine’s desserts…
flourless chocolate cake with simmered berries and whipped crème fraîche
red wine flourless chocolate cake with goat cheese whipped cream and roasted strawberries
strawberry vanilla sugar cookies
makes 12 large cookies
Ingredients:
226 g (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
150 g (3/4 cup) brown sugar
25 g (3 tbsp) malted milk powder
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
364 g (2 1/4 cup) all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 bag (1.2 oz) freeze dried strawberries
Procedure:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and malted milk powder for 2-3 minutes, until thick and fluffy.
With the mixer on low speed, add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla mixing until smooth and homogenized.
Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and continue mixing on low speed until all of the flour has been worked in and no dry spots remain.
Gently crush the freeze dried strawberries until coarsely broken up—there should be a mix of slightly larger pieces and small, dust-like pieces.
Add the strawberries to the dough and mix for another 30 seconds until well-distributed.
Scoop dough into 3 oz portions and place on a parchment-lined tray. Chill for at least and hour or up to 24 hours.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350° F and line two sheet trays with parchment paper. Place about 1/2 cup of sugar in a bowl and roll each of the cookie dough balls in the sugar before placing on the baking tray, leaving at least 2” of space between each.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden brown. Let the cookies cool completely on the pan before serving.