These pastel cookies are buttery, soft, and totally melt-in-your-mouth delicious! Simple butter cookies, flavored with vanilla and almond extract and covered in the most beautiful fruit-flavored, pastel powdered sugar. Great for spring, Easter, baby showers, and weddings.
½cupeach freeze-dried strawberryblueberry and mango fruit
1 ½cupspowdered sugar
Instructions
Cookies
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy and turns a pale yellow.
Add egg yolks and extracts and blend well.
Lower speed on mixer and slowly add flour mixed with salt. Beat until incorporated.
Wrap dough in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets. They do not spread much but I like to keep them about 2” apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges start to turn a light brown.
Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Pastel Powdered Sugar
Make pastel sugar by combining ½ cup of freeze-dried fruit with ½ cup powdered sugar in a small chopper or food processor. Blend until fine. Place each color in its own bowl.
Finishing cookies
When cookies are cooled sufficiently, place each one in one of the colored sugars and coat on all sides. I like to use a spoon to make it easier to coat. Remove to wire rack.
When you’ve finished all the cookies, store in an airtight container. These cookies will keep at room temperature for about a week and, if there happens to be some leftover (never in my house) you can freeze them for 2-3 months. Psst, you can also freeze the dough prior to baking. When ready to use, thaw in refrigerator then prepare as directed above.
Notes
FAQs & TipsWhat is the best butter to make cookies?You want to use a premium butter, like Minerva Dairy’s unsalted butter, as the main flavor for these cookies comes from the butter. Their butter is slow-churned in small batches and contains a whopping 85% butterfat! That just screams rich flavor!Should I use salted or unsalted butter for butter cookies? Unsalted butter is your safest choice in recipes as it is easier to control how much salt is added to the dough. All good bakers and chefs consider this a standard in baking as it lets the natural flavor of the foods come through.Does the butter have to be room temperature for making these spring cookies? When a recipe calls for creaming butter and sugar, it is best to let the butter reach room temperature in order to achieve a creamy, light consistency.However, do not let the butter melt or get too warm as it won’t be able to hold the air pockets and will lead to a denser cookie. If the butter is too cold, it won’t blend well and the dough will not be smooth.How do I know when the butter and sugar are creamed enough? The creamed mixture will become lighter in color and appear to have almost doubled in mass. This creaming step helps beat air into the butter while the sugar holds in the air.