Strawberry Sparkle Sugar Cookies 🍓
These delightful Strawberry Sparkle Sugar Cookies are perfect for any occasion, featuring a vibrant natural strawberry flavor from freeze-dried strawberries and a beautiful sparkling sugar coating. They're soft, tender, and incredibly easy to make!
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Stand Mixer
- Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper
- High-Speed Blender or Spice Grinder
- Medium cookie scoop
- Wire Rack
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, softened
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 0.5 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar
- 6 Tablespoons freeze-dried strawberry powder for cookies
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure strawberry extract
- 0.5 teaspoon red gel food coloring optional
For Sparkling Sugar Coating
- 0.5 cup sparkling sugar sanding sugar
- 1 Tablespoon freeze-dried strawberry powder for sparkling sugar
Instructions
- 1. Prep Your Ingredients: First, take your butter and eggs out of the fridge to let them soften to room temperature. This makes for a smoother cookie dough!
- 2. Make Strawberry Powder: Using a high-speed blender or spice grinder, finely grind the freeze-dried strawberries until they become a smooth powder. This is what gives your cookies their amazing, natural strawberry flavor!
- 3. Prepare Sparkling Strawberry Sugar: In a small bowl, gently combine 1 tablespoon of your strawberry powder with the ½ cup of sparkling sugar. Stir it well until the sugar is beautifully pink. Set this aside for rolling your cookies later.
- 4. Get Ready to Bake: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. This prevents sticking and makes cleanup a breeze!
- 5. Cream Butter & Sugar: In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together until they're wonderfully light and fluffy, which usually takes about 3 minutes on medium speed.
- 6. Add Wet Ingredients: Gradually add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract, strawberry extract, and if you'd like a brighter pink hue, a touch of red gel food coloring. Mix until everything is smoothly combined.
- 7. Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and the remaining 6 tablespoons of strawberry powder. This ensures all dry ingredients are evenly distributed.
- 8. Form the Dough: Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed *just* until everything comes together. Remember, don't overmix to keep your cookies perfectly soft and tender!
- 9. Chill the Dough: Cover the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or even overnight. This step is key for flavor and texture, and it makes the dough much easier to handle.
- 10. Roll & Coat: Once chilled, place your sparkling strawberry sugar in a small bowl. Scoop the dough into 30 equally sized balls (a medium cookie scoop works great!), then gently roll each ball in your prepared sparkling strawberry sugar until fully coated.
- 11. Bake: Arrange the sugared cookie balls on your parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake in your preheated oven for about 10 minutes. The cookies are ready when the edges are lightly set and the tops look just barely firm.
- 12. Cool & Enjoy: Carefully remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheets for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely. This helps them firm up without breaking.
- 13. Store: Store your delicious cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week to maintain freshness.
Notes
Store your delicious cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week to maintain freshness.
Nutritional Values (approximate estimates for a single cookie):
Calories: ~160
Total Carbs: ~22g
Fats: ~7g
Protein: ~2g
(Nutritional values are approximate estimates for a single cookie and can vary.)
Calories: ~160
Total Carbs: ~22g
Fats: ~7g
Protein: ~2g
(Nutritional values are approximate estimates for a single cookie and can vary.)
