Strawberry Frosted Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookie topped with strawberry frosting piped into a rosette shape

Print Recipe

Strawberry Frosted Sugar Cookies

Prep Time1

Cook Time12

Chilling4

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Strawberry Frosted Sugar Cookies, Sugar Cookies with Strawberry Frosting

Servings: cookies

Author: Fiona Dowling

Equipment

Cookie Sheets

Ingredients

Sugar Cookies

3 cups cake flour (360 grams) for extra thick cookies - add 2 extra tablespoons
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams) softened but not starting to melt
1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
2 ounces cream cheese (56 grams) full-fat, brick style
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
extra cake flour for rolling out the cookies

Strawberry Frosting

1 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams) slightly softened
3-4 cups powdered sugar (330-440 grams) sifted
¼ teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoons whipping cream (15-30 ml) if needed

Instructions

Sugar Cookies

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk for 20 seconds and set aside.
In a separate large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamed - about 2-4 minutes.
Beat the cream cheese into the butter mixture until smooth. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Mix the egg, vanilla extract and almond extract into the butter mixture until combined.
With the mixer on a low speed, mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until all the flour is incorporated.
Divide the dough in half. Dump each half onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form each half into a disc shape that's about 1 inch thick. Wrap each with the plastic wrap.
Refrigerate the dough discs for at least 4 hours or up to 48 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃) and line cookie sheets with baking paper or silicone baking mats. If the dough has been in the fridge overnight, let it sit on the counter to warm up slightly before using.
Work with 1 disc of dough at a time (leave the other in the fridge). Lightly flour a clean kitchen work surface and dust a rolling pin. Unwrap the disc of dough and lightly dust with flour. Place on the floured work surface and roll out until it's about ⅓ inch thick (about 5-8 mm). Using a circular cookie cutter, cut the cookies into rounds and carefully transfer to a lined cookie sheet. Cookies should be about 1½ inches apart. Form the scraps into a ball and repeat the process.
Bake 1 cookie sheet at a time in the middle of the preheated oven. Bake for about 11-13 minutes, or until the tops look set. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheets.

Strawberry Frosting

Puree the sliced strawberries in a blender or food processor until smooth.
Pour the puree through a metal sifter to remove the seeds. I recommend using the back of a spoon or rubber spatula to push the seeds through the sifter. Transfer the puree into a medium saucepan.
With the saucepan over low-medium heat, bring to a gentle bowl while stirring constantly. The puree will start to thicken and darken in color. Be sure to constantly stir (I always use a rubber silicone spatula) to prevent burning. When it's about ⅓ to ¼ of the original volume - it should be thick, almost like jam - remove from the heat. This process will take about 20 minutes. Cool fully.. YOu can speed up the process by transferring to a heat safe container and popping it in the fridge.
When the reduced puree is fully cooled (no longer warm to the touch) - continue the frosting. In a large bowl, beat the butter until fluffy. Then beat in 2 cups powdered sugar. Add in 3 tablespoons of the fully cooled, reduced strawberry puree and salt. Beat together, starting with the mixer on a low speed. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix in the rest of the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with 1 extra tablespoon of reduced puree or cream until the desired thickness and sweetness is reached.
If using a piping bag, transfer the frosting to the piping bag fitted with your tip of choice (I used a 1M Wilson tip). Frost the cookies - I used a circular motion, starting in the center of each cookie and going outwards. Alternatively, decorate with an offset spatula or butter knife.

Notes

Cake Flour: Do not use self-rising cake flour. If you do not have cake flour on hand, measure out 2⅔ cups of all-purpose flour. Add in ⅓ cup cornstarch. Sift together 3 times.
Cream Cheese: Use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese.
Almond Extract: This is optional but recommended. It can typically be found near the vanilla extract in your grocery store.
Strawberries: Fresh or frozen work, but if using frozen, be sure to thaw first for easier blending.
Frosting: You many have some leftover frosting - it is difficult to predict the amount needed, as everyone likes a different amount of frosting on their cookies.
Make Ahead Tips: Make the cookie dough (steps 1-7) up to 48 hours before you plan to serve. Roll out the dough and bake the day you plan to serve or 1 day before. Store baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. For the frosting, make the puree and boil (steps 1-3) up to 48 hours before you plan to serve. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Complete the frosting (steps 4-5) the day you plan to serve the cookies.
Storage: Store in an airtight container in a single layer at room temperature for up to 8 hours, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let the cookies sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before enjoying if they've been in the fridge.
Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only, based on 1 cookie, assuming the recipe yields 20 uniform cookies and all the frosting is used. This is obviously a bit challenging to estimate, as the number of cookies will vary depending on the size of your cookie cutter.

Nutrition