Spring Green Iced Sugar Cookies
I'm baaaaaack! And today I'm bringing something a little more unusual but just as fun and delicious as ever! In honor of Earth Day today, these cookies are a little bit greener than usual and a little bit healthier than they look. Healthy cookies?! Well, I won't go so far as to say that they're actually healthy but by replacing the butter in the frosting with avocados, they're far healthier than they could have been. And the green won't stain your teeth, making people wonder if you're a swamp creature in disguise!
Do you want to hear my excuses for why it's been so long since my last post? No? Then skip down to where I start cooking (you can tell by the pictures). For those of you still with me, my most worthy excuse is that I was looking for inspiration. I wanted to share something new and exciting with you all that maybe you hadn't seen before. Not only a new category of treats that I hadn't covered, but a new spin on that category. I've given you pie, cake, brownies, stuff+marshmallows, bread, but I hadn't given you my favorite category: cookies. I love cookies. But my most favorite cookie is the classic chocolate chip, and everyone knows how to do that, right? And if I'm being honest with you, 90% of the time that I make chocolate chip cookies, I just follow the recipe on the back of the bag of chocolate chips (even Monica and Phoebe agree that those are the best chocolate chip cookies in The One with Phoebe's Cookies). That would feel like totally and completely cheating.
But when I was flipping through Netflix after finishing binge-watching Friends with my husband, I saw that there were new episodes of Good Eats available. I squealed with delight and watched Alton Brown tell me how to make delicious food and why the recipes work the way they do (because science!). And then I was inspired. In an episode on avocados, he made a buttercream frosting using avocados instead of butter. I hadn't heard of this before, but I was intrigued and decided that rather than frosting a cake with this bolt from the blue, I would frost sugar cookies! I changed up the original recipe just a little, and also tweaked my sugar cookie recipe to go with the green, Earthy theme.
I wish I could say that writer's block (and baker's block? Is that a thing?) was all that was keeping me from you lovely readers. Unfortunately it's not. I also had a batch of ants that found their way into my kitchen, and I didn't want them photobombing my already-novice pictures. I know ants happen, but nobody likes them, and I didn't want the evidence here on my blog for the world to see. At last, they are gone.
My final excuse is that my husband and I are trying to lose weight and just didn't need the sweets around the house, so these cookies are going to work with him!
I love avocados. They're such a beautiful color green and have such a luxurious texture. They can be used in so many ways, and they're so nutritious! I have only two complaints about them: they are a tad expensive and they're toxic to dogs. The latter wouldn't be so much of a problem except that Pippin has a habit of sticking his head in the dishwasher and licking the silverware when I'm not looking, and when I use avocados I'm always anxious that he's going to find a chunk that I missed. So if you have a pooch with a keen interest in your kitchen activities, just keep that in mind.
Now, please, please, please don't be scared by the thought of avocado icing. I'm calling it icing rather than frosting because I found the stuff to be a little thinner than I normally consider frosting to be. If you absolutely must, you can of course make these cookies with standard buttercream frosting, but that will take so much of the fun out of them! And you have me here! I tested them for you! Sometimes I'm a little mischievous, but I don't joke about food. I saw the avocado frosting and said to myself, "Ooh, now that's interesting. I wonder if it's actually good, or if it's just weird." So I made it, and I tried it, and I found it delicious! Never fear! But while you psych yourself up, let's start making our cookies.
Start by whisking together the dry ingredients in a bowl and set them aside.
Then, in the bowl of your stand mixer, get that butter and sugar together until it's nice and fluffy. It almost looks like frosting. You kind of want to taste that, but you're squeamish about the avocado frosting? Pfft! Moving along...
Next add in the eggs, vanilla, and lime juice and continue mixing until it's thoroughly combined. It probably will look like slightly undercooked scrambled eggs.
See? Underdone scrambled eggs (which, honestly, it kind of is). It's not really pretty, but it'll be okay, I promise. Add in the dry ingredients in three increments, and everything is just fine.
This is a pretty soft dough, so divide it into two or three parts and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a couple hours (or overnight if you have the time).
You've waited and occupied yourself otherwise. Now is the fun part! After your cookie dough has chilled and stiffened up a little, roll it out and cut into all the little shapes you want! I just used circles because it's Earth Day and the Earth is round (not very creative, I know), but this dough is great for making all kinds of shapes. You'll also want to make sure that your rolling surface is well floured or the dough will stick to the rolling pin and tear and to the counter making the cookies hard to transfer to a baking sheet.
Line 'em up and bake 'em!
Once they come out and are cooling, whip up your icing. (It's weirdly delicious, just like it looks!)
Start by scooping out three ripe avocados and putting them with the lime juice in the bowl of your stand mixer (either get a new bowl or wash the one from before, obviously). Using the whisk attachment, whip up the avocados until they're smooth and add in the lime zest.
And then slowly add in the powdered sugar, being careful not to dust yourself and your kitchen with it.
Now, at this point, I'll admit, I was feeling a little hesitant. The contents of my mixing bowl looked a little less like frosting and more like it had been hit by Slimer. The bowl is deceiving. Put it on a cookie. Go on. It's a beautiful translucent green, perfect for an afternoon in the late spring sunshine.
If you want the icing to be a little stiffer (and thus more frosting-y) refrigerate it for a while. I found that it spread beautifully, though, straight from the mixer.
Sugar Cookies
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lime juice
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside. In the bowl of your mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and lime juice and mix until smooth. Slowly mix in your flour mixture, beating just until everything is fully incorporated.
Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. When dough has chilled, roll out dough to approximately 1/8 of an inch thick and cut. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Avocado Icing
3 ripe avocados
1 pound of powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
zest of one lime
Cream avocados and lime juice in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth. Add lime zest and mix. Slowly add powdered sugar until fully incorporated. If not using immediately, store tightly covered in refrigerator.
Do you want to hear my excuses for why it's been so long since my last post? No? Then skip down to where I start cooking (you can tell by the pictures). For those of you still with me, my most worthy excuse is that I was looking for inspiration. I wanted to share something new and exciting with you all that maybe you hadn't seen before. Not only a new category of treats that I hadn't covered, but a new spin on that category. I've given you pie, cake, brownies, stuff+marshmallows, bread, but I hadn't given you my favorite category: cookies. I love cookies. But my most favorite cookie is the classic chocolate chip, and everyone knows how to do that, right? And if I'm being honest with you, 90% of the time that I make chocolate chip cookies, I just follow the recipe on the back of the bag of chocolate chips (even Monica and Phoebe agree that those are the best chocolate chip cookies in The One with Phoebe's Cookies). That would feel like totally and completely cheating.
But when I was flipping through Netflix after finishing binge-watching Friends with my husband, I saw that there were new episodes of Good Eats available. I squealed with delight and watched Alton Brown tell me how to make delicious food and why the recipes work the way they do (because science!). And then I was inspired. In an episode on avocados, he made a buttercream frosting using avocados instead of butter. I hadn't heard of this before, but I was intrigued and decided that rather than frosting a cake with this bolt from the blue, I would frost sugar cookies! I changed up the original recipe just a little, and also tweaked my sugar cookie recipe to go with the green, Earthy theme.
I wish I could say that writer's block (and baker's block? Is that a thing?) was all that was keeping me from you lovely readers. Unfortunately it's not. I also had a batch of ants that found their way into my kitchen, and I didn't want them photobombing my already-novice pictures. I know ants happen, but nobody likes them, and I didn't want the evidence here on my blog for the world to see. At last, they are gone.
My final excuse is that my husband and I are trying to lose weight and just didn't need the sweets around the house, so these cookies are going to work with him!
I love avocados. They're such a beautiful color green and have such a luxurious texture. They can be used in so many ways, and they're so nutritious! I have only two complaints about them: they are a tad expensive and they're toxic to dogs. The latter wouldn't be so much of a problem except that Pippin has a habit of sticking his head in the dishwasher and licking the silverware when I'm not looking, and when I use avocados I'm always anxious that he's going to find a chunk that I missed. So if you have a pooch with a keen interest in your kitchen activities, just keep that in mind.
Now, please, please, please don't be scared by the thought of avocado icing. I'm calling it icing rather than frosting because I found the stuff to be a little thinner than I normally consider frosting to be. If you absolutely must, you can of course make these cookies with standard buttercream frosting, but that will take so much of the fun out of them! And you have me here! I tested them for you! Sometimes I'm a little mischievous, but I don't joke about food. I saw the avocado frosting and said to myself, "Ooh, now that's interesting. I wonder if it's actually good, or if it's just weird." So I made it, and I tried it, and I found it delicious! Never fear! But while you psych yourself up, let's start making our cookies.
Start by whisking together the dry ingredients in a bowl and set them aside.
Then, in the bowl of your stand mixer, get that butter and sugar together until it's nice and fluffy. It almost looks like frosting. You kind of want to taste that, but you're squeamish about the avocado frosting? Pfft! Moving along...
Next add in the eggs, vanilla, and lime juice and continue mixing until it's thoroughly combined. It probably will look like slightly undercooked scrambled eggs.
See? Underdone scrambled eggs (which, honestly, it kind of is). It's not really pretty, but it'll be okay, I promise. Add in the dry ingredients in three increments, and everything is just fine.
This is a pretty soft dough, so divide it into two or three parts and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a couple hours (or overnight if you have the time).
You've waited and occupied yourself otherwise. Now is the fun part! After your cookie dough has chilled and stiffened up a little, roll it out and cut into all the little shapes you want! I just used circles because it's Earth Day and the Earth is round (not very creative, I know), but this dough is great for making all kinds of shapes. You'll also want to make sure that your rolling surface is well floured or the dough will stick to the rolling pin and tear and to the counter making the cookies hard to transfer to a baking sheet.
Line 'em up and bake 'em!
Once they come out and are cooling, whip up your icing. (It's weirdly delicious, just like it looks!)
Start by scooping out three ripe avocados and putting them with the lime juice in the bowl of your stand mixer (either get a new bowl or wash the one from before, obviously). Using the whisk attachment, whip up the avocados until they're smooth and add in the lime zest.
And then slowly add in the powdered sugar, being careful not to dust yourself and your kitchen with it.
Now, at this point, I'll admit, I was feeling a little hesitant. The contents of my mixing bowl looked a little less like frosting and more like it had been hit by Slimer. The bowl is deceiving. Put it on a cookie. Go on. It's a beautiful translucent green, perfect for an afternoon in the late spring sunshine.
If you want the icing to be a little stiffer (and thus more frosting-y) refrigerate it for a while. I found that it spread beautifully, though, straight from the mixer.
Sugar Cookies
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lime juice
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside. In the bowl of your mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and lime juice and mix until smooth. Slowly mix in your flour mixture, beating just until everything is fully incorporated.
Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. When dough has chilled, roll out dough to approximately 1/8 of an inch thick and cut. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Avocado Icing
3 ripe avocados
1 pound of powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
zest of one lime
Cream avocados and lime juice in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth. Add lime zest and mix. Slowly add powdered sugar until fully incorporated. If not using immediately, store tightly covered in refrigerator.
I like your cookies, taste good and pretty, thanks for sharing. Nice of you guys.MT
ReplyDeleteI like your cookies, taste good and pretty, thanks for sharing. Nice of you guys.MT
ReplyDelete