Strawberry-Rose Sweetheart Cookies
One of my favorite quotes about love comes from Zora Neale Hurston, author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, who said, “Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.” I believe deeply that it’s true. And I believe our souls do incredible things when coaxed into the light of day.
Loving and being loved by my husband has allowed me to dare to be my fullest, truest self. And maybe for the first time in my life, to believe that I’m fine as I am — quirks, broken bits, scars and all.
Loving my grandchildren has taught me to embrace the moment and enjoy the ride, no matter how vulnerable or even defenseless I feel. And each ride has been (and continues to be) different in its own unique, delightful, and surprising ways.
I recently discovered that Hurston’s quote begins with the line, “Love makes you go all in.” So, I suppose what I’m getting at here is that love makes you do things you never really thought you would. Like, when someone tells you that floral flavors are their favorite, you respond by buying extract and giving it a whirl. And then you’re grateful you opened yourself up for the experience.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Enjoy!
These are some of the items I find especially helpful for this bake. (These are affiliate links.)
Freeze Dried Strawberry Powder by Nature Restore
Nielsen-Massey Rose Water
Valentine Nonpareils by Wilton
AmeriColor Soft Gel Food Coloring, set of 12
Strawberry-Rose Sweetheart Cookies
makes 26 cookies (2” cookies rolled 3/8” thick)
INGREDIENTS
3 cups good all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons freeze-dried strawberry powder, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon good quality vanilla
1/4 teaspoon rose water
2-3 drops food coloring, optional (I used deep pink and fuchsia)
White Chocolate Ganache or Royal Icing and Valentine nonpareils for decorating, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium-large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients thoroughly and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add the egg and extracts and mix until well incorporated.
Add the flour mixture and mix on low/medium-low until incorporated, stopping to scrape the bowl as needed.
Roll the dough out to 3/8-inch thick on a sheet of parchment paper. Slide the parchment onto a cookie sheet. Use a cookie cutter to cut desired shape(s) close together. Remove the bits of dough from between the shapes, and add it to the remaining dough. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the cut-out shapes and place in freezer. Repeat with remaining dough.
Stack the cookie sheets carefully (I use spacers between sheets) and freeze for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Remove one cookie sheet at a time from the freezer, and arrange the frozen cookies about 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined sheet. (Put the remaining cookies back into the freezer until ready for the next batch.)
Bake for 11-12 minutes, until the cookies look just done and a little golden around the edges.
Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the pan for several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Repeat steps 8-10 until all cookies have been baked.
Let cookies cool for at least 1 hour or overnight before decorating.
For this cookie, I dipped the tops in a white chocolate ganache (8 ounces of quality white chocolate and 6 ounces of heavy cream), allowing it to set slightly before sprinkling with Valentine nonpareils. For color, I used several drops of bright white food coloring to tone down the yellow of the white chocolate, as well as drops of deep pink and fuchsia. You could also use my recipe for Royal Icing with 1/2 teaspoon of good quality vanilla — (you’ll want the icing slightly firmer than the thickness for flooding).
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