Glazed Raspberry Cookies

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I am kinda sorta..alright very into how things look. A delicious cookie is a delicious cookie, and don’t anyone get the impression that I undervalue a delicious cookie, but a delicious cookie that looks nice…well, that’s a winner on every front.

I know, some people read: guys absolutely wouldn’t know the difference between a pretty cookie or a non-pretty cookie if it bit them in the nose. Just the other day, one of the guys I work with, a big fan of my cookies, invited me into his office to taste a cookie that his wife had made. And probably to get my expert opinion. It only seemed fair, he reasoned, that after all of the cookies I had given him, he should give one to me. I stammered my apology, explaining that I don’t even taste my own cookies. “But,” I added, “they are really pretty looking.”

If I thought that would placate him, I couldn’t have been more mistaken. Rather than look pleased, he looked at me as if I were wearing a clown suit and juggling lit torches. “Pretty?” he asked. I patiently explained to him that just because a cookie tastes good, it isn’t perfect unless it looks nice too.

The problem, however, with pretty cookies, is that they often require huge amounts of work. Rolling, shaping, icing…all of those actions are ones that classify a cookie as a “special occasion” cookie, rather than an everyday cookie. Doesn’t everyone make everyday cookies? That’s what I love about these cookies. They’re basically drop cookies, yet they have a soft, buttery texture and an elegance that makes people think you spent all day making them. Don’t bother to correct them. I know I won’t.

 

Glazed Raspberry Cookies:

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

2 Tablespoons milk (or non-dairy substitute)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup raspberry jam

Optional glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1-2 drops vanilla extract

1-3 teaspoons of milk, enough to reach drizzling consistency

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg, milk and vanilla, beating until combined. Add the jam and continue to beat until well combined. Turn the mixer to low and slowly stir in the flour mixture. Don’t overmix.

Drop the dough by teaspoons (or using a small cookie scoop) onto prepared trays. Flatten balls slightly with your palm leaving about an inch between the cookies for spreading. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for a minute before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

To make glaze: stir together all ingredients, adding the milk (or milk substitute) bit by bit, until you reach a drizzle-able consistency. Pour icing into a squeeze bottle, or into a Ziploc bag with a small hole cut in the corner. Drizzle in a zig-zag pattern across the cooled cookies.

Enjoy!