Sugar Cookie Sandwiches

Since I had sent all of my sugar cookies to my Desserts for the Deserving recipient, I knew I wanted to make the recipe again since many of my friends and family missed out on the deliciousness that was this cookie.  At first, I had planned on making a tray for my 4th of July party, but then I decided to kick things up a notch.  I hadn't worked with icing in a while, so I wanted to give these cookies a little something extra special by turning them into cookie sandwiches.  There's nothing more wonderful than buttercream frosting sandwiched between two chewy cookies.  Here's the technique I used to create these 4th of July treats.


I baked the cookies as I normally do, and added some red and blue sprinkles to fit the theme.  I highly recommend using an ice cream scoop to make sure the cookies are the same size.  This way, your sandwiches will look nice and neat.

My favorite part of these sandwich cookies is the design I used in the icing.  I used red and blue lines to create the red, white, and blue swirl.  To do this, paint a line of gel food coloring on opposite ends of your piping bag.  It helps to keep the bag propped in a cup as a stand.  Now, when I spoon frosting into my bag, despite trying to be as neat as possible I always get the frosting EVERYWHERE.  All over the outside of the bag, flowing out of the top of the bag, just a huge mess.  I did not want to mess up my carefully painted lines, so I placed the painted bag upright in a cup, and then used a second (non-disposable) bag to pipe the frosting into the painted bag.  The extra step may seem unnecessary but it keeps your food gel from smearing all over the bag so you have beautiful lines painted throughout your icing swirl.


To make the swirl (otherwise known as a rose), start in the center of your cookie, squeeze your bag, and continue outwards in a swirl.  It's such a pretty technique and honestly, it's pretty impossible to mess up.  

This is a recipe that needs to be in your dessert rotation.  The cookies on their own are fabulous - they're chewy and absolutely melt in your mouth.  Sandwich some buttercream frosting between the two cookies and you have a fun and delicious dessert!  Even though these cookie sandwiches were 4th of July themed, I wanted to share the recipe because the colors and flavors of the frosting can be adapted to fit any party theme.  This is certainly a dessert I will be making again and again.  I just cannot get enough of these cookies!


Sugar Cookie Sandwiches
Yield: about 12 sandwich cookies
Prep time: 1 hour
Bake time: 10 min 


Ingredients
For the sugar cookies

-     2 ½ c flour
-     ¼ c cornstarch
-     ¾ tsp baking soda
-     ½ tsp salt
-     1 c (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
-     1 ¼ c sugar
-     2 tsp vanilla extract
-     1 egg, room temperature
-     ½ c nonpareil or jimmie sprinkles

For the buttercream frosting

- 1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 c vegetable shortening
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 c confectioner's sugar
- 3/4 tbsp meringue powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1/4 tbsp water (may use more or less depending on consistency)

Directions
To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

 In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar.  Add in the vanilla extract and egg and beat until combined.  Add in the flour mixture about 1 cup at a time, and combine completely after each addition.  Fold in the sprinkles and stir once or twice to incorporate, no more than that or else the color will bleed into the dough.

 Scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet, setting the cookies about 1 inch apart. Bake for about 10 minutes, checking often and remove once the outside edges are just starting to turn a golden brown.  Remove immediately from oven at this point and allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes.  Allow to finish cooling on a wire rack.

To make the icing, combine butter and vegetable shortening in a large mixing bowl until creamy.  Add vanilla extract and salt.  Add the confectioner's sugar one cup at a time and incorporate completely after each addition.   The icing will appear dry after adding all of the sugar.  Add the meringue powder.

Add milk and beat until light and fluffy, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Scoop into piping bag affixed with desired tip and add water as necessary to make the icing easy to pipe.

To assemble the cookie sandwiches, pair up the cookies by size. Pipe or spoon icing onto bottom of one cookie and sandwich together with the second, same size cookie.

Cookies adapted from: Tasty Kitchen

Posted by Ali B at 10:01 PM