These are one of the most beautiful cookies I have ever baked. But physical beauty aside, they are also very delicious. Sometimes beautifully decorated cookies end up disappointing in taste. Too sweet and lacking in flavour complexity.
If you’re looking for fast holiday cookies, these are not for you. These take time, but you will be rewarded with intensely flavoured and beautiful cookies. These cookies were inspired by a recipe from the November/December Holiday issue of Chatelaine magazine. In the original recipe, the top of the sandwich cookies were dipped in melted white chocolate, dyed pink with food colouring. They were filled with raspberry jam. When my husband tasted them he said that they were good, but they needed more raspberry flavour.
I needed to figure out how to boost the raspberry flavour. Sandwiching more jam in the middle would not work. It would just ooze out. Adding a border of buttercream would act as a dam, holding in more jam.
I made a batch of Swiss meringue buttercream and flavoured and coloured it with freeze-dried raspberries, ground up into a powder. Freeze dried fruits are a great way to flavour buttercream. I used about 3/4 cup of freeze dried raspberries to the buttercream. If I added 3/4 cup fresh berries to the buttercream, it would be way too wet.
The second way I boosted the raspberry flavour was to mix some freeze dried raspberry powder into the melted white chocolate, for dipping the top of the sandwich cookies into. Natural food colouring with flavour!
Start with a vanilla sugar cookie dough. I like to roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper as soon as I make it, rather than chilling first and then rolling. I find it very difficult to roll cold dough. After rolling the dough, chill for at least an hour.
Once the dough has chilled, cut out your shapes. A fluted square cutter is very pretty for these.
Dip half the baked cookies into the raspberry white chocolate and pipe the other half with a border of raspberry buttercream. I used a small French star tip to pipe the buttercream. Fill in the centre of the buttercream with jam. Top each sandwich cookie with a chocolate dipped lid.
Store cookies in an airtight container in the fridge. They should be fine for 4-5 days. Let come to room temperature before serving. You could also freeze them for several weeks. A little box of these gems would make a beautiful holiday gift.
Hello there,
I have some freeze dried raspberries from another cookie project I did not use and am thrilled to see your recipe!
I got a little confused though about sandwiching them when you said, “Top each sandwich cookie with a chocolate dipped lid”, lol. I can be a tad slow when haven’t had enough sleep and caffeine. Finally I realized you meant a raspberry white chocolate dipped lid!
Do you need to refrigerate these? Would you recommend only making enough that can be eaten that day because the buttercream will make things a lot less crispy by day 2? Guessing you would not freeze these when all assembled?
They sound so good maybe they all are eaten the day baked….
Thanks for sharing your terrific talent and recipes,
Anne
Thanks Anne, yes, I struggled with how to describe assembling these!! Because of the buttercream filling, I would suggest refrigerating them. I actually froze the assembled cookies for about a week and thawed them. The cookies were still a bit crispy. I’m not sure about any longer than a week or two for freezing assembled.
Your best bet may be to just assemble as needed if you are planning to serve them for different times. Freeze dried fruits were such a game changer for me for adding intense natural flavour and colour to buttercream and other glazes.
Love this Cindy. I think I am going to make it before the season is over.
Thanks Dina. You’ll have to let me know how you like them. Everyone I shared them with thought they were fantastic. Baking them is a labour of love!!
wow. Well these have to be the prettiest cookies I’ve ever seen! I don’t even bake regular cookies, so there’s no way I’m tackling these. But they’re so beautiful to look at!
Thanks Mimi!
These cookies are pure heaven. Truly a work of art and each nibble like a little bit of heaven…you must eat them slowly to savour the incredible textures and flavor. Thank you Cindy!!!
I can’t wait to make these but my kiddo is allergic to raw egg (like in the buttercream). Are there any alternatives instead of adding egg?
Thanks,
Sandy
Hi Sandy. Yes, you can certainly make an American Buttercream instead of the Swiss Meringue buttercream. American buttercream does not use eggs. Just mix 227 grams unsalted butter with 227 grams icing (confectioner’s) sugar with 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt in the stand mixer with paddle attachment for 3-4 minutes. Add freeze dried raspberry powder, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix until it is well incorporated. Add 1-2 Tablespoons 35% cream or milk, if it is too thick.