Pink Lemonade Thumbprints (GF)
Makes 16
Dough
1 1/3 cup Bob's Red Mill 1-1 Gluten Free Flour
1/4 cups + 2 tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup softened, unsalted butter
1 tbsp fresh lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Raspberry Glaze
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 fresh raspberries
Preheat your oven to 325˚F and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, 1/4 cup of powdered sugar (save the remaining 2 tablespoons for the next step), and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream together the butter and the remaining 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar for your cookie dough. Add lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix at medium speed for about 4 minutes.
Add in the flour mixture and mix until the dough becomes thick and has a play-doh-like consistency.
At this point, the dough should be able to form a smooth ball. Scoop out equal amounts of dough, about two tablespoons (I like to use a #40 ice cream scoop), and roll into a ball. Place on a plate, or your cookie sheet (if it fits in the freezer). Gently press the back of a round half tablespoon (or spoon, or thumb, if you want to be authentic) into the center of the dough ball to create a smooth, somewhat deep well.
With the imprints pressed in to each ball of dough, allow them to freeze for 10-15 minutes. Arrange cookies on cookie sheet and bake for 25-27 minutes.
While the cookies bake, prepare the center glaze.
In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Place the fresh raspberries in the bowl and whisk to break them up.
Remove cookies from oven and allow them to cool completely before adding glaze. Scoop, pipe, or pour the glaze into each cookie indent and let set before serving!
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There’s nothing better than sweet, tart lemonade in the summertime. That’s why when a friend asked me to make cookies for a day out on the lake, I rushed out to get a bundle of lemons. The lemon makes them bright and sweet and the dough comes out as a perfect, melt-in-your-mouth sort of bite, not that different than a great shortbread.
I love how easy these are and still they are give incredible results. It’s a bonus that it also doesn’t require eggs! Raspberry and lemon are a tried and true combination, and it makes me just want to try more flavors here!
As usual, let me talk you through the recipe in a little more detail.
Preheat your oven to 325˚F and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, 1/4 cup of powdered sugar (save the remaining 2 tablespoons for the next step), and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream together the butter and the remaining 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar for your cookie dough. This will make a thick paste. Add lemon zest and lemon juice, scraping the bowl to make sure everything is evenly distributed. Mix at medium speed for about 4 minutes until the mixture gets lighter and the lemon and butter have emulsified. If it doesn’t seem to come together, add a half tablespoon of powdered sugar (from your allotted sugar - not additional) and continue to mix.
Add in the flour mixture and mix until the dough becomes thick and has a play-doh-like consistency.
At this point, the dough should be able to form a smooth ball. If it is too crumbly to stay together, add a little lemon and mix and try again. At this point, you can add the tablespoon of water to get the dough a bit smoother. You can, of course, continue to use lemon juice, but be aware that it will cause the lemon flavor to be quite strong.
Scoop out equal amounts of dough, about two tablespoons (I like to use a #40 ice cream scoop), and roll into a ball. Place on a plate, or your cookie sheet (if it fits in the freezer). Gently press the back of a round half tablespoon (or spoon, or thumb, if you want to be authentic) into the center of the dough ball to create a smooth, somewhat deep well. It’s ok if the edges of the dough split open a bit. I like mine to be perfectly smooth though, so if I’m getting cracks or splits I mix the dough again with a bit more lemon or water.
Non-gluten free thumbprint cookies will want to be mixed as little as possible so they don’t become tough. But, remember, gluten free flours are different. They tend to be crumbly because they lack the typical elasticity, so you don’t have to worry about overmixing here.
With the imprints pressed in to each ball of dough, allow them to freeze for 10-15 minutes. Arrange cookies on cookie sheet and bake for 25-27 minutes.
While the cookies bake, prepare the center glaze.
In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Place the fresh raspberries in the bowl and whisk to break them up. There may be small bits of raspberry that don’t incorporate, but I think that’s fine. If it bothers you, you can run the glaze through a sieve.
It’s possible that your glaze might have lumps from the sugar not breaking down completely. I have only run into this when I didn’t use a whisk. If a whisk isn’t available, try sifting in the sugar as you mix it. You can also heat the mixture a bit and stir while warm. This helps the sugar loosen up enough to distribute.
Cover the glaze with plastic wrap to prevent drying out while the cookies bake and cool. If you’re lazy and don’t cover it and it becomes dry, just whisk again and it will smooth out.
When the cookies come out of the oven, they should have retained their shape and have slight browning on the bottom of each. Allow the cookies to cool completely before adding glaze. Scoop, pipe, or pour the glaze into each cookie indent and let set before serving!
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Things are not good. But I don’t always feel so hopeless. Every day is a battle with depression and incredible sorrow. One of the lingering effects of grief is the inability to concentrate. I’ve never been great with numbers, but now they’re basically impossible. I can’t process them at all. Even editing these photos was super difficult. I didn’t know where to begin, and when I started adjusting sliders, I couldn’t remember what I was doing. I’m doing what I need to do to cope, and right now that is largely just not taking on anything extra. Until next time.
