Nutella Frosted Lofthouse Cookies with Edible 24KT Gold
Another commercial holiday, another excuse to bake sweets!
When I was growing up, my brother often used to bring home a box of ‘frosted sugar cookies’ from Albertson’s. Cookies with bright pink or blue icing topped with sprinkles. I didn’t care for the icing, but I loved the cookies! They were soft and crumbly and melted in your mouth. Well, I’m happy to report I’ve nearly got it! These cookies are slightly crispy on the outside/edges and soft on the inside. And I think I actually prefer them this way to the nostalgic Albertson’s cookies. These are delicious topped with Nutella, peanut butter, frosting, or even—dare I say it—nothing! Hence why I left half of these babies naked! Give them a try, and let me know what you think.
Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 tsp salt
—For Icing—
2 tsp Nutella
1 tsp heavy whipping cream
Recipe
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until it’s pale and fluffy.
Add in the eggs and vanilla and beat until incorporated.
Stir in the dry ingredients until a ball of dough has formed.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until form (at least an hour).
Make your icing now! In a small bowl, whip together (with a small spoon) the Nutella and heavy cream until smooth with no bubbles. You might need to warm the mixture up over some steam or just wait until the warmth of your hand warms up the bowl enough to smooth it out. If you don’t want to spread the icing over the cookie and prefer to dip into an almost-glaze, you could make a simple powdered sugar-milk glaze which you can dip the cookies into and it will set dry. My Nutella-cream mixture is soft/creamy but will transfer when pressed.
Place the chilled dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll it out to almost 1/3 inch. Then, using cookie cutters, cut out the shapes you’d like and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If necessary, you can pop the pan of cut-out cookies in the fridge to firm up again before you bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes checking for a pale golden bottom.
If your icing/frosting is (too) thick, begin decorating the cookies while they’re warm. It’ll help in spreading the icing around. If you’re planning on dipping the cookies in a glaze, wait until they’ve completely cooled.
Top with edible gold or silver leaf from SLO Food Group for an added touch of elegance!
Enjoy!
PS: These cookies keep well in an airtight container!