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Gorgeous Blood Orange Cream Cookie Sandwiches | cafejohnsonia.com

Blood Orange Butter Cookies

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

I created this recipe using piped spritz cookies from Aran Goyaga and my grandma’s shortbread cookie recipe. These have a pleasant, but not overpowering, orange flavor and are filled with an easy short-cut meringue buttercream.

  • Total Time: 42 mins
  • Yield: 2-3 dozen 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • Pinch sea salt
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) salted butter, slightly colder than room temperature
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar, sifted
  • 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
  • Finely grated zest of 1 medium blood orange
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure orange extract or oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract (optional)
  • One recipe Blood Orange Buttercream (recipe follows)

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven racks so one is in the middle and the other is in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Measure, then sift the flour and cornstarch in a fine mesh sieve to remove any clumps of flour. Add the salt and set aside.
  3. Place the slightly cold butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or use a hand-mixer. Beat the butter on low speed just until creamy. It does not need to be fluffy; just beat until there are no lumps present. It will soften a little, but if butter is too soft or greasy, place bowl in the fridge for a few minutes. It’s important that the butter is neither too warm or too cold.
  4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the powdered sugar. Beat again on low speed just until creamy and combined, but not light and fluffy.
  5. Add the egg yolk and extracts. Beat again, scraping down the sides as needed until the mixture looks creamy.
  6. Stop mixer and scrape down sides. Add the flour mixture all at once, then start the mixer on low speed until the flour starts to mix in. Raise to medium speed for a few seconds. Stop mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle, and using a silicone spatula, fold the dough over several times in the bowl to finish mixing. This dough should not be over-mixed or the cookies may not hold their shape well, or may rise and fall in the oven. The dough will be soft and sort of sticky, but not runny.
  7. Place the soft dough into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe 1- to 1 1/2-inch rosettes onto the lined baking sheets leaving about 1 1/2-inches between. The cookies won’t spread much, so you may get as many as 24-30 rosettes on each baking sheet. If the dough is too soft from the heat of your hands, place the baking sheet in the freezer or fridge for a few minutes just until dough feels slightly cold to the touch.
  8. Bake both sheets for 5 minutes, then switch the trays top to bottom and rotate front to back for even baking. Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes, or until the cookies are just barely golden and set around the edges. Let cookies cool completely on the baking sheets. Store in an airtight container until ready to assemble.
  9. To assemble, make sure there are an even number of cookies (eating the odd one out is totally acceptable) and match them up so they are evenly sized. Flip over half of the cookies. Pipe or spread a little of the orange buttercream on the cookies that are flipped over. Add the matching top cookie and gently press down. Serve immediately, or chill until ready to serve, up to several hours. (This helps keep the buttercream from melting.) Cookies without the buttercream will last several months in an airtight container. Cookies with buttercream will keep for a few days.

Notes

Blood Orange Buttercream
Ingredients:
2 cups jarred marshmallow fluff
16 tablespoons (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons and slightly cold
Finely grated zest of 1 medium blood orange
1-2 tablespoons fresh squeezed blood orange juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure orange extract or oil
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract (optional)
Pinch salt

Instructions:
Place the marshmallow fluff into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Or use a hand-mixer. Beat on low speed for a few seconds.
With the mixer running, add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Stop and scrape down sides as needed. Beat on medium-high speed until light, fluffy, and creamy.
Lower speed and add the extracts and pinch salt all at once. The buttercream will separate. Raise the speed again to medium-high and keep beating; it will come back together.
Use immediately or transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

  • Author: Lindsey Johnson
  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Cook Time: 12 mins
  • Category: dessert