pink cookies

I’ve been trying to get my baking mojo going after the long summer hiatus, and I haven’t been very successful. I tried baking a chocolate cake a couple weeks ago, and it completely fell apart. The other day I tried making a tarte tatin, and, well, it wasn’t pretty (I’ll report on it later this week). I made these pink cookies, though, and while they spread more than I had anticipated (what is it with me and super spreader cookies these days?), they were quite delicious.

Reader Janis was kind enough to send me this recipe, which apparently originated in The Art of Making Good Cookies by Annette Laslett Ross (I’ve already ordered a copy!). Janis knew about my obsession with pink cookies, and she thought these might be similar to the coveted Rocket Bakery pink cookies. They were indeed really, really tasty, and I will definitely bake them again!
Read on for the recipe …

*NOTES: I used a basic cream cheese frosting rather than the butter cream frosting
Buttermilk Sugar Cookies (PINK COOKIES)
1 cup butter (i.e., 2 sticks. I use unsalted butter)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
about 3 cups sifted flour (I used about 2 1/4 cups)
(can also throw in a pinch of cardamom)
Cream butter; blend in sugar (I used my Kitchen Aid stand mixer for all of this). Add slightly beaten egg and vanilla. Dissolve the soda in buttermilk then add to creamed mixture. Sift together 2 cups flour, salt, and baking powder. Add to mixture so dough will roll easily (yeah, I don’t really know what that means). Keep adding flour until it feels right: it should still be a little sticky and slightly soft. Too much flour makes them tough, so be careful not to overwork the dough. You can choose to chill the dough a tad, but I did not do this. Roll out on a heavily floured board (these are STICKY) to about 1/4″ to 1/2″ thickness.
Place on baking sheets and bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes or until slightly brown. Makes around 15 cookies.
Butter Cream Frosting
4 TBS butter
2 TBS hot milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
add a couple of drops of red food coloring if you want pink frosting
Stir butter till very soft. Add small amount of sugar, then milk and vanilla. Beat in remaining sugar till spreading consistency.