As the Norwegian proverb says, cookies are made with butter and love. And in this case, with plenty of freeze-dried strawberries, and a shot of strawberry liqueur, as well.
Other than a way for me to beckon spring to arrive sooner, these cookies are a wonderful way to bring light, zesty flavours to any brunch or coffee date. Incredibly soft, especially right after baking, they are perfect with strong coffee, as they are on the sweeter side.
The recipe itself does not include any chilling or mixers; just one bowl, one fork, and a few staple ingredients. Just a wholesome little cookie batch, made for a weekday sweet treat or a small gathering.
If you want them more vibrant, feel free to add food colouring. Just as they are, as you can tell, they do lose a bit of their natural pink colour while baking, turning brown on the edges especially. If you are fine with that, you do not need any food colouring.
Ingredients
125 grams plain flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
75 grams vegan block butter, softened
50 grams granulated sugar
50 grams light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
¼ teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 heaping tablespoon freeze-dried strawberries, ground and sifted
25 millilitres strawberry liqueur, vegan
Preparation
Let the oven preheat to 180°C, and line a large baking sheet with baking parchment.
Add the butter to a medium bowl, add in both types of sugar, vanilla, and the lemon zest, and mash everything together with a fork or a sturdy spatula, until a thick batter forms. Add in the strawberry liqueur and the freeze-dried strawberries, and mix everything through. If it looks like the batter is splitting, that is fine.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until combined. The dough will be slightly sticky, but you should be able to form it into nice little spheres. Weigh the batter and divide it into 10 equal portions. Shape each one into a little sphere and arrange them on a large baking sheet, leaving a bit of space between them, as they will spread. Do not flatten them before baking.
Bake immediately, in a nicely preheated oven, at 180°C, for about 10-12 minutes. As soon as they are brown on the edges, they are done. If you bake them for too long, they will still be delicious, only crunchy instead of soft. Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, and as soon as they firm up, you can serve them. Yields 10 rich cookies.
