Shamrock Surprise Sugar Cookies
The surprise is that these sugar cookies get their lovely green color from . . . spinach! You really can’t taste it, honest. Cut them out using a 2 ½ inch diameter shamrock-shaped cookie cutter. They can be frosted with buttercream or royal icing if you’d like, but we prefer to just sprinkle them with a bit of extra sugar and enjoy them in all their green glory, with a cup of tea.
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups + 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour spoon & level, plus more for rolling
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup salted Irish butter room temperature (or ¾ cup unsalted butter + ½ teaspoon salt)
- 3/4 cup sugar + more for sprinkling
- 1 cup packed fresh spinach leaves
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. In a mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on high speed for about 2 minutes. In a blender, combine the spinach, vanilla, and egg, and blend to a smooth purée. Add the spinach mixture to the creamed butter and mix to combine. Begin on low speed, then increase to high for about 1 minute, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until combined. The dough will be soft, but should clump onto the paddle attachment. Add another tablespoon of flour if the dough seems too sticky.
- Turn the dough out from the bowl and roll it into a ball. Dust the outside lightly with flour. Divide it into two equal parts. Dust two pieces of parchment paper lightly with flour and place a piece of dough on each. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece to ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle the top of each piece with a bit of flour and use your hand to spread it across the surface. Place one piece of parchment paper with flattened dough on a small baking sheet. Layer the second on top of it and cover the top with plastic wrap. Chill the dough for 15-20 minutes in the freezer or 1-2 hours (or up to two days) in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove one sheet of dough and use the shamrock cookie cutter to cut out shaped cookies. Place them on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart. (Note: use a table knife to gently poke the stem part out. If it comes off, just reattach it on the baking sheet.) Combine the scraps, roll them out again, dust lightly with flour, and cut again. Repeat with the second sheet of dough.
- Sprinkle the cut cookies with a bit more sugar. Bake for 10 minutes, or lightly browned on the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to cooling racks.
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