Pastel Butter Cookies

Name: Pastel Butter Cookies
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 1 cup whole blanched almonds; 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; 0.5 teaspoon kosher salt; 0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature; 1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for pastel sugars; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; Freeze-dried fruits in various colors, such as blueberries, raspberries, and mangoes

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By

Martha Stewart

Updated on April 7, 2022

Prep Time:

20 mins

Total Time:

1 hr 15 mins

Yield:

40

Powdered sugar is naturally tinted with finely ground freeze-dried fruits (we used blueberry, raspberry, and mango) to give these almond shortbread cookies the pastel treatment.

Ingredients

1 cup whole blanched almonds
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for pastel sugars
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Freeze-dried fruits in various colors, such as blueberries, raspberries, and mangoes

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds on a rimmed baking sheet; toast until golden and fragrant, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely.
Transfer almonds to the bowl of a food processor; add flour, salt, and cinnamon. Process until nuts are finely chopped, about 1 minute.
Beat butter with confectioners' sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add vanilla; beat until combined. Slowly add almond mixture; beat on low until just incorporated.
Line baking sheets with parchment. Using a 1 1/2-inch (1-tablespoon) cookie scoop, drop dough onto prepared sheets. Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges are just turning golden, 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer sheets to a wire rack; let cool completely.
For each desired color, place 1/2 cup fruit with 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in food processor; blend until smooth and evenly tinted. (Sugars can be stored in airtight containers up to 1 month.) Sift tinted sugar over cookies as desired. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Anson Smart