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
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1 cup whole blanched almonds
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2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
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½ teaspoon kosher salt
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½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
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2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
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1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for pastel sugars
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1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
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Freeze-dried fruits in various colors, such as blueberries, raspberries, and mangoes
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds on a rimmed baking sheet; toast until golden and fragrant, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely.
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Transfer almonds to the bowl of a food processor; add flour, salt, and cinnamon. Process until nuts are finely chopped, about 1 minute.
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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.
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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.
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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
Cook's Notes
Freeze-dried fruit can be found in the snack section of many grocery stores.