RASPBERRY SHORTBREAD SANDWICH COOKIES

Feb 4, 2013

smitten ⋅ holiday, sugars ⋅ cookies, gift ideas, raspberry, Shortbread, valentine's day ⋅ 4 comments

 •I’ve been making quite a few Valentine’s Day♥ recipes the last couple of weeks and have been cutting everything into hearts…..I just can’t help it!!  I also noticed that this is my third shortbread cookie recipe; chocolate, lemon and now raspberry.  These are my favorite kind of cookie, so buttery and flaky, plus I can cut into any shape and decorate them.  I really think my husband is tired of me watching him eat my shortbread creations and really think I owe him a batch of chocolate chip cookies (his favorite) soon.  These raspberry shortbread cookies are filled with the same cream cheese filling I used for whoopie pies back in the fall.  They are a beautiful pink color and have a subtle raspberry flavor that hits you at the end, just wait for it!!

 

 

  

for the cookies

12 oz bag frozen raspberries-can use fresh if in season

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tbls lemon juice

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 cup all purpose flour

 

for the filling

*Note* double the recipe to frost cinnamon rolls or carrot cake=)

4 oz cream cheese- at room temp

4 tbls unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

 

makes approx 2 dozen

prep and baking time-4 hours *dough can be made day before and baked the next day or frozen for up to a month

350°

special equipment-cheesecloth *can sub a coffee filter or fine mesh strainer, but the filter might take forever and you will have to pick seeds out of the strainer.  Cheese cloth isn’t that expensive and can usually be found in the baking dept of most grocery stores.

 

 

for the cookies

Pour raspberries into a small sauce pot.

Add in the lemon zest

and lemon juice.

Cook on med heat until raspberries are broken down and create a sauce.  Don’t boil at this stage.

Pour the cooked raspberries into a clean bowl.

Rinse the pot and place a strainer/colander inside.  I have one that fits perfect, but use what you have, a colander over a bowl would work too, I just wanted to avoid too many dishes.

Lay in 2 pieces of cheesecloth.

Pour in the raspberries and go vacuum or nap, this takes a bit.

The juice will slowly start draining through the cheesecloth.

Use a spoon to help move things around and smush the juice through. 

You want to get 1/2 cup raspberry juice.  Pull ends of cheese cloth together, twist to make a bundle, and carefully squeeze the remaining juice out.  This is messy!!  Discard the seeds and cheesecloth.

Pour the juice back into the sauce pot and look for any seeds that might have made it past you.  Simmer over med-low heat until juice has reduced by half (1/4 cup) and is thicker.  Takes about 15 min.  Set aside to let cool.

 

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter

and powdered sugar.  Cream together until smooth.

Add in the kosher salt

and vanilla-mix.

With blender on low, slowly pour in the raspberry sauce.   It will look ugly until fully incorporated, don’t freak out=)

Increase the speed and beat until fully combined, scraping sides of bowl once.  Isn’t that a beautiful color!!

Add in the flour, 1 cup at a time

mix only until the dough comes together, don’t over mix.

Place half of the dough onto a piece of parchment paper.

Place another on top and roll out dough to 1/4 inch.  Make sure to rotate and move the paper as you’re rolling.  Place on a sheet pan in the fridge for 2 hours to overnight.  Repeat with the second half of the dough.

After 2 hours, remove the rolled dough from the fridge and let sit out 5-10 min until pliable and easy to cut.  Turn oven to 350°  Cut into desirible shapes and place on parchment lined sheet pans. 

Keep in mind that if using more than one shape/size to always have a match to it so you can sandwich up easier later.

Sprinkle half of the cookies with coarse sugar or other sprinkles.  These cookies need that crunch and added sweetness, don’t skip this step.  

Again, keep in mind the cookie sandwich ”pairs”.  I only sprinkled the top half of the pairs, but do as much or as little as you like.

Anything bigger than these small nonpareils might not stick well.

Bake 10-13 min until the bottom of the cookies are slightly brown, rotate pans halfway through.  Let cool completely on wire racks.

for the filling

Probably smart idea to make this and let chill in the fridge while the dough is resting in the fridge as well.

Beat together the butter and cream cheese using a whisk attachment or hand mixer until smooth and creamy.  I doubled the recipe and used half later.

Pour in the powdered sugar and beat on low until incorporated.  Increase speed, and whisk until smooth and fluffy.

Add in the vanilla and whisk a min more.

This is the best filling or frosting!!

Using a spatula, scoop the filling into a large ziptop or pastry bag.  Let sit in the fridge for at least a hour to 1 week.  Let sit on the counter or squeeze bag with hands to warm up so it can easily piped on cookies.  You want the filling chilled so it has a little more body than warm filling that will just ooze out sides when cookies are sandwiched.

assembly

Get yourself organized. 

Pull the filling out of the fridge and let warm up a bit.  Pair up the cookies how you want, flipping over the bottom.  Going to roll the exposed edges of the filled cookies in sprinkles? Get the sprinkles poured into a shallow dish.  Anything else?

Cut a med size hole at the tip of the ziptop bag.  Outline the bottom of the cookie, leaving just a little around the edge.

Fill in the rest.  Carefully sandwich the top on, pressing slightly.  Continue with the rest of the cookies.

 

Plan ahead- Cookies can be made 2-3 days ahead of time and stored unfilled in an airtight container.  Filled cookies can sit in the fridge for a couple of hours to keep the filling cold.  Filling can be made upto a week ahead and store in the fridge.  I would suggest not filling the cookies until the day you want to serve them or give them to your sweetie♥Enjoy

 

shared on these linky parties~come join the fun!