Island Sunset Sugar Cookies
recipes
These colorful sugar cookies, from my cookbook Sugarcane, are juicy and bright—two adjectives I don’t often use to describe cookies. But let me tell you. If you can’t actually go on an island getaway. You can at least taste it. The flavor comes from freeze-dried fruit powders—mango, passion fruit, and guava. And I add a […]
December 11, 2024
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These colorful sugar cookies, from my cookbook Sugarcane, are juicy and bright—two adjectives I don’t often use to describe cookies. But let me tell you. If you can’t actually go on an island getaway. You can at least taste it.
The flavor comes from freeze-dried fruit powders—mango, passion fruit, and guava. And I add a few drops of coordinating gel food coloring, to emphasize that dreamy tropical sunset colorscape.
Creating swirly colorful sugar cookies is simple.
There’s a lot of dividing-the-dough-into-equal-portions with this one. So a scale is really going to make this loads easier. And if mixing the doughs with the freeze-dried fruit powder and food coloring seems like it’s taking too long or not mixing efficiently, just mix it by hand.
Shaping the cookie dough balls is the fun part. All four colors come together, forming various patterns. I’ve gotten caught up in trying to create the “perfect” pattern. But, truthfully, they always turn out the prettiest when I don’t overthink it. The only solid piece of advice I have is that rolling between your hands will create those dreamy swirls. Other than that, squeeze, tear, and smash with abandon.
YIELD: 20 cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 2 ½ cups (312g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 3 tablespoons (15g) mango powder (from freeze-dried)
- 5 drops yellow gel food coloring
- 3 tablespoons (18g) passion fruit powder
- 5 drops orange gel food coloring
- 2 tablespoons (16g) guava powder
- 7 drops pink gel food coloring
- Note: I use the colors Rose Pink, Sunset Orange, and Golden Yellow by Chefmaster.
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the egg and coconut extract until combined, about 30 seconds.
With the mixer on the lowest speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture until just combined. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions (about 205 g each).
Return one portion to the stand mixer bowl. Add the mango powder and yellow food coloring (if using) and mix on low speed until combined. Remove the dough and set aside.
Add another plain portion to the bowl (no need to wipe out). Add the passion fruit powder and orange food coloring (if using) and mix on low speed until combined. Remove the dough and set aside.
Add another plain portion to the bowl (no need to wipe out). Add the guava powder and pink food coloring (if using) and mix on low speed until combined.
You should now have three colored doughs and a plain one.
Working with 1 dough at a time, scoop ½-tablespoon (about 10g) mounds of all 4 doughs onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Organize the mounds as you scoop, creating 20 piles of dough, each with all four colors.
Roll each pile into a single ball, marbling the colors by squishing and manipulating the dough.
Transfer 8 balls to a parchment-lined sheet pan (alternating three rows of 2 with two rows of 1).
Bake until puffed and little cracks begin to appear around the edges, 10 to 11 minutes. Do not overbake.
Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to the wire rack and let cool completely.
Repeat with the remaining dough, using a fresh parchment-lined sheet pan for each batch.
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