Strawberry Lemonade Stamped Cookies

Cookies:

• ½ tsp lemon zest and 1/4 cup granulated sugar for stamping
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp finely grated fresh lemon zest (only yellow parts, no white pith)
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt (omit salt if salted butter is used)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups + 2 Tbsp (260g) all-purpose flour

Glaze:

• 1 Tbsp seedless strawberry jam
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp strawberry lemonade or milk
• Optional: Freeze-dried strawberries, crushed to powder

Cookies:

Mix ½ tsp lemon zest and ¼ cup granulated sugar in a bowl and set aside.

Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes. Add zest, salt and extracts, mixing to combine. Add flour, mixing on low until just combined. Cover dough tighly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill along with the cookie stamps and natural aluminum cookie sheet. Chilling your dough, stamps and baking sheet will make stamping easier and prevent sticking.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch sized balls (about 60g). Roll the dough balls in lemon granulated sugar mixture until coated and place directly onto a natural aluminum cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart. Press the cookie stamp on the dough to emboss, pressing down in a circular motion until dough reaches past the edge of the stamp and gently release. Pro- tip: For perfectly circular cookies, use a round cookie cutter or edge of a glass cup to cut out the cookie stamp design. Collect excess dough and roll into more dough balls to stamp.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom edges. Cool for 5-10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a rack for glazing.

Glaze:

Combine all glaze ingredients and whisk until smooth. If desired, add crushed freeze-dried strawberries for additional pink color and flavor(we added a few pinches). Add lemonade or milk in small amounts to achieve desired consistency. Desired consistency is slightly runny, but thick enough to stay on cookies in a thin layer when brushed or poured over, so that cookie design shows through. When poured over warm cookies, glaze will partially soak in, resulting in a thinner layer. When poured over fully cooled cookies, glaze will be thicker. Yields about 12 cookies.