This is me posting a cookie recipe on Pi Day.
But clementines are wonderful, so it's ok. This day was made for basking in sunlight and eating sugar cookies, it's too pretty to make pies all day.
However, a pie recipe will be coming your way in the next week or so. Promise! It's just how my life is working right now.
So! Cookies. Cookies cookies cookies. So many cookies are in my life. It's a phase, I guess.
These particular cookies are a no-roll no-chill under-baked kind of deal, it's a really really sweet deal.
When you replace lemons or oranges with simplistic clementines, only good things can happen. You lose some acidity and gain lots of refreshing sweetness.
Also, if you're daunted by just having 4 dozen laying around, these can absolutely be frozen. Just roll out little balls of dough, roll in sugar and bag 'em up! Just be sure to add a few more minutes of baking time when they're frozen, until the done-ness suits you.
I myself prefer these cookies very soft and chewy, and the recipe below will take you in that direction. But if you like a crisper edge, bake the cookies until the edges brown a bit more. And if you prefer the all-out crunchy road, then you just brown those edges! Seeing a pattern here? Whatever you do, don't overcook the middle, unless you like rocks for cookies. No judgment! Everybody's different.
Much thanks to my hand (and partial face) model, who happened to scarf nine of these today. Nine.
If those eyes have convinced you to make and stuff yourself with these, my work here is done. Happy stuffing, and happy almost SPRING.
Clementine Sugar Cookies
Yield: the average is about 3 dozen, but I got around 4 dozen
Ingredients:
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 cups sugar, plus extra for topping
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp. fresh clementine juice
- 2 tsp. clementine zest
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a few baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, zest, vanilla extract, and juice until well combined. Add the dry ingredients on low speed and beat until just combined. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and then roll in granulated sugar. Place on the baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.
Bake 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies are just slightly tanned around the edges but still soft and puffy, rotating halfway through baking (It may appear quite raw, but the cookie will firm up more as it cools). Let rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely (If you happen to eat one warm, don't be concerned about the seemingly raw middle, just let it cool!).
Sources: adapted from Sugarcrafter, who adapted from her lemon sugar cookie recipe originally from Two Peas and Their Pod
