To create this recipe, we used a gingersnap cookie recipe that we particularly like. We eliminated the spices and substituted strawberry flavor for the vanilla extract in the original recipe.
We first added 3/4 cup strawberry baking chips. That was enough but we liked 1 cup even better. We’ll leave that choice to you.
Sometimes how you make the cookie is as important as what you make it with. We started by making one inch dough balls, rolling them in large turbinado sugar crystals, and then baking the cookies on an ungreased sheet for nine minutes. It created a typical sugarsnap cookie that we and our testers liked.
We decided to try for a thinner, crisper cookie. We greased the sheets, pressed the cookies flat with the bottom of a glass, and sprinkled them with turbinado sugar. Again we baked the cookies for nine minutes. We had a very different cookie–flat, crisp, and a little dry. They were okay but too dry for our tastes. So we frosted them, adding a strawberry flavored pink frosting. Every tester thought this was an excellent cookie.
It took us several tries to get the color of the frosting right. First, we used a pink frosting but the tone was not right—too bright and vibrant for the pastel tone that we wanted. We then tried AmeriColor Super Red but it had just a bit of orange, too warm. We then used AmeriColor Holiday Red. The tone was right but it was too deep; one drop produced too much color. For the next batch, we simply added a little color with a toothpick and had the perfect color.
We will give you both recipes.
Strawberry Sugarsnaps
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons strawberry flavor
3/4 or 1 cup strawberry tidbits baking chips, whichever you prefer
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Cream the granulated sugar with the butter and shortening.
- Add the eggs and flavor and beat until light.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat until combined. Add the strawberry tidbits and beat until just combined.
- Form walnut-sized balls and roll them through the turbinado sugar. Place 12 on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for nine minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Note: Nine minutes on a dark pan was perfect in our oven. Lighter pans take longer to bake and the cookies will spread more. Chilled dough or more cookies on the sheet will require longer baking times.
Frosted Strawberry Cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons strawberry flavor
3/4 or 1 cup strawberry tidbits baking chips, as you prefer
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Cream the granulated sugar with the butter and shortening.
- Add the eggs and flavor and beat until light.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat until combined. Add the strawberry tidbits and beat until just combined.
- Form walnut-sized balls and place 12 on a greased baking sheet. Press them down with the end of a glass so that they are about 3/8-inch thick. Sprinkle them with turbinado sugar. Bake for nine minutes. Cool on a wire rack and then frost.
For the Frosting
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons meringue powder
1 teaspoon strawberry flavor
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons water
Mix the powdered sugar and meringue powder together. Add the flavor. Add the water starting with 1 1/2 tablespoons and adding more as needed to make a spreadable frosting. Frost the cookies as desired.
Note: The meringue powder causes the frosting to set with a firm shell so that you can stack and handle cookies without marring the frosting.
