Utah’s Pink Cookies

 

Am I the only one who hasn’t heard about Utah Cookies? Trust me when I tell you that these were totally foreign to me. Apparently these giant sugar cookies with pale pink frosting (mine didn’t turn out quite so pale) are a big thing in Utah. I just thought they looked darned good, so wanted to give them a try. I was not disappointed. The [apparent] original recipe is below. I found that the amount of frosting was WAY too much for the baker’s dozen cookies the recipe yields, so I cut it in half.

 Utah’s Pink Cookies

As seen on Taste of Home

 ½ c. unsalted butter, softened

¼ c. vegetable oil

½ c. granulated sugar

½ c. powdered sugar

1 egg

½ t. vanilla extract

½ t. almond extract

2 c. flour

½ t. baking powder

½ t. baking soda

½ t. salt

For the frosting:

½ c. unsalted butter, softened

6-½ c. powdered sugar

2-½ T. milk

1 t. almond extract

Pink gel food coloring

 Preheat the oven to 350°F.

 In the work bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar and oil. Cream until well combined and smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract.

 In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until a soft dough forms.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form large balls of dough, (about 3 T. each). Roll them into smooth balls and place 4-6 on the prepared baking sheet so they have plenty of room. Use the bottom of a glass dipped in granulated sugar to press down each ball of dough, keeping them about ½” thick. Chill the baking sheet for 10 minutes before putting the cookies in the oven. Bake the cookies for 8 minutes (do not over bake!), remove them from the oven, and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.

 In a mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter. Mix in two cups of powdered sugar and the milk. Gradually mix in the remaining powdered sugar until the frosting begins to form. Turn the speed up on the mixer to whip the frosting until smooth. Mix in one to two drops of pink food coloring to achieve desired light pink color. Use a flat spatula to generously frost each cookie. Store in fridge.

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