Fresh from the farm and the oven, these cookies make for a perfect picnic tea time.
Mmm. It’s a sound that echoes across rows of raspberries, as red-stained pickers, like me, hover over plants plucking by the pint. A few days later, “mmm” resonates around my kitchen while whisking up a batch of raspberry jam and then, Raspberry Butter Cookies. As the smell of buttery (vegan) baked goodness, mixed with fresh raspberries wafts through my New York City apartment, I feel transported to the farm upstate where we gathered these sweet red jewels. And I imagine myself a homesteader—baking not just for the sheer pleasure of it, but for the sake of letting nothing that I grew go to waste.
I’m normally not one to cook farm fresh berries or take them out of their whole berry goodness, for fear of tainting them in some unknown way. But, when our Foodie Underground columnist presented a recipe for sweet and simple jam, all fearful feelings of berry destruction went out the door. And, when I considered the nutritional benefits of raspberries (which seem to stay largely intact through this jam making process—as indicated by its brightly retained red color), I ran out of excuses. Rich in vitamin C and fiber, raspberries, according to a study, possess almost 50% higher antioxidants than strawberries, three times that of kiwis and ten times the activity found in tomatoes.
So, guilt can go out the back door. After all, it’s summer. Eat it up. Raspberries, butter cookies and all.
The Original – Raspberry-Filled Butter Cookies
from Lost Recipes Found
Ingredients
• 3 cups sifted flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons half-and-half
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2/3 cup raspberry jam
The Vegan & Gluten-Free Version – Raspberry-Filled Butter Cookies
Makes approximately 3 dozen
Ingredients – Raspberry-Filled Butter Cookies
• 3 cups gluten-free flour blend:
• (1 cup sorghum flour)
• (1/2 cup brown rice flour)
• (1/2 cup white rice flour)
• (1/2 cup tapioca flour)
• (1/4 cup almond flour)
• (1/4 cup garbanzo flour)
• (2 teaspoons xanthan gum)
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup butter (I used Earth Balance Coconut Spread and omitted the ½ teaspoon salt, since most vegan butters come with salt included)
• ¾ cup sugar
• Egg substitute for 1 egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons warm water, whisked together)
• 2 tablespoons cashew nut milk (or another rich, dairy free milk of your choice)
• 1 teaspoons vanilla
• 2/3 cup raspberry jam (see recipe below)
Ingredients – Raspberry Jam
• 2 cups raspberries
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 ½ cups sugar (add to taste)
• 1 vanilla bean pod (or 2 tablespoons vanilla extract)
Directions – Butter Cookies
1. Sift together the gluten free flours with baking powder (and salt, if adding). Set aside
2. Cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the egg substitute, dairy free milk and vanilla.
3. Blend in the dry ingredients.
4. Divide the dough into two balls, and flatten into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill for an hour, or until ready to bake, in the refrigerator.
5. Preheat oven to 400°F
6. Spread one large piece of plastic wrap on the counter, and place one of the dough disks in the center.
7. Cover with another piece of plastic wrap, and using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to approximately 1/16 of an inch (not too thick but still manageable.)
8. Remove the top plastic wrap, and using a donut cutter or a linzer cookie cutter, dip the cutter in flour (if the dough sticks to it) and cut out an even number of plain rounds as donut/linzer rounds.
9. Transfer the cookies to cookie sheets.
10. Bake for 5 – 8 minutes (or longer if you prefer crunchier cookies).
11. Remove from the pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
12. Place a small amount of the raspberry jam (directions for jam, below) in the center of each of the plain rounds (the cookie bottom). Top with the cut-out cookie and carefully press together.
13. Enjoy!
Directions – Raspberry Jam
1. Place the raspberries and water in a saucepan.
2. If adding a vanilla bean, cut the pod in half, scrape out the seed and add both the seeds and pod to the saucepan.
3. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir continuously so it doesn’t burn.
4. Stir in the sugar and let simmer for another 3-5 minutes until the jam thickens.
5. Take out the vanilla pod, and pour the jam into glass jars. Leave to cool.
6. Store in the refrigerator until ready to enjoy!
Author Jennifer Barckley picking summer fresh raspberries in Hudson, New York.