Iced Berry Pinata Cookies

What's a better way to celebrate spring then with fun, fruity and sweet cookies.  I was going to a party with friends and I decided I would bake these delicious, easy cookies.

The name comes from the retired Girl Scout cookies from many years ago.  Since it was my favorite cookie, I found a recipe from here to be able to enjoy the cookie now that they are no longer selling it.
 My variation of this treat is a little different from the cookie described below in that I use raspberries instead of strawberries and the topping is an almond glaze instead of sugar icing and cinnamon crumbs. If you remember these Girl Scout cookies, comment below.  Also let me know what you think of this variation.
The recipe is at the bottom for those interested. Let's get started.

I first used the following ingredients: a cup of margarine, 1/2 teaspoon of immitation almond extract, 2/3 cup of sugar, and 2 cups of all-purpose flour.

Next I got out my favorite handheld mixer. It is very old but has never let me down.

I used it to cream together the margarine or sugar. I chose to use margarine to make this recipe lactose free/ dairy free. If you prefer, you can use butter.

When I was done, it looked like this. Yours should look the same or similar, depending if you decide to use butter or margarine.

Then I added the almond extract into the creamed butter and sugar mixture.

I began to add flour to the mixture. I started by adding a little amount...

then a little more...

until all the flour is added.  It should look like this. 

In order to get the right texture for the cookies, you need to be able to form a ball.  If it is too dry and crumbles while attempting to do this, you might want to add more margarine.

I put the ball of cookie dough into a bowl and covered it with saran wrap.

I put mine in the refrigerator for an hour.  It needs to be in there long enough for the dough to become more managable.

When an hour has passed, I uncovered the ball and began to turn my large ball into smaller balls.  The size should be between 1-3 inches.

Before placing the little balls on the cookie sheet, I greased it with Pam.  It would be a shame for all the hard work to get ruined by all the coookies simply sticking to the tray while baking!!!

Now for the fun part! When all the dough is rolled into small balls, it is time to create the center in the middle for the jam.  I use my thumb to create the imprint.  Some people like using their knuckles or the end of a spoon.  Mine may not look the prettiest, but it will still taste delicious.

This is what my two cookie sheets look like when I am done with this step.  As you can see, I was able to get about 29 cookies.

Finally, I added the jam.  I used red raspberry seedless jam from Smuckers. I like this jam for cooking and for putting on toast and biscuits.  It is delicious.

I added a little less than a spoonfull into the whole I made with my thumbprint.

Some have more and other have less but it doesnt' really matter. It might also look messy, but whenI added the glaze, they looked very professional and visually appealing.

I put the cookies in the oven  and set the timer for 9 minutes.  I rotated them and then left them them in for another 5-10 minutes in order for them to cook all the way through.

I let them bake until they turn a little brown on the sides and bottom.

The last part is the glaze.  I mixed 1 cup of confectioner's sugar with 4 teaspoons or warm water and 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract.  I used a fork and just went back and forth to drizzle the glaze all over. I put them on wax paper for this step because it tends to get a little messy.  It's okay because my favorite part of cooking is getting a little dirty.

By itself, the glaze is super sweet.  But on the cookies, the taste of the raspberries, shortbread cookies and sweet glaze all come together to create this delicious cookie.

 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe.  I do not usually go for these sorts of cookies; I am a huge chocolate lover and tend to go for gooey brownies and blondies or simple chocolate chip.  Let me know if you want to see more unique dessert or if there is something else you are dying for me to cook. Here is the full list of ingredients if you are interested in making it:

Cookies:
1 cup softened butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
seedless raspberry jam (at least 1/2 cup)

Glaze:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
4 teaspoons warm water
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Rachel <3