Spring is one of my favorite seasons — coming out of the dreary rainy winter and into the pleasant crisp mornings. When I go for my brisk morning walks, I now see pops of color everywhere, with the cherry blossoms and spring flowers.
My inspiration for the Strawberry Orange and Lemon Sugar Cookies
During this transition from winter to spring — from oranges and lemons to strawberries — I am sharing a metaphorical treat: Strawberry Orange and Lemon Sugar Cookies. This is my take on the Internet-famous Neapolitan cookie by Sarah Kieffer, a classic sugar cookie swirled with the flavors of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla.
I could not be more delighted to see strawberries popping up in the farmers markets again. Although strawberries are grown year-round in California, the best tasting, most potent ones are found from the months of April to October. They’re super sweet, small, juicy, and red inside and out.
A little story about strawberries and my kids
When my kids were little, we had a yearly ritual of going strawberry picking in May. There are wonderful pick-your-own-fruit farms about 50 miles from where we live. Picking the strawberries, tasting as we went and seeing their very cute, reddish-pink mouths afterward was the sweetest sight — a memory that is forever etched in my mind. We would pick pounds and pounds of strawberries. Then we’d have strawberry ice cream, milkshakes and strawberries in their lunch boxes for days. Even my kitty, who passed a few years ago, loved strawberries!
I stock up on strawberries to make loads of jam as well for the winter months, and to give to family and friends. My brother, who lives in Mumbai, will not eat any other jam. He recently received half a dozen jars to appease him until we meet again.
Ingredients for the Strawberry Orange and Lemon Sugar Cookies
The ingredients for the strawberry orange and lemon sugar cookies are:
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda: helps with spreading and slightly raising the cookie as well.
- Salt
- Ground cardamom: cardamom is a wonderful addition with all the fruit forward flavors in this cookie.
- Unsalted butter: butter should be at room temperature so that it melds well when beaten with the granulated sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Egg and egg yolk: the egg and egg yolk help in the structure of the cookie, and also the chewiness.
- Vanilla extract: I generally use vanilla paste but you can use either paste or extract
- Fresh strawberry puree and freeze dried strawberry powder : use the sweetest strawberries for the strawberry puree. Freeze-dried powder adds extra strawberry flavor to the cookie.
- Orange zest: zest of an orange has a lot of flavor and imparts the wonderful oranginess to the cookie.
- Lemon zest: zest of a lemon has a lot of flavor and imparts lemoniness to the cookie.
- Strawberry, orange and lemon extracts: these are optional, but if you have them it enhances the fruit flavor considerably. If you had to purchase one extract, I would say purchase the strawberry extract. And add additional zest to the orange and lemon portion of the cookie.
How to make Strawberry Orange and Lemon Sugar Cookies?
These Strawberry Orange and Lemon Sugar Cookies start off with a classic sugar cookie dough. I add a touch of cardamom, always freshly ground, to enhance the flavor. Cardamom goes well with strawberries and citrus, making for an ideal addition.
The dough is divided into three equal parts. I recommend weighing the dough and then dividing it for maximum accuracy. For the strawberry dough, I add freshly pureed strawberries along with freeze-dried strawberries, strawberry extract and pink gel food coloring. As the dough forms in the stand mixer, you’ll smell the fragrance of the strawberries. I use orange zest, orange extract and orange gel food coloring to make the orange dough, and I use lemon zest, lemon extract and yellow gel food coloring to make the lemon dough.
What do I do if I do not have all the extracts?
The extracts are optional, but if you have them it enhances the fruit flavor considerably. If you had to purchase one extract, I would say purchase the strawberry extract. And add additional zest to the orange and lemon portion of the cookie. So add about zest from an additional orange into the orange portion and zest from an additional lemon into the lemon portion, apart from what is mentioned in the recipe.
Then you’ll portion each dough into 16 balls; having a 1 tablespoon scoop will make this much easier. You’ll combine one of each of the three different colored balls to make one tri-colored ball, gently rounding it between the palms of your hands. After a coat in granulated sugar, each ball will land on a baking sheet; I recommend placing 4 or a maximum of 5 cookies at a time. They’ll rise in the oven and become domed shaped.
How to get the signature ripple shape on the cookie?
As soon as you remove them from the oven, bang the sheet against the counter a few times, so the cookies spread out and ripple. (If you’re curious to learn more about this technique, look up “pan-banging cookies” online.) I decorate them with freeze-dried strawberries for a pretty visual effect.
What kind of tablespoon cookie scoop should I use for the cookie dough?
- You can use the tablespoon cookie scoop linked here.
What kind of extracts should I use?
- The McCormick brand available at the grocery stores is probably the most economical option for all the extracts and that is WHAT I USE as well. They have strawberry, lemon and orange extracts which are pretty good!
What kind of freeze dried strawberry powder should I use?
- You can freeze dried strawberries from Trader Joe’s, and pulverize it in a high speed blender for the powder form for a cheaper option, since the freeze dried strawberries are about 3-4$ at TJs. OR you can purchase the powder from Amazon, linked here.
How long do the Strawberry Orange and Lemon Sugar Cookies last? How should I store the cookies?
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.
These cookies exude fresh spring vibes, are pretty to look at and are absolutely delicious.
Other fun spring cookie recipes from my blog
Some other fun spring cookie inspiration from my blog are:
- Lime Cookie Bars with Hibiscus-Lime Buttercream and Tequila Drizzle
- Blood Orange and Strawberry Madeleines
- Easter Egg Malt Cookies with Strawberry Ganache
If you do make this recipe, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog post.
Happy Spring!
XO
Amisha
Strawberry Orange and Lemon Sugar Cookie
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour + 3 tablespoons, divided
- 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar, plus ½ cup for rolling
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons fresh strawberry puree (from about 3 strawberries)
- 2 tablespoons freeze-dried strawberry powder
- ¼ teaspoon strawberry extract (optional)
- 2 drops pink gel food coloring
- Orange zest from 2 oranges
- ¼ teaspoon orange extract
- 2 drops orange gel food coloring
- Lemon zest from 2 lemons
- ¼ teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 drops yellow gel food coloring
- Crushed freeze-dried strawberries, for garnish
Get Recipe Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and make sure a rack is in the middle lower position.
- In a medium bowl, add the 3 cups of all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt and cardamom. Whisk to combine.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, add the sugar and butter. At medium-high speed, beat them together for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is pale yellow and fluffy.
- Using a rubber spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl and bring the mixture together in the middle.
- Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract, and mix until well incorporated.
- On slow speed, add the dry ingredients, and mix until well combined.
- Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. (The most accurate way to do this is to weigh your dough.)
- Put one part of the dough back into the stand mixer bowl. Add the strawberry puree and powder, pink gel food coloring, strawberry extract (if using) and 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Mix to incorporate at slow speed. Place the pink dough into a separate bowl and set aside.
- Put the second portion of the sugar cookie dough into the stand mixer bowl. Add the orange zest, orange gel food coloring and orange extract, and mix to incorporate on slow speed. Place the orange dough into a separate bowl and set aside.
- Put the third portion of the dough into the stand mixer bowl. Add the lemon zest, yellow gel food coloring and lemon extract, and mix to incorporate on slow speed. Set aside.
- Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place ½ cup granulated sugar in a bowl.
- Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out 16 balls from each dough, placing them on one baking sheet.
- Take one ball from each color — pink, orange and yellow — and combine them by pinching the doughs together and rolling the mixture into one ball. Be gentle here: You want the colors to remain distinct.
- Roll the cookie dough ball in the bowl of granulated sugar and place it on a baking sheet.
- Repeat for 4 more balls. Place 5 balls about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Place the sheet in the oven and bake for about 12 to 13 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden brown, and the cookie is puffy and domed shaped.
- Remove from the oven and bang the sheet against the kitchen counter 2 to 3 times, so the cookies settle and spread.
- While the cookies are still warm, place your biggest round cookie cutter or a small bowl over the top of a cookie and scoot it in a circular motion to give the cookie a perfect round shape. This will help in making the cookies all the same shape and size. Repeat the shaping with the rest of the cookies on the sheet.
- Immediately garnish by gently crushing freeze-dried strawberries between your fingers on top of the cookies. Cool completely.
- Repeat and bake the remaining 11 cookies.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
What do I do if I do not have all the extracts?
- The extracts are optional, but if you have them it enhances the fruit flavor considerably. If you had to purchase one extract, I would say purchase the strawberry extract. And add additional zest to the orange and lemon portion of the cookie. So add about zest from an additional orange into the orange portion and zest from an additional lemon into the lemon portion, apart from what is mentioned in the recipe.
How to get the signature ripple shape on the cookie?
- As soon as you remove them from the oven, bang the sheet against the counter a few times, so the cookies spread out and ripple. (If you’re curious to learn more about this technique, look up “pan-banging cookies” online.) I decorate them with freeze-dried strawberries for a pretty visual effect.
What kind of tablespoon cookie scoop should I use for the cookie dough?
- You can use the tablespoon cookie scoop linked here.
What kind of extracts should I use?
- The McCormick brand available at the grocery stores is probably the most economical option for all the extracts and that is WHAT I USE as well. They have strawberry, lemon and orange extracts which are pretty good!
What kind of freeze dried strawberry powder should I use?
- You can freeze dried strawberries from Trader Joe’s, and pulverize it in a high speed blender for the powder form for a cheaper option, since the freeze dried strawberries are about 3-4$ at TJs. OR you can purchase the powder from Amazon, linked here.
How long do the Strawberry Orange and Lemon Sugar Cookies last? How should I store the cookies?
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.
