Fairy Cakes
by Mary Shenk
(DeKalb, IL)
Fairy Cakes
After a friend visited a local bakery and described the "To-Die-For" cookies she bought and immediately devoured, I agreed to recreate the recipe at home.
Several failed attempts (and lots of taste-testing) later, I finally came up with these cookies.
When I asked my friend if the homemade version was the same as the bakery version, she said (in between frosting-coated bites) she didn't care if the two versions were identical because my version is AMAZING.
So, here is the recipe for my famous Fairy Cakes-- a vanilla and almond flavored cookie crowned with swirls of buttery pink frosting, and garnished with colorful candy sprinkles.
Fairy Cakes Recipe
Cookie Ingredients:- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 2/3 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons pure almond extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
Frosting and Garnish Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons pure almond extract
- Pink paste food coloring
- Colored candy sprinkles or nonpareils, to garnish
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat in the baking powder, salt, eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract until combined. Stir in the flour until incorporated (the dough will be stiff).
Shape the dough into 24 balls, and place 6 balls on each ungreased cookie sheet; flatten the balls slightly, but they should still be 1-inch thick.
Bake at 300 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes, or until firm at the edges and set in the middle but not brown.
Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to cooling racks.
To make the frosting, beat all the frosting ingredients, except the food coloring and sprinkles, until fluffy and combined.
Beat in food coloring until the desired color is reached.
Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cookies using a pastry bag fitted a large closed-star tip.
Garnish the cookies with sprinkles before the frosting sets.
Store the cookies in a single layer in an airtight container.
Return to Holiday Cookie Contest 2012.
