Description
These Sugar Plum Fairy Cookies combine warm spices with a hint of orange zest and a luscious plum jam center, topped with a vibrant berry plum buttercream frosting. Perfect for festive occasions or whenever you want to treat yourself to a magical cookie experience with sophisticated flavors and beautiful decoration.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Spiced Orange Sugar Cookies:
- 2 3/4 cups (344 g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, very softened
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 tsp orange zest
- ~1/4 cup (~70 g) plum jam, cold (Stonewall Kitchen Sugar Plum Jam recommended)
- 1/2 cup pink sparkling sugar
For the Berry Plum Buttercream Frosting:
- Heaping 1/2 cup (15 g) freeze dried berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combination)
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (105 g) plum jam (Stonewall Kitchen Sugar Plum Jam recommended)
- 2 cups (260 g) powdered sugar
- 3-4 tbsp (45-60 ml) heavy cream
- Pink sprinkles for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prepare baking sheets: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper to ensure cookies don’t stick while baking.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside for later use.
- Cream butter and sugar: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on high speed to cream the very softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar for 1-2 minutes until the mixture becomes very light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and flavorings: Mix in the egg, vanilla bean paste, and orange zest on medium speed, continuing to beat the mixture until it is pale in color and very fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing on low speed just until everything is combined and no streaks of dry flour remain.
- Shape cookie dough with jam center: Using a 2 tbsp cookie scoop, form dough balls. Flatten each ball and place 1/2 tsp of cold plum jam in the center. Carefully fold the dough around the jam in an envelope shape, pinch to seal, and roll into a smooth ball to prevent jam leakage. Roll each ball in pink sparkling sugar to coat.
- Arrange cookies for baking: Place dough balls on prepared baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Slightly flatten each ball to form a circle, being careful not to squish the jam out.
- Bake cookies: Bake 6-8 cookies at a time for 9-10 minutes. Then let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare frosting while cookies cool: Add freeze dried berries to a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Sift the powder through a small sieve to remove seeds, yielding about 2 tbsp of berry powder.
- Cream butter and salt for frosting: In a medium bowl, beat the softened butter and salt together with an electric mixer for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add jam and berry powder: Mix the plum jam and berry powder into the butter mixture until fully incorporated.
- Add powdered sugar and cream: Gradually mix in powdered sugar and heavy cream. Start mixing on low speed until combined, then increase to high speed and whip until very light and fluffy.
- Prepare frosting for piping: Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip such as a Wilton 2D.
- Frost cooled cookies: Once cookies have completely cooled, pipe frosting onto each cookie in decorative swirls.
- Decorate and serve: Sprinkle pink decorative sprinkles on top of the frosting and enjoy your beautifully finished Sugar Plum Fairy Cookies!
Notes
- Make sure butter is very softened for optimal creaming and fluffiness of cookies and frosting.
- Be gentle when enclosing the plum jam in the cookie dough to prevent it from leaking out during baking.
- Chilling the plum jam helps reduce stickiness and makes it easier to handle.
- Freeze dried berries provide vibrant flavor and color without adding moisture to the frosting.
- If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, high quality vanilla extract can be substituted.
- Use parchment paper for easy cleanup and to prevent cookies from sticking.
- Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature, or frozen for longer storage.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 230
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 120mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 25g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
