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These Strawberry-Dusted Shortbread Stars are buttery shortbread cookies, dipped in white chocolate and dusted with tangy freeze-dried strawberry powder.
Anyhow, freeze-dried fruit is a staple around my house, as an addition to cereal and as a snack for certain fruit-gobbling ankle-nippers. It’s deliciously crunchy and has a pure fruit flavor, without the overwhelming sweetness of typical dried fruit. Because it does have a light, crispy texture it can be easily pulverized in the food processor, producing a fine fruit powder with a strong, natural flavor. The powder can then be used to decorate candies or cookies. Strawberry sprinkles, made from real fruit? Don’t mind if I do!
I used my all-natural strawberry sprinkles to decorate lemon shortbread cookies, coated in white candy coating. The cookies are buttery, the candy coating melts in your mouth, and the strawberry dust on top adds just the right punch of vibrant berry flavor.
For the lemon cookies, I used a mix of fresh lemon zest and lemon extract. If lemon’s not your thing, you can omit the zest and use another extract instead—vanilla, almond, coconut, or orange would all be great with the strawberry topping.
These Strawberry-Dusted Shortbread Stars are my favorite kind of holiday treat—the kind that’s perfect for a holiday, but also delicious and highly appropriate year-round. If you refrain from putting them on a blue plate and humming “The Star-Spangled Banner” while serving them, these cookies can pass for an anytime treat.
“But Elizabeth,” you might be thinking, “Why not use freeze-dried blueberry powder on some cookies, to make red, white, and blue cookies? You think you’re so smart, but who’s the cooking genius now, hmmm?” Sweet readers, I tried that method, and let me tell you, blueberry powder gives you a gorgeous shade of purple cookies. And red, white, and purple may be some country’s national colors, but they are not my country’s national colors. So rather than mess with blue food coloring or other shenanigans, I stuck to red powder for this little experiment.
However, if you’re not making these for a color-themed holiday, you can definitely use other dried fruits with this method! Try raspberries, blueberries, bananas, mangoes, or any other freeze-dried fruits you can find.
Red, White, and Blue Fourth of July Cake
Stars and Stripes Sugar Cookies (Fourth of July Cookies)
Strawberry-Dusted Shortbread Stars
Ingredients
- 12 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tsp lemon extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 lbs white candy coating melts
- 2 1/2 inch star cookie cutter
- 1 oz freeze-dried strawberries
Instructions
- Combine the butter, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon extract in the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix them together on medium-low speed just until the sugar is incorporated and the butter is smooth. Add the salt and flour, and mix on low speed until only a few flour streaks remain. Stop the mixer and finish stirring with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Scrape the cookie dough into a gallon-sized zip-top bag. Squeeze all the air out, seal up the bag, then roll the dough until it’s an even thickness—this is my favorite trick for easily rolling dough evenly. Put the dough on a flat tray, then refrigerate it until firm, at least 30 minutes.
- Once firm, preheat the oven to 350 F (176 C), and cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut through the side of the bag to remove the dough, then cut out star shapes from the dough and arrange them on the parchment. The cookies won’t spread while baking, so you don’t need to leave much room between them. When you’ve cut out all the stars you can, press the dough together, re-roll it, and return it to the refrigerator to chill while the first batch bakes.
- Bake the cookies at 350 F for about 15 minutes, until they’ve lost the raw shine in the middle and the edges are very slightly colored. Remove the tray from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough until all of the cookies are baked.
- When you’re ready to dip and decorate the cookies, place the freeze-dried strawberries in a food processor and process them until they’re ground into very fine crumbs. (A high-speed blender might also work for this task.) The strawberry crumbs will start to absorb moisture soon after they’re ground, so don’t do this step until you’re ready to use them.
- Melt the white candy coating. If it seems too thick to dip easily, add a spoonful of shortening and melt it with the coating. Cover your work surface with waxed paper or parchment. Using dipping tools or a fork, submerge a cookie in the coating and then remove it from the bowl, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Scrape the bottom on the lip of the bowl, then set it on the waxed paper. Repeat with 2-3 more cookies, then while the coating on the cookies is still wet, fill a small fine mesh strainer with strawberry crumbs. Hold it about 8-10” above the cookies, then gently tap the strainer to release crumbs onto the cookies, until you get a coating that you like.
- Repeat the process, dipping 3-4 cookies at a time, and coating them with strawberry dust, until all of the cookies are dipped and decorated. Let them set at room temperature, and then they’re ready to serve. Extra strawberry dust can be saved to enjoy on cereal or mixed into smoothies. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
MEASURING TIPS
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Click here to learn more about baking measurements and conversion.Nutrition
About Elizabeth LaBau
I’m Elizabeth, but you can call me SugarHero! I’m a former pastry chef turned blogger, cookbook author, and baking instructor, and I consider myself sugar’s #1 fan. Learn more from my About page, or connect with me on social media:
I STILL MOURN THAT SALSA TOO. Seriously, I cry a little each time I pass that part of the aisle… That serrano mess does not compare. Thank goodness for the tomato/basil hummus, or TJ and I may have serious problems.
Also, pretty cookies! Full of good ideas, you are.
This is why we’re soul mates! I’ve been trying to fill the hole in my heart with the serrano one but it’s not the same. Also, their peanut flour was a tease. So young, so full of promise, so taken before its time.
Freeze dried fruits are MAGICAL aren’t they! They’re still so hard to find here, because (deep breath), we have no Trader Joes. 0_0
Booo! I guess these are the things I have to keep in mind when I think I want to move to Australia, right? Maybe they’ll make the leap across the ocean eventually…
I love shortbread so Im pretty sure I´ll like these ;-D
XX
I hope so–let me know what you think if you try them!
I love the use of freeze dried fruits for sprinkles!! So smart and duh! Extra Flavor!!
Oh and we’re getting our first TJ’s in the fall/winter. Based on everyone talking about it and their food obsessions that come from it… I.can’t.wait.
Oh my goodness. I am so excited for you! Start saving money now, girl, because they are masters of the impulse purchase hook. You think you’re running in for a few lemons or something, and you leave $70 poorer with crazy products you didn’t even know existed.
Love this idea!
I’m in WI, and I just bought a couple jars of Fire Roasted Tomato Salsa last week. Now I’m in a panic that I need go buy the rest of it in case it’s gone soon!
Lucky! It’s been gone from my area (southern California) for several years now, so maybe you’re safe! They must have different regional suppliers. All I can say it, cherish that salsa while you have it…cheeeeerish…
you just opened my eyes to things to do with freeze-dried fruits! I had no idea! lovely cookies!
It’s so fun! The dust also makes an awesome topping for chocolate-dipped truffles. And you can use it as a natural food coloring/flavoring for frosting! I’m beginning to think I should look for a job selling freeze-dried fruit…
Freeze dried fruits! Awesome. Do you think you could mix them with turbinado sugar for a “sparkly” affect? Hmmm…love these!
Hi Stephanie! I definitely think you can mix the fruit powder with sugar, but for a real sparkly effect, you might want to try sparkling sugar sprinkles rather than turbinado–just might have more “pop!”