The Best Strawberry Frosted Cookies

I have a confession to make – I absolutely love indulging in sugar cookies from time to time.

However, it’s surprisingly difficult to find a gluten and dairy-free version that meets my expectations. Luckily, last year I discovered a recipe that uses freeze-dried strawberries to enhance both the color and flavor of the frosting. What a revolutionary idea! With a few adjustments and substitutions, we now have an incredibly delicious go-to sugar cookie recipe.

We don’t make these cookies often, mainly because they disappear incredibly quickly between me and our two kids. However, on Valentine’s Day, I can’t resist bringing out this recipe. Trust me, they are absolutely divine!

Note: If you haven’t tried passionfruit before, it brings a subtle flavor that adds complexity to a seemingly simple recipe. For the white frosting, you can skip this ingredient and opt for vanilla instead. Interestingly, we even sprinkle a touch of passion fruit powder into our strawberry frosting, resulting in an incredible taste sensation!

Strawberry Frosted Cookie Recipe

For the cookies

• 1 cup Earth Balance or similar dairy free “butter” at room temperature
• ½ cup Granulated sugar
• 1 egg at room temperature
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 cup Almond flour
• 1 ¼ cup Gluten Free flour mix (we use ¾ cup white rice flour, ¼ cup potato starch, ¼ cup tapioca starch)
  
  

For the frosting

• ½ cup Earth Balance or similar dairy free “butter” at room temperature
• 1 oz  Dairy free ricotta or cream cheese at room temperature (we either use Kite Hill Ricotta or Nature’s Fynd Cream Cheese)
• 1 ½ cups Powdered sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 oz  Freeze dried strawberries, ground into a powder
• 1 oz  Freeze dried Passion Fruit or powder (option)
  
  

Instructions

Make the Cookies

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the Earth balance and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.  Add flours and mix until dough forms a loose ball.
2. Flatten dough into a pancake, wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or if you’re in a rush, freeze for 15 minutes).
3. Heat  oven to 350 F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Lightly flour a surface with rice flour and roll dough out to ¼” thickness.  Cut out cookies and place on parchment lined cookie sheets. 
5. Bake cookies until barely golden brown on the edges, about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting.
   
   

Make the Frosting

1. Blend the freeze dried fruit into a powder using a blender.  I like to have the passion fruit and strawberry separate so we can have different color frostings.
2. Cream Earth Balance and ricotta / cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth, about 3-5 minutes.  Add powdered sugar and mix again, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically.  Add vanilla extract and blend until smooth.
3. Remove ½ of the frosting from the bowl.  Add passion fruit powder, 1 tsp at a time.  Check the flavor and add additional passionfruit as needed!  Remove from the bowl and set aside.  
4. Add 2nd ½ of the frosting to the bowl.  Add strawberry powder, 1 tsp at a time.  Check the flavor and add additional strawberry as needed!  
5. Frost cookies with strawberry and passionfruit frosting as you wish!
     

Dr. Jen Jewel-Larsen, ND
Naturopathic Doctor San Jose
408-356-1364