Pansy Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Break off a quarter of the cookie dough (about 6 tablespoons) and divide into 2 pieces. Put each piece in a separate small bowl. Tint one piece with 4 drops of purple gel food coloring. Tint the other piece with 3 drops of purple gel food coloring and 2 drops of white food coloring.
• Roll out the remaining un-tinted cookie dough between 2 pieces of parchment to an 1/8-inch-thick round (about 12 inches in diameter). Remove the top piece of parchment and reserve.
• Break off a chickpea-size piece of dark purple dough and roll into a rough ball. Place on the rolled-out dough. Arrange 6 roughly rolled chickpea-size pieces of the light purple dough around the dark purple dough in a flower pattern (these will become the petals) about 1 1/2-inches round. Make more flowers with the remaining tinted dough: leave about a 1/2 inch between each flower shape and alternate between dark purple and light purple dough in the center and petals.
• Top the dough with the parchment and gently roll out until the dough is flat and even. Slide the round onto a rimmed baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
• Use a 1 3/4-inch 6-petal flower cookie cutter to cut out each flower shape. Arrange on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing the cookies 1 inch apart. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the cookies until just barely golden on the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet on a rack.
• Pipe a small yellow dot of icing in the center of each cookie. Let sit for 15 minutes to set.

Steps:

• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, cream butter on medium speed. Gradually add granulated sugar; beat until fluffy. Add eggs gradually; beat until fluffy. On low speed, add vanilla and reserved dry ingredients; mix until combined. Divide dough into two balls; wrap in plastic wrap. Flatten into disks. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk egg white with 1 tablespoon water until frothy. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one ball of dough to a 1/4-inch thickness.
• Using 1 1/2- or 2 1/2-inch-round fluted cookie cutters, cut out shapes. Place on baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Brush tops with egg wash. Place a pansy on top of each cookie; affix petals with more egg wash. Sprinkle sanding sugar over pansies. Bake until lightly golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Steps:

• For the cookies: Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl.
• Combine the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until totally combined, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and zest and mix to combine, about 30 seconds. Turn the mixer off, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula then add all of the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until everything is well combined, scraping down the sides again if necessary, making sure not to overmix. Cover and refrigerate until the dough is completely chilled, at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly flour a clean work surface. Scoop out 1 tablespoon of the dough and roll it into a rope, 5 to 6 inches long. Tie it into a loose knot and place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. If the knots start to get warm, refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Bake on the upper and lower racks until the tops of the cookies are dry and set and the bottoms are golden, rotating the baking sheets front to back and switching rack positions, halfway through, about 15 minutes total.
• For the glaze and sprinkles: Meanwhile, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, salt and 1 tablespoon of the milk in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon milk if needed-the glaze should be the consistency of heavy cream.
• Place the sprinkles in a small bowl. Once the cookies are cool enough to handle, dip the tops in the glaze, letting any excess run off, then dip in the sprinkles. Transfer the cookies, glazed-side up, to a wire rack and let cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.