I bet you have some idea of the ridiculous picture I have in my head. Imagine: a restaurant, dressing up a little bit, a fascinator hat, pinky in the air, and a three-tier tray with tiny sandwiches and sweets. I know it’s not really going to be like that and my little fantasy is probably closer to a stereotype than anything else. Regardless, I still want to go to tea and Ryan and I have been collecting a few suggestions for where to go.

Until that day though, I’d like to pretend that these cookies would be  one of the sweets served at tea time. They are simple looking and dainty in size. The cookies have a subtle citrus flavor while also feeling a bit like a decadent treat. Sounds like a nice tea-time pairing to me.

I was also drawn to this recipe because I love desserts that use citrus. My usual go-to are lemon desserts, but I wanted to expand my horizons and using grapefruit felt exciting and unusual. Grapefruit is nice because it has a little bit of lemon’s tartness while also being a bit sweeter. Eat these cookies however you like, but I’ll eat them while pretending I’m at tea with Ryan in London.

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

Ingredients

Cookie:

zest of 1 grapefruit,  plus 1/4 cup of juice

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 egg yolks

Filling:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 tbsp honey

3 tbsp grapefruit juice

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. In a small bowl, combine the zest and 1 tbsp of sugar.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together flours, baking powder, and salt.

4. Using the paddle attachment on an electric mixer, beat the butter and remaining sugar on medium-high for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

4. Add egg yolks and beat until combined. The dough will turn a gorgeous yellow. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

5. Mix in the sugar-zest mixture.

6. Add flour mix in two batches, alternating with the juice. Mix until combined.

7.  Collect dough into a disk shape and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

8. Flour your work surface and roll out the disk of dough to about 1/8″ thick. Using a 2″ round to cut out circles. Place cookies on parchment paper lined baking sheet about 1″ apart. These cookies don’t spread much as they bake so they can be pretty close together.

9. Bake until the edges start to turn golden. For me, this took 10 minutes. Martha Stewart recommends 18-20 minutes. So, set your timer and check them regularly.

10. Let cool completely before adding filling.

11. For the filling, using an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy – about 4 minutes. Then add the honey. Once the honey is incorporated, add the juice 1 tbsp at a time. Mix until creamy.

12. Spread filling onto the flat side of one cookie. Put another cookie on top of the filling with the flat side down. Store cookies in the fridge because butter cream will melt!

Messy level: I’m giving this two spoons. Anything with flour is inherently messy for me, but this recipe isn’t too different from sugar cookie type recipes. The grapefruit is actually the messiest part. During the zesting it releases a lot of oils and that makes things a little sticky. Also my juicer is too small for a grapefruit so I got a lot of juice on the counter. If you have a better juicer, you should be fine.

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Meanwhile, back here in Virginia, the one thing I have made were these cookies. The recipe comes from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook and was recommended to me by my aunt. These cookies are colorful and festive and I made them for my friend to celebrate that she got a new job. I had been wanting to make these, but it’s taken awhile because the recipe is a bit labor intensive and requires some obscure ingredients. For real, I had to order some ingredients online. This cookie is a labor of love. But, sugary sweet, happy, and worth it.

They are a bit like snicker doodles,which the author, Christina Tosi, says is because of the cream of tartar. In the book, Tosi also wrote that she wanted to create boxed Funfetti cake in a cookie. And I think she nailed it. The cookie is so sweet, indulgent, and so cheerful. Yes, I did just say a cookie could be cheerful. I love the colorful sprinkles – it makes them the perfect celebration cookie.

As I said this recipe is from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook. This recipe requires a two step process – first you make “crumb” and then you make the cookie dough. Neither step is super challenging, but I thought you should be forewarned. If you get intimidated, just remember how wonderful and pretty sprinkles are and then you’ll be able to keep going.

Ingredients

Crumb:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 tbsp brown sugar

3/8 cup cake flour (45 grams)

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp rainbow sprinkles

1/8 cup grapeseed oil

1/2 tbsp Clear Vanilla Extract (clear or imitation extract is apparently important, makes it taste more like box Funfetti cake)

Cookie Dough:

16 tbsp butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tbsp glucose

2 eggs

2 tsp clear vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups of flour

2/3 cup milk powder

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 rainbow sprinkles

cake crumb recipe

Directions:

1. First we’re making the crumb. Preheat the oven to 300°.

2. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on low speed, mix together the sugars, flour, baking powder, salt, and sprinkles.

3. Add the oil and vanilla. Mix again until evenly mixed and small clusters start to form.

4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Pour the clusters onto the parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Break them up occasionally as they cook. The crumbs should still be a bit moist when you take them out of the oven – they will dry out as they cool.

5. Let them cool completely before using them in the cookie dough. (I waited 1 hour)

6. Take the butter out of the fridge. You can let it come to room temperature while you wait for the crumb to cool.

7. Ok, now start on the cookies. In the stand mixer (which you’ve cleaned out from before), combine the butter, sugar, and glucose. Beat on medium-high for 2 minutes.

8. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for 7-8 minutes. (Tosi says this is the key to her cookies being great – the butter is so fluffy and creamy this way).

9. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the flour, milk powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and rainbow sprinkles. Mix until the dough just comes together, no more than 1 minute. You do not want to over mix.

10. Add the crumbs and mix in for 30 seconds.

11. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Portion out the dough into large-ish balls (about 2-3 tbsp). Flatten the tops a bit with your fingers. Cover tightly with plastic wrap.

12. Put the cookies in the fridge for 1 hour, or up to 1 week.

13. When you’re ready to bake, heat the oven to 350°.

14. Arrange the cookies about 3 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

15. Bake for 13-18 minutes. They are ready when the edges start to be gold and the center of the cookie is starting to get color. They will seem soft, but they harden as you let them cool.

16. Let cool before serving. Then share them with friends and feel happy!

Messy level: 3 spoons. To make this cookie, you are basically making two recipes and that means a lot of dishes and a lot of chances for flour to fly. Glucose is really sticky and messy, eggs are drippy, and butter is greasy. It’s not the worst mess you’ll ever make but there’s potential. Give yourself time and try to be organized and it won’t be so messy!

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