Sandwich Cookies with Buttercream Frosting

It's been a baking week. See, I found myself in the magazine section at Barnes & Noble last Friday, flipping through every seasonal periodical they had, about to buy one or two, when I remembered the two-foot stack of cooking magazines I had at home in the cupboard.

Two feet. That's not an exaggeration.

I might've made a handful of recipes out of the entire stack.

So I put the magazines back and decided it was time to go through what I already owned. I took the magazine off the top, opened to the first recipe I thought we'd actually eat, and made my grocery list.

I've done two recipes this week. At this rate, I won't need to buy another magazine until 2014.

The first recipe was a sandwich cookie with buttercream frosting. It consisted of vanilla, chocolate and spice cookies, with five different flavors of buttercream - vanilla, chocolate, coffee, orange, and almond. They turned out pretty damn good. Favorite combination? Spice with orange cream. Yum.

VANILLA ROUNDS

½ cup butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

2 eggs

1½ tsp vanilla

2¾ cups flour

1. In a large bowl, combine butter and cream cheese at medium speed for 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined.
3. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
4. Beat in flour.
5. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 375F.
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough to an 1/8-inch thickness.
8. Use 1½ - 2” cookie cutter to cut out dough.
9. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet.
10. Bake for 6-7 minutes.
11. Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool.

SPICY GINGER ROUNDS

½ cup butter, softened

¼ cup shortening

¾ cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 egg

1/3 cup molasses

3 cups flour

1 egg white, beaten

1. In a large bowl, combine butter and shortening at medium speed for 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined.
3. Beat in egg and molasses.
4. Beat in flour.
5. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 375F.
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough to an 1/8-inch thickness.
8. Use 1½ - 2” cookie cutter to cut out dough.
9. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet.
10. Brush with egg white.
11. Bake for 6-7 minutes.

12. Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool.

CHOCOLATE ROUNDS

½ cup butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

2 eggs

1½ tsp vanilla

2½ cups flour

¼ cup cocoa

1. In a large bowl, combine butter and cream cheese at medium speed for 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar. Beat until combined.
3. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
4. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in separate bowl. Slowly beat into butter mixture.
5. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 375F.
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough to an 1/8-inch thickness.
8. Use 1½ - 2” cookie cutter to cut out dough.
9. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet.
10. Bake for 6-7 minutes.
11. Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool.

We had a lot of cookies at this stage. The nice thing is, you can freeze these before you fill them, to keep on hand to fill later. That's where most of these are now. My kids can help themselves over the next few weeks.

But the buttercream is what makes these really yummy. It's just a matter of finding the right combination. 

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

½ cup softened butter

1¼ cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp milk

1. Beat butter until fluffy.
2. Add sugar, vanilla, and milk until spreadable consistency.

COFFEE BUTTERCREAM

½ cup softened butter

1 ¼ cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp brewed coffee

1. Beat butter until fluffy.
2. Add sugar and coffee until spreadable consistency.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

½ cup softened butter

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup cocoa

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp milk

1. Beat butter until fluffy.
2. Add sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and milk until spreadable consistency.

ALMOND BUTTERCREAM

½ cup softened butter

1¼ cup powdered sugar

1 tsp almond extract

1 tbsp milk

1. Beat butter until fluffy.
2. Add sugar, almond extract, and milk until spreadable consistency.

ORANGE BUTTERCREAM

½ cup softened butter

1¼ cup powdered sugar

Finely grated zest of one orange

1 tbsp orange juice

1. Beat butter until fluffy.
2. Add sugar, zest, and juice until spreadable consistency.