Rainbow Cookies
by Carly Cerniglia
Somewhere over the rainbow or at the end of the rainbow? Well, whatever it is there’s gold at the end of this rainbow! Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, these super soft cookies with silky buttercream will steal the show! A sour belt for a rainbow makes a quick decoration that the kids will love. Easy-peasy and you’ll be able to make them quicker than you can catch a leprechaun!
Ingredients:
For the Cookies:
2 ¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ cup sour cream
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
For the Buttercream:
3 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
7 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
⅛-¼ cup heavy cream, as needed
Food color
For decoration:
2 packs sour belt rainbows (found at the Dollar Tree)
Gold sprinkles
Directions:
For the cookies:
In a stand mixer, cream butter, sugar, salt, almond extract, and vanilla. Add in the egg and sour cream and mix until combined, scraping bowl as needed. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until just incorporated.
Chill for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out on a floured surface and cut 3-4” circles. Transfer to a lined baking sheet and bake for 8 to 9 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes on the pan, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough and scraps.
To make the buttercream, cream butter and vanilla extract. Slowly beat in powdered sugar, cup by cup. Scrape the sides of the bowl and drizzle in heavy cream as needed. Once all the powdered sugar is incorporated, whip on medium high speed for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add heavy cream if too thick. Remove about a cup and a half of buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. To the remaining buttercream, add in food coloring. Mix until desired color is achieved. Transfer to a piping bag with a star tip.
To assemble:
Pipe colored buttercream onto the base of the cookie in a tight spiral. Using the white buttercream, pipe little clouds close to the middle of the circles. Trim sour belts and insert into the clouds. Sprinkle gold sprinkles onto clouds.
Enjoy!