Flower-Shaped Cookies

Flower-shaped cookies are a cute and spring-like idea, perfect for a sweet afternoon or a party. Here’s how to make them, with an Italian twist.

Ingredients

• 250 g of all-purpose flour
• 100 g of granulated sugar
• 100 g of butter at room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt
• Grated zest of 1 lemon (optional for an Italian touch)
• Apricot jam or another flavor of your choice
• Powdered sugar for decorating (optional)

Preparation

1. In a bowl, mix the flour and salt.
2. In another bowl, cream the soft butter with sugar until fluffy.
3. Add the egg and vanilla extract (and lemon zest if you want to add an Italian touch), continuing to mix until well incorporated.
4. Gradually combine the dry ingredients with the wet ones, mixing until a homogeneous dough is obtained.
5. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 180 °C and prepare a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
7. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it reaches a thickness of about 5 mm.
8. Use flower-shaped cookie cutters to cut out the cookies and place them on the prepared tray.
9. To make the cookies even more special, remove the center from half of the cookies using a smaller cutter.
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges begin to lightly brown.
11. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.
12. Spread some jam on the flat side of the whole cookies and cover them with the cookies that have the center cut out, creating “flowers” with a “heart” of jam.
13. If desired, you can dust the cookies with powdered sugar before serving.

Flower-shaped cookies are versatile as you can choose different jam flavors for the filling or add spices to the dough, like cinnamon or cardamom, to create unique flavors.

Curiosity

In Italy, there is a wide variety of decorated cookies and small bakery cookies, often paired with local flavors such as Sicilian almonds or Amalfi lemon. Decorating cookies with powdered sugar is a classic finishing touch that adds both beauty and sweetness.