Chewy Fruit Filled Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons sour cream or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 10 packets Annie’s Fruit Snacks – any flavors
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy (about one minute). Add egg, sour cream (or whole milk), and vanilla, and beat one minute. Add half of dry ingredients, and beat just until just blended. Repeat with remaining dry ingredients.
Divide dough in half and place each half on sheets of plastic wrap. Flatten dough, wrap tightly, and chill at least 1 hour - up to 24 hours. (Before rolling, allow dough to soften slightly at room temperature as needed.) *SEE Recipe Notes below for a non-roll, no-cut-out method.
While dough is chilling:
1. Line 2 baking sheets with trimmed parchment paper.
2. Cut two larger pieces of parchment for rolling.
3. Chop Annie’s Fruit Snacks into smaller pieces and set aside until ready to “fill” cookies.
4. Set-up a small dish with flour to dust cookie cutters and spatula.
5. Select fun cookie cutters of various sizes.
ROLLING RECOMMENDATION: This soft dough is easiest to work with when chilled. Work with one half of dough, one pan/batch at a time. Place larger piece of parchment on counter. Unwrap dough and place on parchment paper, then place the plastic wrap on top. Roll dough (between parchment and plastic wrap) to 1/4” thickness. Alternatively, you can flour all surfaces and roll without parchment and plastic wrap if you prefer.
Cut out cookie shapes and centers, place 1” apart on prepared baking sheet, then “fill” each with chopped pieces of Annie’s Fruit Snacks. Refrigerate for 15 minutes before baking. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes - rotating pan half way through baking time – just until cookie edges start to brown lightly.
Chill and re-roll dough scraps, and repeat until finished.
Allow baked cookies to cool slightly, then move to wire racks to cool completely.
Store up to 3 days at room temperature in air-tight containers with parchment in between.
Recipe Notes
QUICKER COOKIES: If you're short on time, or just not into rolled cut-out cookies, just roll generous 1 Tablespoon-sized balls of dough between your hands. Place cookie balls on prepared baking sheet, lightly flatten, and then lightly press a whole butterfly (or other) fruit snack into the center of the cookie ball. You don't have to press the fruit snack all the way down... Just a tiny bit to set it in the dough. The fruit snacks will hold their shape and stay in place after baked!
You can see what these cookies look like in my photos - they're simple, cute and delicious!
BAKING TIME: As with any recipe, use this recipe's baking time as a guideline. Adjust baking time according to your oven's heat range and your preference for cookie doneness and color. For softer cookies, pull them out of the oven when the edges just start to brown lightly. If you like crisper cookies, bake slightly longer and allow to brown a bit more.
*Cookie recipe and method adapted from Epicurious, 2003