Easy Sour Cream Cookies

These delicious cookies are excellent love offerings. They’re fresh and pretty, and not too heavy…just like a perfect rom-com! Bake them up as a Valentine’s treat and you’ll definitely get a kiss at the end of the picture. TABLE Magazine contributor Stephanie Sullivan shares her recipes.

Sour Cream Cookies

Ingredients

2¼ cups flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, cold

2 tbsp sour cream

2 eggs yolks

½ tsp vanilla extract

¼ cup sugar

Instructions

In a food processor, whisk together the flour and salt. Cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Mix in the sour cream, egg yolks, vanilla, and sugar until dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface or piece of parchment and knead lightly to bring it together. Roll out between sheets of waxed paper and chill.

Remove wax paper from chilled dough. Cut the dough into desired shapes and place on parchment or Silpat lined baking sheets. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or just until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack; sprinkle with powdered sugar or decorate with little raspberry meringues (recipe below), or whipped cream, and fresh fruits before serving.

Fresh Raspberry Meringues

Ingredients

1 cup fresh raspberries (or frozen)

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 egg whites, room temp

Instructions

Cook raspberries and sugar over medium-high heat, stirring often and crushing the berries as they cook. A potato masher or muddler works well for this. Remove from the heat when the mixture is syrupy. Strain it through a sieve into a measuring cup, pressing down on the berries to get as much juice as possible. Cool sauce completely.

Put egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the cream of tartar over top. Beat the egg whites til they hold stiff peaks. Carefully fold the raspberry sauce into the egg whites.

Spoon meringue into a frosting bag or ziplock bag, forcing the mixture to one corner of the bag. Snip 1/4" from the corner of the bag and pipe onto the prepared pan, using a decorative topi if desired. Pipe out circles onto baking sheet at least 1” apart.

Preheat oven to 170°F, or the lowest setting on your oven. Place oven rack in the top of the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Bake for 2 hours at 170°F, rotating the baking sheet after 1 hour so they will dry evenly. The meringues should not brown at all. Turn off the oven and leave meringues
in the oven for 2-3 hours to finish drying.

Meringues can be frozen for up to one month. If frozen, allow to thaw to room temp before serving.