Whew, let me take a deep breath. It’s finally time to unveil a sneak-peek recipe from my upcoming book, Simply Sensational Cookies. I’ve been working on the manuscript on and off for nearly six years!
I say on and off because after creating and testing cookie recipes for about 18 months, I put the project aside to write Kneadlessly Simple, which came out in 2009. The break was a good idea, not only because the bread book has been well received, but because when cookies were back on my plate again my focus was fresher and sharper.
For one thing, during the bread book hiatus, I was actually making a lot of cookies with my grandchildren in my free time. In the same period I discovered that I’d developed an allergy to the red dyes in over-the-counter lipsticks; my lips burned and peeled whenever lipstick was applied. After researching cosmetic and food dye allergies fairly extensively, I concluded that many of the readily available FD & C (Food, Drug, and Cosmetic) approved synthetic dyes—like the ones in little 4-bottle sets that nearly everybody uses—are risky. Maybe not risky enough to ban, but certainly troubling enough that I didn’t really want to be routinely adding these dyes to homemade cookie frostings, fillings, and other decorations that my family would be eating.
Rather than trying to keep the kids from snitching extra samples during our baking and decorating sessions (a hopeless task!), I decided to come up with an array of “au naturel” toppings that most or all of their color from the natural ingredients, like fruits, berries, and, occasionally, herbs and spices. The raspberry buttercream frosting shown here is just one of a whole array of recipes that resulted from my efforts. (The homemade decorator sprinkles here are another “au naturel” recipe I devised.)
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Yes, absolutely every bit of that glorious color of the frosting shown here is from berries—in this case, mostly from freeze-dried raspberries, which you may not noticed, but are very likely to be in one of your markets. Whole Foods and health food stores are a good starting point; they can also be ordered on-line. The product that seems to turn up most often where I live is called “Just Raspberries,” though other brands will do fine, too. The beauty of the freeze-dried berries is that because their color and flavor are intense, pure, and concentrated, they can add a lot of pizzazz without making frostings soft or soggy.
Raspberry Buttercream Frosting
The first step to preparing this luscious buttercream is to ready some freeze-dried raspberries by briefly grinding up freeze-dried raspberries, then sieving them. This will produce the 3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons of fine berry powder that’s needed for a smooth buttercream. If you have more save it, airtight, for another purpose.
Incidentally, it is possible to buy the ready-to-use dried raspberry berry powder on-line, but for some reason it only comes in 12- to 16-ounce containers that cost $20 to $40 dollars each! Aside from the expense, the powder loses its oomph over time and unless you go into the raspberry buttercream-making business it will become faded and stale long before you’ve used it up.
The following easy to work with buttercream can serve as decorative frosting or filling for butter cookies or French macarons, as well as for cupcakes. The recipe may be doubled, if you wish. And it keeps well, so can be conveniently readied ahead and refrigerated until you need it. BTW, I first showed off this recipe in a demo for a Les Dames d’Escoffier; you can read about it and see a pic.Tip: For a really bright hot pink frosting like that shown here, use the maximum amount of raspberry powder and the optional cranberry juice cocktail noted in the recipe. The minimum amount of raspberry used alone with water will produce a very pretty medium pink shade. The color will also vary depending on the brand of freeze-dried raspberries; some are a bold red; others are slightly muted.
Raspberry Powder
Generous 1/2 to 2/3 cup freeze-dried raspberries
1 tablespoon powdered sugar, or more if needed
Frosting
2 2/3 cups powdered sugar, plus more if needed
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into chunks
3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons freeze-dried raspberry powder, to taste
11/2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons water, or cranberry juice cocktail, as needed
1 teaspoon raspberry extract
For the raspberry powder: Process the berries and 1 tablespoon powdered sugar in a food processor until the berries are chopped fine, but the seeds and some bits of pulp are still visible. If the berries have so much moisture that the mixture clumps, add more sugar and process until a “sieve-able” consistency is obtained. Stir the raspberry mixture through a very fine sieve into a small bowl to remove the seeds and any coarse bits of pulp; stop stirring before you force any coarse bits or seeds through. You should have enough sieved powder to yield 3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons.
For the frosting: Beat the powdered sugar, butter, berry powder, 2 tablespoons water (or cranberry juice and the extract in a large mixer bowl on low speed until the mixture is completely blended. If very stiff, beat in a little more water. Beat on medium just until thoroughly blended, scraping down the sides as needed. For a frosting with the most intense flavor and color don’t over-beat. If necessary, gradually beat in a little water or more powdered sugar as needed for the desired spreading or piping consistency.
The buttercream may be used immediately but the flavor and color will intensify if it is allowed to mellow a day or so covered airtight and stashed in the refrigerator. Let it come to cool room temperature and stir well before using. (It can also be frozen, airtight, for up to 1 month.)
For decorating cookie tops: To spread, put little dollops of buttercream on cookie tops, then swirl it slightly with the tip of a knife. To pipe, spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a [1/2]-inch diameter open star tip. Pipe rosettes onto the cookie tops by holding the tip vertically and squeezing the bag and rotating the tip at the same time. For filling cookies: Spread a scant teaspoon of buttercream on the undersides of half the cookies (or use enough to create a 1/4- to 1/3-inch-thick layer). Pair the rounds with similar-size cookies, top side visible, gently pressing down until the filling spreads almost to the edges. Let stand until the buttercream sets, at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour, if desired.
Yield: Makes about 1 1/4 cups buttercream, enough for lightly topping about thirty 2 1/2-inch cookies.
Another au natural buttercream frosting you may like is here. 
I am completely excited about this and cannot wait to make my daughter's cakes using this icing next weekend. I'm positive it will taste better than the artificially enhanced icings that are so over used. Thank you x one million 😀
Maybe we can move the date up for publication! Been planting seeds and picking out herbs with those recipes in mind!
That's great to hear! I have a number of recipes that call for fresh herbs, and even some more that call for fresh edible flowers. As the fall publication date nears, I'll be posting more about them.
Just read about Simply Sensational Cookies in Country Gardens! Looking forward to the recipes with the herbs in them especially!
Dena, thanks so much for saying you have enjoyed the bread book, and also that you think the "au naturel" approach sounds exciting. It was really exciting for me to come up with some new, beautiful ways to decorate cookies that are free of synthetic food colors and it will be really gratifying if I can help peeps go in a healthier direction.
I'm so excited about this! Your bread book is great so I can only imagine how much fun a cookie recipe book will be. I also think you'll open up alot of cooks and bakers to "Au Naturel"…it's different, challenging, and many people are leaning in that direction these days. You'll certainly help with this book and I'm looking forward to it!
I am excited to play with your cookie recipes!
Beautiful–must try this!