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Strawberry almond mushroom cookies

Red mushroom shaped cookies made with buttery vanilla cookies, filled with an almond jelly crumb filling and dipped in chocolate. Tasty and adorable at the same time.
Prep 30 minutes
Cook 30 minutes
Chill time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 23 cookies

Ingredients 

For the cookies
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2/3 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 large egg beaten
  • 1 large egg yolk beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the filling
  • 1 cup cookie crumbs
  • 1/2 cup almond flour or almond meal
  • 1/2 cup strawberry jelly
For decoration
  • 10.5 oz white chocolate broken into small pieces
  • red food coloring for chocolate
  • 1/2 cup chopped blanched almonds

Instructions

Make the cookies
  • In a large bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and salt.
  • In a smaller bowl, mix flour with baking powder. Add flour to the butter mixture in 2-3 additions, whisking well after each addition, until you get a smooth dough. If the dough is too dry and crumbly, add a tablespoon of milk until you get a kneadable dough.
  • Transfer the dough to a lightly floured working surface and knead it for a minute, making sure it’s smooth and compact. If the dough is sticky, add more flour. (The dough should be soft enough for you to make an indentation in it with your finger, but not sticky.)
  • Flatten dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Set the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • Take out the dough and divide it into 3 equal parts. Set one part aside. Take the other two and make 23 smaller lumps of dough.
  • Roll each lump into a smooth ball. Place dough balls on a baking sheet about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Gently press each one into the baking sheet to flatten the bottom.
  • Split the remaining 1/3 portion of dough into 23 equal parts and roll each one into a log, about 2 1/2 inches (6 cm) long. Place them on the other baking sheet, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart and set it aside.
  • Bake cookies in the center of the oven for 10-15 minutes, until they rise and get slightly golden brown around the edges (the tops will stay pale).
  • As you take out the first cookie sheet (the “mushroom caps”), put the second one with the “stems” in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes (until golden brown on the bottom).
  • Immediately start prepping the first batch of cookies, while they are still warm (this is important!). Cut a circle in the bottom of each cookie and scoop out about 2 teaspoons of crumbs. Do this with all the cookies and set the crumbs aside.
Filling and assembly
  • In a bowl, mix cookie crumbs with almond flour and strawberry jam. You want a compact, thick filling. If it’s too loose (this depends on the amount of cookie crumbs you were able to get), add more almond flour.
  • To assemble, take one mushroom cap (a scooped out cookie) and fill the hole with the almond-jelly filling. Then take a stem and stick it into the mushroom cap. As the filling begins to slide out, try to push some of it back in, and wipe away the rest.
  • Continue with the rest of the cookies. Place assembled cookies on a plate upside down. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or covered overnight), while you prepare the chocolate.
  • Line a baking sheet (or a few plates) with parchment paper and set aside on your work surface. Along that, place coarse almond meal in a small bowl and place it next to the baking sheet.
  • To make the chocolate, place a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water. Add the chopped chocolate. Once about 2/3 of the chocolate melts, remove it from heat and stir the remaining chunks into the already melted chocolate. Once the chocolate is completely melted and smooth, add red food coloring, to get your desired shade of red.
  • Take the cookies out of the refrigerator. Dip each cookie in the chocolate, deep enough to cover the entire cap. Sprinkle almonds on top and transfer the cookie to a lined baking sheet. Continue with the remaining cookies.
  • Chill cookies for about 2 hours, until the chocolate hardens. Once the chocolate is hard, you can transfer the cookies to airtight containers and store them at room temperature or in the refrigerator (if your home is very warm) for up to a week. Allow them to come to room temperature before serving, if kept in the refrigerator, as they taste better when not completely cold.

Notes

When adding coloring to chocolate, make sure it is oil based and made specifically for dying chocolate. You can’t use other types of food coloring as those can make chocolate seize and that’ll ruin it. 
If you can’t find chopped blanched almonds, to make the specks on top of red caps, you can buy slivered almonds and chop them yourself. You could also use white sprinkles instead.