Sugar Plum Fairy Cookies
Inspired by the Nutcracker ballet, these pretty and pink, soft and chewy sugar plum fairy cookies are a perfect and fun Christmas cookie to bake this year! They’re super buttery and chewy spiced orange sugar cookies filled with spiced plum jam, rolled in pink sparkling sugar and frosted with berry plum buttercream frosting.
Why You’ll Love these Sugar Plum Fairy Cookies
- Soft, melt in your mouth texture– They’re fluffy, buttery, tender and chewy all at the same time.
- Lots of flavors working together- The sugar cookie dough is flavored with ground spices, vanilla bean paste and a little bit of orange zest. The cookies are filled with spiced plum jam and frosted with berry plum buttercream frosting. All of these festive flavors work so well together to give you a really spectacular cookie!
- Equal parts butter and sugar– 1 cup of butter, 1 cup of sugar is the key to the cookies perfect texture. The butter and sugar are creamed together really well, and the egg is beat into the butter and sugar until very fluffy to help the cookies get a little lift, making them pillowy and perfect.
- Thick and pillowy– The base of these cookies are my thick and pillowy sugar cookies; they’re not flat and crispy in the slightest!
- Berry Plum Frosting- Adding a bit of finely ground freeze dried berries to the plum frosting adds a natural pink hue and is a delicious addition to these cookies. Piping the frosting on and adding some sprinkles is the perfect, pretty finishing touch!
For the full recipe, including measurements, step by step instructions, and bake time, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is just a brief overview!
Carefully close the jam up, folding in an envelope shape at first. Pinch the dough together and roll into a ball to smooth any pinched edges out. The warmth from your hands will help to mold the dough all back together. (Be careful not to squish the jam out of the cookie.)
Sugar Plum Fairy Cookies FAQs
Nope! Simply make the dough, scoop, roll the balls in sugar and bake! (I Actually think the cookies are best when baked straight away.)
If you need to make the dough in advance and bake the next day, you of course can. For the best results I would just recommend letting the dough return to room temperature before attempting to scoop and bake!
Store in an airtight container or Ziploc baggie for about 3 days for best taste. As they sit they somehow become softer. They go from super chewy right after baking to super soft the more days that go by!
Yes. Store in a Ziploc baggie and freeze for up to a month.
I have been on my own gluten free journey lately and have found that most of my recipes turn out great GF- Hooray! There is a caveat though, I can only say the recipe will come out good with Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour. This is not sponsored, but my true opinion. This is the only gluten free flour I use as it bakes most similarly to regular, all-purpose flour.
Tips for Baking Perfectly Chewy Sugar Plum Fairy Cookies
Measure your flour properly. This is always my #1 baking tip. Do not ever scoop a measuring cup into your flour. This will always lead to using too much flour. Instead, sprinkle spoonfuls of flour into your measuring cup and swipe excess flour off with the back of a knife. Or better yet, weigh your flour with a kitchen scale. 1 cup of flour equals 125 grams.
Very softened butter. You’ll want to make sure your butter is super soft. As in, you should be able to press your finger into it very easily. This will make it easier to cream together with the sugar and help give the cookies the best texture.
Beat the egg thoroughly. Make sure to beat your egg, vanilla and orange zest into the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale in color and very fluffy, not just until it’s combined. This helps to give the cookies their pillowy texture.
Chill the jam. The jam will be easier to work with, and will keep it’s form better when it has been chilled overnight. The jam I used for these cookies was Stonewall Kitchen Sugar Plum Jam. Not an ad, just the plum jam I liked the best! Any plum jam will work though! 🙂
When the cookies are straight out of the oven, scoot a large circular cookie cutter around them to give them a perfect circular shape! Because we’ll be rolling them into balls and shaping before baking, the cookies should be pretty round after baking, but to make them extra perfect use this trick!
If you make these cookies please leave a star review! Also, tag me on Instagram @inbloombakery_ so I can see your creation! Follow me on Pinterest for other dessert ideas!
Other Recipes to Try
Sugar Plum Fairy Cookies
Ingredients
For the Spiced Orange Sugar Cookies
- 2 3/4 cups (344 g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, very softened
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 tsp orange zest
- ~1/4 cup (~70 g) plum jam, cold, (I used Stonewall Kitchen Sugar Plum Jam)
- 1/2 cup pink sparkling sugar
For the Berry Plum Buttercream Frosting
- heaping 1/2 cup (15 g) freeze dried berries , (strawberries, raspberries or blackberries, or combination of all)
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (105 g) plum jam , (I used Stonewall Kitchen Sugar Plum Jam)
- 2 cups (260 g) powdered sugar
- 3-4 tbsp (45-60 ml) heavy cream
- pink sprinkles
Instructions
For the Spiced Orange Sugar Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside.2 3/4 cups (344 g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled , 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground cardamom, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- In a large bowl cream the very softened butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on high speed for 1-2 minutes until very light and fluffy.1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar, 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, very softened
- Add in the egg, vanilla, and orange zest and mix on medium speed until pale in color and very fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.1 egg, at room temperature, 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste, 1 tsp orange zest
- Add in the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed just until combined.
- Scoop the dough with a 2 tbsp cookie scoop. Flatten the dough and place 1/2 tsp of plum jam in the center. Carefully close the jam up, folding in an envelope shape at first. Pinch the dough together and roll into a ball to smooth any pinched edges out. The warmth from your hands will help to mold the dough all back together. (Be careful not to squish the jam out of the cookie.)Roll each cookie dough ball in pink sparkling sugar.~1/4 cup (~70 g) plum jam, cold, 1/2 cup pink sparkling sugar
- Place the cookie dough balls at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Slightly flatten each ball and form into a circle as best as you can, being careful again not to squish the jam out. Bake 6-8 cookies at a time.
- Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, then let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer the baked cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
For the Berry Plum Buttercream Frosting
- Make the frosting while the cookies bake and cool.
- Add the freeze dried berries to a food processor. Pulse until they're ground into a fine powder. Pass the powder through a small sieve to remove any large seeds. You should be left with about 2 tbsp of berry powder.heaping 1/2 cup (15 g) freeze dried berries
- Add the softened butter and salt to a medium bowl. Mix together with an electric mixer until fluffy, 3-4 minutes.1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, softened, 1/8 tsp salt
- Then mix in the plum jam and berry powder.1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (105 g) plum jam
- Add in the powdered sugar and cream. Mix on low speed until combined, then on high speed until very light and fluffy.2 cups (260 g) powdered sugar, 3-4 tbsp (45-60 ml) heavy cream
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fit with a decorative tip. (I used a Wilton 2D tip.)
- Once the cookies are cooled, pipe frosting onto each cookie. Add decorative sprinkles on top and enjoy!pink sprinkles
Do these need to be refrigerated?
Store in an airtight container or Ziploc baggie for about 3 days for best taste. As they sit they somehow become softer. They go from super chewy right after baking to super soft the more days that go by!
Once I flatten these a bit to add the little bit of jam, when I pinch them back up and start rolling it, a hole keeps forming and the jam keeps leaking out no matter what I do, is there some kind of trick to keep this from happening?
I’m sorry this is happening, Alex! If the jam is leaking while pinching, it’s usually too warm or too loose. Chilling the dough before filling could help or maybe lightly flouring your fingers before sealing can help keep it contained. Could any of these possibly work for you?