Sugar Plum Fairy Cookies

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

Ingredients

For the Spiced Orange Sugar Cookies

For the Berry Plum Buttercream Frosting

Instructions

For the Spiced Orange Sugar Cookies

For the Berry Plum Buttercream Frosting