Strawberry Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups + 2 Tbsp cake flour
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup freeze dried strawberries
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup unflavored shortening
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pink gel food coloring, optional
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup freeze dried strawberries
• 3 Tbsp fresh strawberry puree
• 1 tsp fresh lime or lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

1. Give the cake flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt a 30 seconds whisk in a mixing bowl. Put 1 cup freeze dried strawberries in a food processor and pulse them into a fine powder. Pass the strawberry powder through a fine mesh strainer into the flour mixture to catch the seeds and any little pieces, then whisk it all together. Set up your electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment, then beat the butter, shortening, and sugar on medium speed until the mixture is very light and airy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the egg, then add the egg white and vanilla and mix again. Add food coloring if you like; I used 1 toothpick swish dipped into gel. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the dry mixture gradually, and stop once the dough comes together. Move the dough to an airtight container and chill it for 2 hours. During the last 10 minutes of chilling, heat the oven to 375.
2. Scoop out about 3 Tbsp (50 g each) of dough and roll it into a ball. Set the ball on a lightly floured surface, dust the top with a little flour, and press it down evenly with something smooth and flat, such as a storage container lid, until it is about 1/3-inch thick, which should give you about a 2 3/4-inch circle. If you would rather, you can roll the dough and use a round cookie cutter, but if the dough is thinner than 1/3-inch, the baking time may need to come down. Move the flattened dough to a silicone baking mat or a buttered cookie sheet, then continue with the rest of the dough; you will need 2 cookie sheets. Bake in the heated oven for 8 – 9 minutes. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then move them to a wire rack. Once they are completely cool, frost them with Strawberry Frosting.
3. For the Strawberry Frosting: Beat the butter in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until it looks light and fluffy. While that runs, pulse 1/3 cup freeze dried strawberries in the food processor until finely ground. Sift the ground strawberries through a fine mesh strainer over the butter to remove the seeds, then mix until combined. Stir in 3 Tbsp fresh strawberry puree, the lime or lemon juice, and the vanilla extract; it may look separated at this point, and that is fine. Add the powdered sugar slowly, then whip until the frosting is fully combined.