These “watermelon” cookies are a delight and are guaranteed to bring a smile to everyone’s face. They are perfect to serve on a picnic or for dessert on a warm summer evening.
Prep Time: 1.5 hour for assembly and resting
Cook Time: 8-12 minutes
Yield: Makes about 24 half “watermelon” cookies or 12 full circle cookies.
Ingredients
- 452 g / 2 cups of Mirage margarine, room temperature
- 120 g / 1 cup of icing sugar, sifted
- 10 ml / 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 g / 2 tsp of salt
- Green and pink gel food colouring
- 500 g / 4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 10 g / 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 g / 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 71 g / 1/2 cup dried black currants or mini chocolate chips
Directions
- Pre-heat the oven to 325°F (160°C).
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the Mirage margarine on high speed for 3 minutes, until smooth and fluffy, scraping down the sides several times with a rubber spatula.
- Add in the icing sugar, vanilla, and salt. Mix on medium speed for 6 minutes, also scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Divide the Mirage margarine and sugar mixture from the step above into three bowls:
- 1 1/2 cup (286 g)
- 2/3 cup (143 g)
- 2/3 cup (143 g)
- In the 1 1/2 cup bowl, add pink food colour, and in one of the 2/3 cup bowls, add green food colour.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Divide this by three bowls:
- 2 cups + 1 tsp (250 g)
- 1 cup + 1/2 tsp (126 g)
- 1 cup + 1/2 tsp (126 g)
- To form three separate doughs (white, pink, and green) combine:
- Pink mixture with 2 cups (250 g) flour mixture
- Green mixture with 1 cup + 1/2 tsp (126 g) flour mixture
- White mixture with 1 cup + 1/2 tsp (126 g) flour mixture
- Wrap the three doughs in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. This will allow the dough to properly hydrate the flour and make it easier to roll.
- Roll the pink dough into a 12-inch (30 cm) log, wrap, and refrigerate for approximately 15 minutes. Using a rolling pin, roll out the white dough into a 12-inch x 6-inch (30 cm x 15 cm) rectangle. Cover the pink dough log with this, except the edges. Refrigerate for 15 minutes more to rest.
- Roll the green dough into the same size as the white mixture and cover the white dough, leaving the edges as the last step. Refrigerate an additional 15 minutes.
- When ready to bake, slice vertically about 1/4-inch (or 1 cm) thick and place on a parchment lined baking sheet with approximately 1-inch (2.5 cm) of space between the cookies and place black currant as you desire. For the perfect “halved” effect, delicately cut the rounds in half JUST as they exit the oven while the dough is still malleable. If you cut them before they go into the oven, they will not have a clean edge.
- Place in the oven and bake for 8-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden. Rotate the tray after 6 minutes of baking.
Chef Notes
- These cookie would be lovely with hot tea or cold iced tea.
