These cute kitties were created as a special request by someone who grew up playing with Webkinz. Do you remember the Strawberry Cloud Leopard? It was a cute pink Webkinz plushie. The cookies are made of tender, buttery shortbread dough. They get their natural color and flavor from freeze dried strawberries. Mini chocolate chips are added to make the adorable leopard spots. I originally made this cookie dough into hearts for Valentine’s Day but it’s perfect for the Strawberry Cloud Leopards!
To watch the Strawberry Cloud Leopard Shortbread Cookies Instagram video, click here.
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4-inch tall cookies
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Ingredients
- 2 cups (9 ounces) all purpose flour, sifted
- 1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup (3/8 ounce) freeze dried strawberries not dried
- 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (2 ounces) mini semi sweet chocolate chips
- decor vanilla buttercream, finely shredded unsweetened coconut, heart candy sprinkles, melted chocolate optional
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Pulverize freeze dried strawberries to a powder with a small food processor or a clean spice grinder. Pass through a sieve to strain out seeds.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, powdered sugar and salt together.
- In a large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add freeze dried strawberry powder and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined.
- Add flour mixture and beat just until dough comes together. Fold in mini chocolate chips.
- Divide dough into two portions and form into disks. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
- Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Alternately, you can roll dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Cut cookies into desired shapes. I used a 4-inch cat cookie cutter.**
- Place cookies about 2-inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. To prevent excessive spreading, refrigerate cut cookies for 30 minutes prior to baking, especially if your dough becomes warm as you work with it.
- Preheat oven to 325ºF. Bake until cookies are slightly puffed and edges barely start to turn light golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. (Smaller cookies will need a shorter baking time.) Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.
Recipe Notes
To find a cat cookie cutter, click here.