Okay, so I’ve been seeing these super pretty diamond cookies all over my Instagram feed, and I finally decided to give them a shot. I mean, who doesn’t want to eat diamonds, even if they’re just cookies?
Getting Started
First things first, I needed a good recipe. I found a bunch online, but I ended up going with one that seemed pretty straightforward – a basic sugar cookie dough, but with the addition of some almond extract. Sounded yummy, so I gathered my ingredients:
- Flour
- Butter (lots of it!)
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract (the secret weapon!)
- Baking powder
- Salt
Mixing It Up
I creamed together the butter and sugar until it was all light and fluffy. This took a while, and my arm definitely got a workout! Then, I beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and almond extracts. In a separate bowl, I whisked together the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually, I added the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. It’s important not to overmix, or the cookies will be tough.
Chilling Out
The dough was pretty soft at this point, so I divided it in half, flattened each half into a disc, wrapped them in plastic wrap, and chucked them in the fridge. The recipe said to chill for at least an hour, but I ended up leaving it in there for like, three hours, because I got distracted watching cat videos. Oops!
Rolling and Cutting
Once the dough was nice and firm, I took one disc out of the fridge and rolled it out on a lightly floured surface. I was aiming for about 1/4 inch thickness. Then came the fun part – cutting out the diamond shapes! I found a diamond-shaped cookie cutter online, and it worked perfectly. I carefully placed the cut-out cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
The Sparkle Factor
Now, for the magic touch! Before baking, I brushed the tops of the cookies with a little bit of water and then sprinkled them generously with sanding sugar. This is what gives them that gorgeous, sparkly diamond effect.
Baking Time
I popped the cookies into a preheated oven at 375°F (190°C) for about 8-10 minutes, until the edges were just starting to turn golden brown. You gotta keep a close eye on them, because they can burn quickly!
Cooling and Enjoying
Once they were out of the oven, I let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. And that’s it! Beautiful, sparkly, and delicious diamond cookies. They were almost too pretty to eat… almost!
They did not come out perfectly as I imagine, a bit of burning on edges. But, they tasted great and I had a blast.
