Cookie Carnival: Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

A long time ago, I asked my mom what she thought about Marilyn Monroe, back in the day. I don’t recall what she said exactly, but I do remember her saying that Marilyn was one of those people everyone had an opinion about. Some loved her, some hated her, and some were in between, but everyone had something to say about her.

One of those “everybody has an opinion about her” types from this era is Martha Stewart. Personally, I admire her. Now, I’m not so sure whether I would like her very well, if we met. It’s hard to say. She seems like a fairly serious person. I tend to gravitate more toward the easy-going types, so I don’t know if Martha and I would click.


But I do admire her. I mean, how many people build an empire starting out with a catering business? How many company heads can make a wedding cake? And I liked how she just went to prison and got it over with… heck, she made prison seem like a vacation.

I get a kick out of watching her show. Only because she seems to struggle sometimes between having to chat up the guests and actually trying to accomplish something. I get the feeling she really wants to accomplish the task, but the pesky guests keep getting in the way.


Take the video for this month’s Cookie Carnival recipe, Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies, for example. Her guest is clearly not a cookie-maker and I chuckled watching Martha getting those cookies made, come hell or high water.

My version of the cookies were subtly grapefruit-flavored, and oh so yummy. I rolled them a tad thicker than called for (me not reading instructions properly is emerging as a common theme around here). My cookies had more heft than I imagine they were supposed to. Next time I will try to roll them thinner. I didn’t bake them as long as called for in the recipe, either…I like my cookies soft. And, with sugar-type cookies I prefer to keep them creamy white with no visible browning. I bake them just until they’re set. In this case, around 10-12 minutes. I did bake one batch longer just to see what they were like.



We were supposed to roll them 1/8" thick... um, yea, this is not 1/8" thick, lol.


I cheated and piped my icing on. I knew they would look like poo if I used a spatula.


Thanks so much to Kate of The Clean Plate Club for hosting Cookie Carnival and choosing this delicious little treat. I will be making them again, no doubt.

Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies
(Recipe courtesy Martha Stewart’s website)

You can bake the cookies and make the filling a day ahead.

Ingredients for cookies

Makes 15 sandwich cookies.
* Grated zest of 1 Ruby Red grapefruit, plus 1/4 cup freshly squeezed juice
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
* 3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
* 2 large egg yolks
* Pink Grapefruit Cream Filling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a small bowl, combine zest with 1 tablespoon sugar; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and remaining sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add egg yolks, and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in reserved zest-sugar mixture. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the juice, and beat to combine.

3. Turn out dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, and shape into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out disk to 1/8 inch thick using a lightly floured rolling pin. Using a lightly floured 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds and place about 1 inch apart on prepared sheet. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes. Transfer parchment paper and cookies to rack to cool completely.

5. Using an offset spatula, spread 1 tablespoon filling onto flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping flat sides down. Once filled, cookies can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Ingredients for filling

Makes enough to fill 15 sandwich cookies.

* 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed Ruby Red grapefruit juice
(I added a drop of red food coloring)

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in honey. Add juice, 1tablespoon at a time, until filling holds together and is smooth and creamy, about 2minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, cover, and set aside until ready to use.