Guava & White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies (Transgender Flag Cookies)
Celebrate this year's pride with these tender and fruity guava shortbread, topped with crunchy blue sugar crystals and white chocolate ganache!
HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! This year I decided to do a trans flag cookie, because… well… *gestures broadly at everything*. If you want to try them, I’ll be giving these cookies out at a pride event later this summer, so keep your eyes peeled on Instagram (@made.by.shade) for updates about that!
Servings: 75 | Prep Time: 2 h | Cook Time: 8 to 10 m | Chill Time: 1 h 20 m
Hand-mixer / Stand-mixer
Small saucepan
Small paintbrush
Heat-safe bowl
Small piping bag
Guava Shortbread:
1 ⅓ cup butter, room temp
⅔ cup sugar
2 tbsp guava juice concentrate
1 tsp guava extract (I used LorAnn)
½ tsp clear vanilla extract
1 to 2 drops pink food dye
3 ¼ cups (450 g) flour
½ tsp salt
Blue Sugar Decoration:
1 tbsp cornstarch
½ cup water, cold, divided
⅓ cup sugar
1 to 2 drops light blue food dye
¼ tsp guava extract
3 ½ oz light blue sanding sugar
White Chocolate Ganache:
2 oz heavy whipping cream
6 oz white chocolate chips
Purple food dye
Guava Shortbread (1 hour + 8 to 10 minutes baking + 50 minutes chilling)
In a large bowl, with a hand-mixer or stand-mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until pale, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the guava juice concentrate, guava extract, clear vanilla extract, and pink food dye. Beat until combined.
Sift in the flour and salt, beating until just combined.
Between two pieces of parchment paper, roll out the dough to a ¼” thick rectangle.
Measure and slightly indent the dough, through the paper, into 3 by 5 cm rectangles. Do not cut all the way through.
Transfer the dough to the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Remove the top layer of parchment paper and cut the chilled dough along the marks. Make sure you drop and lift the knife straight up and down to cut through the dough (don’t drag it), so you get nice sharp edges.
Transfer the cookies onto nonstick baking sheets, spaced at least an inch apart.
Using the handle of a fork or other utensil, create a depressed line in the middle of each cookie. Poke a few holes in the middle of the depressed line with a fork, to allow the cookies to release steam.
Place the sheets of cookies in the freezer to chill for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350° F.
Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms just start to turn golden.
Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Blue Sugar Decoration (40 minutes + 30 minute chill)
In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch into 2 tbsp cold water and set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and 2 tbsp water over low heat, whisking until the sugar is fully dissolved.
Add the remaining ¼ cup water and the cornstarch mixture, stirring until the mixture thickens into a gel.
Remove from heat and transfer to a heat-safe container.
Chill in the fridge until completely cool, about 30 minutes.
Once cool, whisk in the light blue food dye and guava extract. Set the gel aside.
Set a couple wire cooling racks in large baking sheets and set aside.
Pour the light blue sanding sugar into a small bowl and set aside.
Dip a small paint brush into the gel and brush a straight stripe along the top and bottom edges of the cookies.
Dip the gel coated part of the cookies into the blue sanding sugar, to create blue stripes on the top and bottom of each cookie.
Place the cookies on the wire racks and set aside.
White Chocolate Ganache (20 minutes)
In a heat-safe bowl, combine the cream, white chocolate, and a tiny amount of purple food dye (to remove any yellow tint from the chocolate), and microwave 15 to 30 seconds until the cream just starts to simmer.
Stir together until a smooth ganache forms.
Transfer the ganache to a small piping bag and let cool at room temperature until it is no longer thin and runny, but still a pipeable liquid.
Pipe the white chocolate ganache into the depressions in the shortbread cookies. Let settle into a smooth line, then scrape any excess off the sides.
Let cool completely on the wire racks.
Leftovers may be stored covered, at room temperature, up to a week.
Enjoy!
Be sure to check out my Best Practices page for tips on how to make this recipe yourself. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and feel free to tag me on Instagram @made.by.shade if you make it!
-Shade