Leap Year Cocktail Cookies
Cheers to the Leap Year with these delightfully boozy cookies, made with spiked orange marmalade, sandwiched between orange anise shortbread, and topped with gin icing and a candied lemon peel twist.
Happy Leap Year! My posting schedule just so happened to line up with this unique day, so I decided to see if there were any Leap Year recipes for inspiration. Which is how I found out about the Leap Year cocktail: a mixture of gin, sweet vermouth, orange liqueur, and lemon juice, with a lemon peel twist. Naturally, I thought to myself, how do I embody this cocktail in a cookie? aaand here we are! I will say, I’m not a big fan of gin, but I couldn’t stop eating these. The boozy icing will definitely be making a comeback in a future recipe.
Servings: 10 to 12 | Prep Time: 3 h | Cook Time: 9 to 12 m | Chill Time: 2 h
Food processor
Hand-mixer / Stand-mixer
Peeler / Paring knife
Saucepans
Drying racks
Martini glass cookie cutter (LINK)
Triangle cookie cutter
Fine mesh sieve
Piping bags
Leap Year Shortbread:
1 ⅔ cups flour
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¾ tsp anise seeds
Zest of 1 orange
¾ cup sugar
½ cup butter, room temp
1 egg
1 tsp orange liqueur (I used Grand Marnier)
1 tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp juniper extract (or gin)
Candied Lemon Twists:
1 large lemon
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Boozy Jam Filling:
½ cup orange marmalade
2 tsp gin
½ tsp sweet vermouth (or sherry)
½ tsp lemon juice
Cocktail Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tsp heavy whipping cream
1 tsp gin
¼ tsp orange liqueur
¼ tsp sweet vermouth (or sherry)
¼ tsp lemon extract
2 tsp corn syrup
Black food dye
Leap Year Shortbread (25 minutes + 2 hours chilling)
In a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, anise seeds, and orange zest. Pulse until fine and set aside.
In a large bowl, with a hand-mixer or stand-mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.
While mixing, gradually add the egg, orange liqueur, lemon juice, and juniper extract.
Add the flour mixture and mix until well combined.
Divide in half and flatten into two rectangles. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until firm, about 2 hours. Meanwhile, make the candied lemon twists.
Candied Lemon Twists (50 minutes)
With a vegetable peeler or paring knife, peel the rind off a lemon in large strips, trying to get as little white pith as possible.
Cut the rind into long, thin strips and transfer to a medium saucepan.
Cover with water and bring to a boil, letting the peels boil for 5 minutes.
Drain the peels, rinse in cold water, then return to the pan and repeat this blanching process two more times.
Drain and transfer the peels to a bowl and set aside.
Add the water and sugar to the saucepan, stirring over medium heat until the sugar is fully dissolved.
Add the peels and bring to a boil, before lowering the temperature to a simmer.
Let simmer for 25 minutes, or until peels are soft and translucent around the edges.
Meanwhile, place a drying rack over a foil-lined baking sheet and set aside.
Drain the peels and place on the drying rack to let cool completely.
Leap Year Shortbread Cont’d (1 hour + 9 to 12 minutes baking)
Place half the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to ¼” thickness.
Cut the cookies out with a martini glass cookie cutter, cut out the middle triangle portion of the drink, and carefully transfer to a large parchment lined baking sheet.
Transfer sheet to the freezer for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Meanwhile, roll and cut the rest of the dough with the martini cookie cutter, leaving the middle intact.
Carefully transfer to a large parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for 10 minutes.
Bake the whole cookies for 5 to 7 minutes and the cookies with the cut out centers for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the bottom edges just turn golden brown.
Allow cookies to cool completely.
Boozy Jam Filling (15 minutes)
Press the orange marmalade through a fine mesh sieve to remove any large pieces and discard the pieces.
Whisk in the gin, vermouth, and lemon juice until well combined.
Spread the jam onto the whole cookies and top with the cut out cookies.
Cocktail Icing (30 minutes)
In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, cream, alcohol, and lemon extract, until fully combined.
Whisk in the corn syrup until smooth and glossy.
Put 2 tbsp of icing into a separate bowl and dye it with black food dye. Transfer to a small piping bag and set aside.
Transfer the white royal icing into a piping bag.
Line the outside and inner edges of the tops of the cookies with the white royal icing. Let the cookies sit for a few minutes until the icing hardens.
Transfer the white icing back into a bowl and whisk in a splash or two of cream so it flows more easily.
Transfer the icing back into the piping bag and fill in the tops of the cookies with this icing. Let the cookies sit for a few minutes, or until the white icing has firmed up.
Decorate the cookies with black lines outlining the martini glass shape.
Place a candied lemon twist into the jam center of each cookie and serve.
Leftovers may be stored, covered, at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.
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