Rose Swirl Vanilla Bean Cookies Recipe

Yield: Makes about 24 2-inch-round cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 whole egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 vanilla bean pod
1 batch of cream cheese frosting
red food coloring paste

Directions

For the Sugar Cookies:

1. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until combined.

2. Add egg and vanilla bean and mix until the egg is fully incorporated.

3. Sift dry ingredients together and add to the batter a little at a time.

4. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

5. When you are ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll dough, cut out cookies using a round cookie cutter and bake for 6-8 minutes.

6. Let cookies cool overnight before frosting.

For the Cookie Frosting:

1. Make a batch of vanilla cream cheese frosting and color it to desired shade of pink using red food coloring paste. Use a toothpick to add color to the frosting a little at a time. Mix and test. (Note: Color will darken slightly overnight, so use a shade lighter than desired.)

2. Fit a piping bag with a 1M or any large open star tip.

3. Start from the middle and pipe a small amount of frosting into cookie center. Slowly work your way around the cookie center until you reach the outer edge of each cookie to form a rose swirl.

Cookies can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days, until ready to serve.