Surprise! Beer rollout cookies… A new baking avenue I’ve never been down and am glad to have discovered. I was so excited to experiment with these and share the recipe results with you… they’re tasty, have an extra je ne sais quoi zing and are a perfect base for autumn, holiday or anytime decorated cookies.
The idea to make beer cookies came from a connection with Williams Sonoma – keep an eye out for their partnership with Belgian Moon in your local LCBO/Beer Store! Williams Sonoma also graciously shared these beautiful plates and pumpkin double-wall glass mugs with me, thanks to them for sponsoring this post!
Because Belgian Moon Belgian White Beer is brewed with Valencia orange peel and has a subtle sweetness and citrus aroma, I paired it with orange and almond extracts for this sugar cookie. So delicious, I could hardly stop snacking on them!
So, how does one make beer cut out cookies? The key point is that the beer needs to be boiled down to a syrup first. A simple process really. I’ll share a few notes with you about it below.
To make the syrup, it’s as easy as pouring the beer into a pot and letting it simmer on low until it has evaporated to a thick consistency or syrup. It takes about 15 minutes per beer. Of course the size of the pot you use and whether or not it’s a low simmer will make a difference too. The larger the surface area of the pot, the faster your liquid will evaporate.
You’ll also need to add the syrup quickly to your batter, so I would have everything ready and made up until the point you need the syrup. As soon as it’s ready, add and mix. The warm temperature of the syrup will be fine to add. Letting the syrup cool too long may allow it to thicken too much and be difficult to work with. It really is an easy process though and the kitchen smells amazing during the process!
I used four beers for this recipe. You can add more or less to taste if you like. The key to playing around with the amount of beer will be adjusting the flour. If you add more beer syrup, you’ll likely need to add more flour to make the dough a perfect consistency for rolling out. I’ll share tips in the recipe to help you with that.
Royal Icing
If you’d like to decorate your cookies, you can find my favorite royal icing recipe here. The consistency of icing is key for easy decorating. Click here to see a YouTube video on finding the right icing thickness.
Complete Guide to Royal Icing PDF
You can also find my Complete Guide to Royal Icing Consistency here.
Hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I did!
Please feel free to reach out with questions or comments in the comment section below, or you can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and Twitter.
Happy baking!
xo,
Marian
Almond Orange Beer Cut Out Sugar Cookie
Ingredients
- 2 cups salted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 tsp orange extract
- 4 boiled down Belgian Moon White Beers
- 7 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cream the butter and sugars together in the bowl of an electric mixer on low speed. (Use the paddle attachment). Mix until thoroughly incorporated – for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula and mix again for a few seconds more. Over mixing the butter and sugar in this step will cause too much air to be incorporated into the dough. If you'd like a light and fluffy cookie, that's ideal, however the dough will spread more during baking; not ideal if you'd like the cookie to hold its shape.
- Add eggs slowly and mix. Scrape down the bowl with your spatula at least once and mix again. Add almond and orange extract, mix.
- To make the beer syrup, pour the beer into a pot and let it simmer on low until it has evaporated to a thick consistency. It takes about 15 minutes per beer. As soon as the syrup is ready, add to your batter and mix.
- Add the flour in 2 or 3 stages to the bowl and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, and observe the dough mixing. When it starts to come together and the dough clumps around the paddle attachment and peels away from the sides of the mixer, it should be the right texture. You can also test the dough by pinching it between your thumb and index finger. If it’s soft but not sticky, it’s just right. If it’s too sticky when you pinch it between your fingers, add flour, ¼ cup at a time, and mix until you’re happy with the texture.
- Roll the dough out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper. Place on a baking sheet and into the fridge or freezer for a minimum of 1 hour.
- Cut out cookie shapes. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Re-roll scraps and repeat. If the dough gets too soft to work with, place in the fridge or freezer periodically to firm up again.
- Once all cut out, put cookie dough shapes back into the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes to 1 hour to chill again. They will then hold their shape better when baked.
- Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the edges become golden brown. The baking time will depend on the size of your cookie.
- Let cookies cool to room temperature and decorate if you like! If you’re new to decorating cookies, I have basic cookie decorating tutorials with everything you’ll need to know to begin on my blog. Have fun!
Maria Lennartz says
hi Marian,
I love the look of your new creation of a beer cookie! Interesting recipe. Thank you for sharing all your talents and hints for a successful baking day! You always make it look so simple to do…..
The cup looks very interesting, with the beer in it!
Maria
marian says
Thank you so much Maria!
Carleene J Hyde says
Super fun cookies! I’m ready to bake this recipe but what did you use to create the foam on the beer?