J - Juniper Butter Cookies

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J is for juniper.  When I think of juniper, I think of gin and my lost Hard Rock Cafe watch.  (In high school, I took off my London Hard Rock watch for safe keeping while working in a teacher's garden one weekend, but it fell out of my pocket in a hillside patch of juniper groundcover and I never found it, though I searched fervently.  Thirty five years later, I am still salty about that.)  Anyway.  I love the crisp, evergreen scent and tang of juniper and its berries.  These cookies have a crisp, butter cookie tin texture, like a cross between a sandie and a tender biscotti.  Eldest kiddo loved them fresh when they were still warm and soft but not so much once they cooled and crisped up, she's never been a crunchy cookie person.  These are great tea or coffee cookies.

Juniper berries provide a subtle evergreen addition to the cookies but can have a bitter note if you use too much, so start with less and try more next time.  My first batch had a full tbsp and good flavor with little hints of bitter, not off-putting but just detectable.  I also made an infused icing glaze but decided these little butter cookies were just perfect with the rolled sugar edges.  Simplicity wins.  Plus, the crunch of the sugar was a lovely textural interest.  The mahlab is optional since it's not a common ingredient.  I added it to mine since it pairs so well with mastica, which is also evergreeny, so I knew they would play well together.  It gives more complex sweet and floral notes to the cookie.

A day later... 


Well, I had originally removed the icing option from the post and now we are adding it back because it turns out that the cookies soften slightly after the icing dries and kiddo loves them again.  So you have a choice: crunchy butter cookies, or soft, iced butter cookies.  Both are wonderful! 

Juniper Butter Cookies
makes 2 dozen cookies 

230g cake flour 
½ tsp baking powder 
¼ tsp sea salt
113g butter
100g sugar 
2 large egg yolks 
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tsp dried juniper berries 
¼ tsp ground mahlab (optional)

coarse sugar for rolling (I used turbinado)

Optional icing:
2-3 tsp juniper berries
3 tbsp milk
1½ cups powdered sugar 

If you want to ice the cookies, grind 2-3 tsp juniper berries into a coarse, coffee-like grind and combine with 3 tbsp milk.  Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave until the milk just starts to bubble.  Stir well, cover and set aside until ready to make the icing.  Chill if not using right away. 

Grind the dried juniper berries for the dough in a spice or coffee grinder until it is a fine powder. Sift out any large pieces if necessary with a fine mesh sieve. 

In a bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, ground juniper, and mahlab if using, until well mixed.  Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix until creamy.

Combine the cake flour and baking powder in a bowl.  Mix into the creamed butter mixture.  The dough will be crumbly and then finally come together into a paste.

Turn out the dough onto a sheet of parchment or plastic wrap and form a log.  Wrap the log tightly and chill for at least an hour or up to a few days.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F.

If desired, roll the chilled dough in coarse sugar to decorate the edges.  Slice the dough into about ¼-in. slices (~6mm).   Place the slices on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges and bottoms of the cookies are barely beginning to turn golden brown.

Allow to cool on the pan for about 10 minutes, the remove to a wire rack.

Finish the icing, if using:  Strain out the berries with a fine mesh sieve.  Combine 1½-2 tbsp of the milk with 1½ cups of powdered sugar to achieve a piping or drizzling consistency that will pour but not be too runny.  Cover tightly and set aside 

When the cookies are completely cooled, ice them if desired.  Let the glaze dry before serving or storing.

Store in an airtight container. 

Dried juniper berries.

Nice, firm dough, but not too dry.

Rolled and ready to chill.

Though you can leave it plain, I do recommend
rolling the edge in sugar for textural interest.
 
Sliced and ready to bake.  These
cookies do not spread much.

Bake just until the edges and bottom 
have acquired a little golden color.

As part of the 2026 Alphabet Challenge, organized by A Day in the Life on the Farm, we are sharing recipes that begin with J or include ingredients or methods that begin with J: 

 

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