Spring is all about adding some color to your life. Nature slaps some beautiful flowers in your face, the sky starts looking bluer longer, and people put away their gray tones. For the bakers (and aspiring bakers) of the world, spring is the time to make decorative cakes and cookies. Whether it is to share for a specific holiday, brag about on social media, or just to enjoy, the following recipes are sure to satisfy your spring baking needs.
Spring Thing Cookies
One easy recipe is iced sugar cookies. The great thing about this recipe is that, with the right food coloring, they are ever-appropriate. For starters, you have to make the dough and icing.
To make the dough, start by mixing 2¾ cups of all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Then, beat two sticks of butter and ¾ cups granulated sugar until it is fluffy. Add in one egg and 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract and beat. Next, slowly mix in the flour-salt-baking powder mixture. Roll the dough until it is an eighth-inch thick and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes before cutting.
To make the icing, briskly whisk three egg whites and ½ teaspoon cream of tartar until it is foamy. Then, add 1 pound confectioners’ sugar and beat until glossy peaks form. To make the best spring cookies, use pink and green food coloring on about a quarter of your icing each for flowers, and use the remaining white icing to make little canvases on your cookies.
Lemon Mascarpone Parfaits
This recipe makes the perfect dessert to relax with on a spring evening. To start, break eight ladyfinger cookies into the bottom of shot glasses and drizzle half a pint of melted lemon sorbet over them. Let them absorb the sorbet.
In a bowl, whisk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ cup sweetened condensed milk, one 8-ounce package mascarpone, and 1 cup heavy cream on low to combine. Next, whisk the mixture on medium-high until you create medium-stiff peaks.
In another bowl, whisk 1 cup lemon curd and some lemon zest, folding in the mascarpone mixture incrementally. Once this is ready, spoon a bit into the cups, add in some fresh raspberries, and add some more of the cream mixture. Then, soak the remaining ladyfingers in sorbet and break them into the tops of the cups.
There are no perfect proportions — keep adding the cream mixture, raspberries, and cookies until you are satisfied, then pop them in the fridge. Voila! You have made the perfect spring dessert.
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Conclusion
There are many ways to make the most of life, but baking takes the cake. Make this spring the time in your life when you discover your inner baker!
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