Cookie Carnival: Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

Whoa... 3 posts in 4 days? Am I some kind of maniac? For the most part... I'd say no, but I blame it on September almost being done. I feel like a police officer handing out tickets today (for my non-American friends, cops are more prone to hand out tickets at the end of the month to meet their quota... careful driving)

I'll try to keep this post short then, so you can go back to reading posts about crackers and dip :) Today is a cool day, because it marks my inaugural post for the Cookie Carnival... a really cool group of bloggers that do a monthly cookie recipe. I'd like to thank wonderful Kate for having such a cool event, and once again pushing me towards recipes I wouldn't normally do :)

This month is Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies, and is a recipe from Martha Stewart. Say what you want about her, but I've made a couple of her things in the past, and she usually doesn't do me wrong. With Fall upon us, I like the idea of having one last, summer time hurrah... baking wise :)

You can check out the recipe HERE, or because I'm in an awesome mood (check out the Twitter for why, weight lifting and JETS win related) I'll just do a copy and paste for you guys.

Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

Makes 15 sandwich cookies.

* Grated zest of 1 Ruby Red grapefruit, plus 1/4 cup freshly squeezed juice
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
* 3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
* 2 large egg yolks
* Pink Grapefruit Cream Filling
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a small bowl, combine zest with 1 tablespoon sugar; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and remaining sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add egg yolks, and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in reserved zest-sugar mixture. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the juice, and beat to combine.

3. Turn out dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, and shape into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out disk to 1/8 inch thick using a lightly floured rolling pin. Using a lightly floured 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds and place about 1 inch apart on prepared sheet. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes. Transfer parchment paper and cookies to rack to cool completely.
5. Using an offset spatula, spread 1 tablespoon filling onto flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping flat sides down. Once filled, cookies can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Ingredients for filling

Makes enough to fill 15 sandwich cookies.

* 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed Ruby Red grapefruit juice
Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in honey. Add juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until filling holds together and is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, cover, and set aside until ready to use.

I really dug these cookies, and my dad would absolutely love them. They were sugar cookies, but with a real citrus, grapefruit punch. It reminded me of these lemon creme sandwich cookies (I loved them) I would INHALE back when I was a Thundercats watching kid... which was probably ages 5 and then again at 16 :)

Thanks for all your support on my recent barrage of posts, you guys are great. And try to join up at the cookie carnival. I recently learned I'm the only male in the group... and I wouldn't mind be surrouded by more good looking ladies with great senses of humor :)

Oh and I got a request for more Polish recipes. I'll definately try to do that. For those of you that may be new here, you could always check out Polish family favorites, including Polish Crepes (nalesniki), and Plum Pierogi. Any ideas on how to make a recipe list? I have to look into that.

Comments

Pam said…
The cookies look delicious...I've never heard of grapefruit cookies before. Nicely done Adam.
Maria said…
I love grapefruit! Nice looking cookies!
Meg said…
I have never thought to put grapefruit in a cookie, but this is awesome.
Daziano said…
I love grapefruit!

At first I thought the filling was ice cream though ;)
This sounds yummy Adam. Are you a maniac? YES! Just kidding :) I'll have to try these cookies. I've made some with orange, but never thought of grapefruit. Good choice.
Shreya said…
Hi Adam, great cookies, wonderful entry for the carnival. And no, you are not a maniac; if more posts can make a maniac out of you, I am sure all bloggers would love to it that way! :D Oh, and the policemen tend to do the same things here in India too, end of the month tickets to meet their quota. Is it a global trend?!
Clumbsy Cookie said…
Aren't you gonna be spoiled rotten by all the baking cookies gals?! And aren't you gonna love it? Maybe it's because guys usually don't have the patience to do cookies. I'm glad you do, and the sandwich kind, that's an extra bonus! And you know ,cops are the same all over the world...
LizNoVeggieGirl said…
You're a blogging machine, Adam!! :0)

Oooh, fascinating cookie variety!!
Carla said…
Grapefruit cookies? I love lemon and lime, but I would never have considered grapefruit. Now I'll have to try these. I've been meaning to join Cookie Carnival for awhile now. Guess now is a good time to start!

And I love pierogies! They are huge deal here in Pittsburgh. We are so crazy, we even have people dress up in pierogie costumes and race around the field during a Pirates game. Seriously, just google it.
Unknown said…
ooh, those look good...
CECIL said…
Just so perfectly cute!! I can't help but cracking up about the hand out tickets!! Few weeks after we moved up here, Toronto, there was an article on paper stating that there is no such thing here. *Rolling Eyes!!*
I love cookies & never heard of that group. You did such a good job!
giz said…
Great job on the cookies - unfortunately grapefruit is one of those things that doesn't work for me - has this killer affect.
Emily said…
Mmm, looks good!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have about 50 crackers and dip blog posts I have to read.
Dee said…
It's peak season for tickets in Malaysia - we refer to it as our contribution to their holiday fund. Nuff said.

I'm nicking the Grapefruit filling for my stash of frozen eclairs. You don't mind, do you?

Thanks for the kind words on my blog, Adam :)
Chibog in Chief said…
i never imagined its possible to make cookies out of grapefruit! your photos look so good i was tempted to bite them :-)hehehe

and hey you did your lavash :-) give me time to savor them huh...

ps, i just realised you like three stooges movie and lethal weapon hahaha...i like them too!! i can watch them all over and over again
Steph said…
Cookie carnival sounds like fun Adam! I've never had those lemon creme cookies, but I can certainly relate with oreos and fudgee-os.
Natalie Que said…
Whoa cowboy, yeah, you've really gone crazy! But you know we love it. Okay, I'd join the cookie carnival any day, but I think my hips don't think that would be doing them a favour now would it? I'm not sure that was proper English but it is late and I'm not retyping it.

These cookies sound intriguing. I have heard of lemony stuff, but grapefruit, seriously? I might just have to...
Anonymous said…
I think grapefruit is such an under rated flavour - way to go for bringing it to the forefront!
Wow, Adam you are totally rocking the baking-food-blog world here.
I am totally impressed. These cookies look amazing buddy.
And of course, you know I have to laugh when I read that you are surrounded by good looking women....uh huh. I'm certain you love that part.
Love these cookies Adam, they so rock dude.
Ummm did you write that correctly? "305 x 10"? Holy batwings Batman! Whoa!!!
Insane dude, Insane!!
:::you can definitely sing "can't touch this"::::
Definitely a good workout Adam.
NOw that's something I haven't ever seen before- grapefruit cookies. You do have a knack for seeking the unusual.
Sue said…
Those ARE different and so pretty. You're right, Martha is very dependable.
Nice cookies! I have an award for you on my blog.
Astra Libris said…
Your cookies are absolutely amazingly gorgeous!! I love the idea of a grapefruit cookie! Mmmm, you have me dreaming of a glorious land of grapefruit cream now... :-)
Laura Paterson said…
I was about to say, citrus cookies, how unusual... then I thought about lemon... or orange... Doh!

Anyway, never seen grapefruit cookies before - these look wonderful, the texture in the close up is fab!
Unknown said…
Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies... hmmm... different, but sounds very promising... thanks for sharing, Adam... :)
Maggie said…
Martha definitely has her moments. These look great and I love the touch of honey in the creme! Thundercats HOooooooooooooooo!
Lore said…
Ruby ruby ruby (in a singing tone :D ). I adore pink grapefruit and I feel the same about the citrus punch! They'll be the next one on my list as soon as my newly grown sweet tooth kicks in.
About using the zest I've been meaning to ask you if you have organic citrus in the States. If so you are one lucky nation... it's been ages since I used citrus rinds in my baking because all citrus here seems to be chemically treated...it's like they have wax on that doesn't wash away :(
Gloria Baker said…
Adan, love these cookies, really look soo yummy! xGloria
I don't dig on grapefruit at all, but I might try these...

We should totally investigate this "homemade oatmeal cream pie" idea..........
Anonymous said…
I know exactly what you mean by those quotas. It doesn't help that I'm Asian.
Ever heard of the violation "driving while oriental?"
anudivya said…
Wow! I love those grapefruit cookies... they look soooo good!
First time here.
Talk about doing handful of posts in a handful of days! Been there, done that.
Ann said…
OMG, it has frosting in the middle. I just fainted a little....
Carrie said…
Welcome to the group!
April said…
The cookies look great! Glad you liked then, and welcomce to the cookie carnival!
Mari said…
If you love lemon cream cookies, I seriously suggest that you make a lemon version of these cookies. I like the lemon version even better then grapefruit version!
Anonymous said…
Your cookies look so soft! Totally opposite of mine. I love that you can see the bits of zest in your cookies.
lilmizlynn said…
Your cookies looked great and welcome to cookie carnival... YAY!! :)
Stacey said…
Your cookies turned out great!
Anonymous said…
This is great! Just the sound of it... "Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookie". Damn! That's a seller!
Anonymous said…
So far you're the only one I've seen who really like the recipe! Your cookies look delicious.
Jin Hooi said…
Your cookies look so good !!! Mine turned out to be a bit too hard to my liking.
Pamela said…
Had to stop by and check out the cookies from the only guy in Cookie Carnival. They look great. Nice job.
OMG..I just saw these... wow. I'm impressed. Martha used to be on my Top 10 People To Meet List, but she's fallen off in the past year. I'm still debating on whether or not it's cool that she went to jail and she's going about acting like nothing happened. Idk...