Delicious Root Beer Float Cookies With Buttercream Frosting

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Ingredients:

Cookies

• 1 cup (230 grams) unsalted butter softened
•  2/3 cup (135 grams) granulated sugar plus 3 tablespoons (40 grams) for rolling the cookies
• 2 large egg yolks at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon root beer concentrate
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 and 1/3 cups (290 grams) all-purpose flour spooned & leveled
• 1/2 cup strawberry or apricot jam

Frosting

• 1 stick (115 g) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla powder
• 1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon vanilla paste
•  2-3 tablespoon heavy cream

Cookware:

• Standard mixer
• Bowl
• Spatula
• Cookie scoop
• Baking trays
• Parchment paper

Tips:

• When measuring the flour for these cookies, make sure to spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife.
• After you add the flour the cookie dough will be a little crumbly at first. This is normal! As you continue mixing, the dough will come together.
• Make sure not to overbake the cookies. I find that 12-14 minutes at 350°F (177°C) is the perfect amount of time.
• Cool your cookies COMPLETELY before adding frosting!
• The vanilla powder can be found in specialty baking supply stores. If you have a Mennonite shop nearby, check with them.
• I make my own bourbon vanilla. This process takes a while (at LEAST 4 weeks) but the results are worth it! Purchase a bottle of bourbon and 1 dozen vanilla beans (grade B vanilla beans). Split the vanilla beans lengthwise with a sharp knife. Splitting the beans will open the bean and allow the bourbon to moisten the inside of the beans. You may need to pour off ½ cup of the bourbon to allow room to add the beans. Put the split vanilla beans into the bottle. Top off the bottle with the bourbon until only a small open space of 1″ exists at the top.
  • Securely replace the cap. If the cap cannot be put back on easily, cover the top of the bottle with 2-3 pieces of press-and-seal and close off the top by firmly securing a rubber band over the press-and-seal. Be SURE the bottle is sealed well! Invert the bottle up and down several times to mix the bourbon and vanilla beans. Put the bottle into a dark place like a closet pantry.
  • Every 2-3 days, invert the bottle a few times to remix the bourbon/vanilla bean. Repeat this mixing process regularly. The bourbon vanilla will be ready to use in 4-6 weeks. For the most intense flavor, allow the bourbon vanilla to age for 6 months. Now your homemade bourbon vanilla is ready to use. (Don’t worry about the alcohol. When baking, I understand the high temperature of the oven removes the alcohol…. leaving just the flavor.)

Intrusctions:

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 14 minutes

Servings: 24 – 30 people

Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar for 1-2 minutes or until well combined.

3. With the mixer turned down to a low speed, mix in the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and salt until fully combined.

4. With the mixer continuing at low speed, now slowly mix in the flour ½ cup at a time. The mixture will be a little crumbly at first, but it will come together as you continue mixing it.

5. Using a one-tablespoon cookie scoop or measuring tablespoon, measure out the cookie dough, roll it into balls, and roll each one in granulated sugar (For a crunchier cookie, use a coarse sugar), optional), then place the cookie balls on the prepared baking sheets.

6. Use your thumb (or the handle of a large wooden spoon) to press an indentation into each ball of cookie dough.

7. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 12-14 minutes or until the cookies are set and the bottoms are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter by itself at high speed for 1-2 minutes until very creamy. Scrape down the bowl.

2. Add ½ cup of powdered sugar, vanilla powder, bourbon vanilla, and vanilla paste on slow speed until these ingredients are well incorporated. Advance mixer speed to highest speed and beat for 5 minutes.

3. Turn off the mixer and add the heavy cream and the remainder of the powdered sugar. Mix slowly until cream and powdered are incorporated.

4. Mix on the highest speed for 10 minutes.

5. Transfer frosting into a piping bag, Chill the frosting-filled bag for 15-20 minutes in the refrigerator (this will help the frosting be firmer when filling the depression on top of the cookie.

6. With a star tip in the piping bag, fill the depression on top of the cookie. Now add an additional amount of ¾ -1 inch of frosting on top of the cookie to put some height on the cookie.

7. If the room is warm or humid, place the cookie on a tray to chill in the refrigerator for 10-15 mins to set the frosting.

About This Recipe

Recipes, and especially cookie recipes, are about tradition and love. Here is a cookie I created in preparation for that “someday” when either my daughter or son celebrates their wedding.

I call this cookie a Root Beer Float. A thumbprint cookie made with root beer extract that is rolled in sugar before baking. These cookies have a depression in the center which form a well for the filling. And what makes a root beer float, a float? Delicious, rich vanilla ice cream! Since ice cream would not be practical as a filling, I made a triple vanilla buttercream frosting (vanilla powder, homemade bourbon vanilla, and some vanilla bean paste).

Okay, so the thumbprint cookie and buttercream frosting are the basic elements of the cookie. Yet, in my opening comments, I mentioned something about “tradition.” So what is the link to tradition? Please indulge me for a moment.

When I was a young boy, on very special occasions doing “guy errands” with my dad, we would stop in at the lunch counter of the local discount store. In my small hometown of Washington, PA, this was the lunch counter of the G.C. Murphy store on Main Street.

Dad would order both of us a root beer float. We would enjoy our float as dad told me about some of his “shenanigans” and adventures growing up. My dad lost both parents at a young age (his father died when dad was 5  and his mother was killed when he was 9). The time was the mid-1930s, so money and jobs were in very limited supply. Dad was raised by his aunt that took him in so he would not be turned out on the street or put into an orphanage.

My dad passed away from cancer when I was just 22 years old. Weeks before his death, dad knew his time with us was coming to an end. One evening, dad and I had another father-son chat. However, this specific chat wasn’t about shenanigans. Dad asked me if I thought I would have kids someday after I got married. I told him I hoped that when I met the right woman, we would someday be blessed with a child or two. I told dad I already had the nickname I would call my wife. She would be my “Prom Date For Life,” or PDFL for short. Dad loved the nickname and thought that it would be great if I were to have a child or two.

What happened next during our last chat still breaks my heart when I recall the exchange. Dad spoke softly and said he was sad he would never get to meet my children. We cried a bit. Then Dad asked me to share some of his stories with the children I would someday have. Dad joked that perhaps on a special day I could share a root beer float with my son (or daughter) and fill them in on some of his (and my) shenanigans. We hugged and I assured dad there would be root beer floats at my children’s weddings. Dad said that might not be practical…but to give it a try.

My love and joy of baking came later in my life. As both my daughter and son appear to have found their very own PDFL,  the idea of honoring my dad with a special cookie on my children’s Wedding Cookie Table was born. When my daughter or son get married, there will be root beer floats cookies and stories of a loving father/grandfather.

This story was submitted to Love What Matters  by Dave Jones. Submit your own story  here, and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

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