Horchata Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Bean Frosting

 Horchata cookies?! Yeah, you read that correctly.

We're combining one of our favorite summertime drinks with our go-to lofthouse sugar cookie recipe. 

There's nothing like a cold glass of horchata on a hot summer day.

Why wait for summer to get the perfect cup of horchata when you can just make these cookies now?

They're sweet, cinnamony, and topped with the perfect vanilla bean frosting. The combination of these two flavors is out of this world delicious. 

To get these flavors, you'll need:

• Amoretti Horchata Water Soluble Extract
• Amoretti Natural Vanilla Bean Artisan Flavor

In order to achieve the flavor of horchata, it's crucial that you use this extract. The recipe will not taste the same without it. Our Horchata Extract smells and tastes exactly like a cup of horchata. We're talking all aspects here.

Using our Natural Vanilla Bean Artisan Flavor adds an incredible depth of flavor to this recipe. Plus, the addition of the specs in the buttercream adds an element of fun to the look of these cookies.

Ingredients

For the cookies:

• 1 cup salted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp Amoretti® Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract Water Soluble
• 1 tsp Amoretti® Horchata Extract
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

For the frosting:

• 1 cup of butter
• 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp Amoretti® Natural Vanilla Bean Artisan Flavor
• 1 tbsp of milk

Directions

For the cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. With a stand or hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Scrape the sides of your bowl and add in the eggs, vanilla, and Amoretti Horchata Extract. Mix until combined.
4. Scrape the edge of the bowl and add in the flour, & baking powder. Mix on a low-medium speed until thoroughly combined. Do not over mix.
5. Scoop out 1/4 cup of dough and roll into a ball. Repeat.
6. Flatten the cetner of the cookie dough by gently pressing the bottom of a measuring cup or drinking glass. Do this for all cookies.
7. Repeat with remaining dough. The cookies will spread so be sure to place them 2 inches apart. (Two rows of three cookies worked best for us on a normal sized baking sheet)
8. Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until the centers of the cookies have puffed up.
9. Let the cookies completely cool on the pan.

For the frosting: 

1. In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the one cup of butter on high until light and fluffy.
2. Add in half the amount of powdered sugar (1 & 1/2 cups) and mix on a low speed. This will prevent air bubbles.
3. Scrape the side of the bowl.
4. Next, add in the Amoretti Natural Vanilla Bean Artisan Flavor, milk, and remaining powdered sugar. Mix on low until combined.
5. Once incorporated, use a small offset spatula (or pipe the frosting on) and frost the cookies. 
6. Devour.