This post is also available in（こちらの言語版もある）: Japanese
It’s already 2015 in Japan and here in the US we’ll be greeting 2015 in a matter of hours! I can’t believe it! Time flies! I’ve been back in the US to visit since Christmas, and while Christmas is a much bigger event in the US than Japan (it’s a national holiday here for starters) but I don’t really feel that New Years is quite as big of a deal in the US as it is in Japan. For example, I don’t think there is any sort of special food for the New Years here quite like soba is in Japan–people just drink champagne to ring in the New Year. For that reason, I figured now would be an appropriate time to post the pink champagne cookie recipe I made quite some time ago.
Truth be told, the first time I made these cookies it was not New Years–it was for a friend’s house party. I also used pink sparkling wine instead of real pink champagne, but the cookies definitely turned out pretty and fancy enough to serve for a New Year’s celebration. They have the subtle fruity flavor of champagne but with less of the hangover. That said, spending the first day of the New Year hungover is kind of an American tradition for many so that may or may not be a selling point for these cookies.
Speaking of American New Years traditions, New Years kisses. It is apparently traditional for people to kiss when the clock strikes midnight, but I spent a quiet New Years eve at home last year so my New Years kiss came from my parents’ cat. Of course cat kisses are the very best kind of kisses there are so if I were to ring in 2015 with another cat kiss I would consider myself a lucky woman.
Champagne, cookies, and cats–what else could you possibly need on New Years?
- 2½ cups (590 ml) pink champagne or sparkling wine
- 1¼ cup (160 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (65 g) vegetable shortening (the shortening sold with baking supplies in Japanese supermarkets works fine.
- 2 cups (256 g) powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
- Pearl sugar, sprinkles, candy, etc. for decorating
- Pour pink champagne into a saucepan and boil over high heat until it reduces to about ¾ cup (175 ml). Transfer to a measuring cup and put in the fridge to chill.
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together flour and baking powder in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together ½ cup sugar (64 g) and the vegetable shortening until smooth.
- Add ½ cup (120 ml) of the chilled champagne and stir to combine.
- Add flour mixture and stir until soft dough forms.
- Roll dough into 1 inch (2 cm) balls, roll in remaining sugar, and place on prepared baking sheet. Flatten with fingers.
- bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are set. Cool on cookies sheets for a couple of minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- In the mean time, make the icing. Whisk together powdered sugar with the remaining ¼ cup (60 ml) of chilled champagne and a pinch of salt. If the icing is too thin for your liking you can add more powdered sugar; if it's too thick add some additional champagne.
- When cookies are completely cool, dip in icing.
- Decorate to your liking and let the icing set.
Recipe adapted from: http://www.girlversusdough.com/2013/12/30/pink-champagne-cookies/
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