Girl Scout Cookie Clone: Trefoils
Trefoils are a quiet favorite of the available Girl Scout Cookie Flavors, coming in 5th place year to year in total cookie sales. This slightly salty, buttery shortbread is a great basic cookie and, is likely the base for all the other cookies we know and love. Use my allergy free, vegan Girl Scout Cookie Shortbread Base and a few easily accessible household items for a great little clone of the original. This recipe makes about 44 trefoils (2 boxes worth).
Girl Scout Cookie Clone: Trefoils
Servings 44 |Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 8-12 min
Ingredients
- 1/2c (100g) vegetable shortening
- 1c (200g) extra fine granulated sugar
- 2c (240g Original / 270g Artisan) Better Batter Flour
- 1/4 tsp (1.1g) baking powder
- 1 tsp (5.6g) salt
- 1 tsp (4.2g) vanilla extract
- 1 tsp (4.2g) butter flavoring up to 8 Tbsp (118ml / 118g) water
- 2 inch round cookie cutter
- chopsticks and toothpicks
- parchment paper
Instructions
Preheat and Prepare. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line a 12-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cream the sugar. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine shortening and sugar. Beat until the shortening is fluffy and the sugar starts to dissolve, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla and butter flavorings and beat until thoroughly combined.
Combine Dry Ingredients. In a separate, smaller bowl, combine Better Batter Gluten Free Flour, baking powder, and salt. whisk well to combine.
Create the dough. Add the flour mix to the wet mix in the mixing dough. Turn the speed of the mixer to low and stir until evenly combined. Mixture should be relatively crumbly and sandy, but would hold together when squeezed tightly.
Adjust dough as necessary. If you find the dough will not hold together when pressed, add water just a bit at a time, until the mixture comes together.
Roll out and cut dough. Roll dough to a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Using cookie cutter, cut dough into circles - you should get about 44 of them., weighing about 8-10g per piece.
Form "trefoils". Use your thumbs and forefingers to pinch the dough into a rounded ‘diamond’ shape, about 3/8 inch thick. Using the toothpicks, ‘draw’ the trefoil design on the top of the cookie. Using the blunt end of the chopstick, ‘emboss’ the cookie by pressing down on the thick parts of the design to create ‘faces’ and then use the toothpick to draw the thinner ‘lines that divide the two faces.
Bake. Place finished cookies on prepared cookie sheet(s) and bake in oven for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow to cool on a rack completely before storing in an airtight container.
This recipe was was originally published by Naomi Poe in January of 2015. Original photo by Naomi Poe.
