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Hibiscus Cookies with Purple Icing

Delightful cookies infused with floral hibiscus flavors, topped with vibrant purple icing, perfect for sharing and creating sweet memories.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 9 minutes
Total Time 39 minutes
Servings: 12 cookies
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American, Baked Goods
Calories: 150
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Cookie Dough
  • 1/3 cup margarine (plant-based) Use a firm margarine for better texture.
  • 1/2 cup sugar (coconut sugar, date sugar, or raw cane sugar can be used)
  • 2 tbsp raw honey (maple syrup can be used)
  • 1 large egg
  • 2.5 tbsp milk (dairy or plant-based)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cups self-raising flour
  • 1 pinch salt (pink Himalayan recommended)
For the Icing and Decoration
  • 1 tbsp hibiscus flowers
  • 2-3 tbsp boiling water To steep hibiscus flowers.
  • to taste purple icing (shop bought or homemade) Can be made using butterfly pea flowers and citrus.
  • 2-3 tbsp icing sugar For making pink icing.
  • 1 cup sugar of choice For making pink sugar.
  • to taste edible flowers of choice (e.g., violas) Ensure they are labeled edible.

Method
 

Preparation
  1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius (fan).
  2. Cream the margarine and sugar together for around 3 minutes.
  3. Add the egg, honey, milk, and vanilla and whisk for another 3 minutes.
  4. In another bowl, mix the flour and salt together.
  5. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, a few tablespoons at a time, until it forms a soft dough.
  6. Gently knead into a ball. If too soft, add more flour; if too dry, add more milk.
  7. Place in the fridge for around 30 minutes.
Baking
  1. Flour your worktop, roll the dough out to about 1/2cm thickness, and cut into desired shapes.
  2. Place cookies on baking paper and bake for 6-9 minutes until light brown but still soft to touch.
Icing
  1. Make hibiscus tea by steeping hibiscus flowers in boiling water until it turns deep red.
  2. Mix a tsp of hibiscus water with sugar to form pink sugar.
  3. Make pink icing by adding hibiscus tea to icing sugar.
  4. Once cookies are baked, allow to cool.
  5. Once cooled, dip each cookie's rim in pink icing sugar then into the pink sugar.
  6. Ice the tops with purple icing and add edible flowers on top.

Notes

For cleaner cut shapes, use chilled dough. If dough is sticky, refrigerate for 10-15 minutes before rolling. For longer storage, freeze undecorated cookies for up to 2 months.