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Pillow Cookies: college-inspired sweets with perfect glaze surprises.
Back in college, my Tuesday nights were devoted to a quirky ritual with my roommate Lucy: our weekly Pillow Cookie Bake-Off. It started as a whimsical competition during exam season, armed with late-night access to the tiny dorm kitchen. We'd whisk together sugar and butter, though the real secret was always in chilling the dough. I liked chilling mine overnight, letting the flavors marry longer, while Lucy leaned on the chaotic genius of an hour’s nap. Each time, the eggs and vanilla extract were our constant companions, laid out on the cluttered countertop amidst cheerful chaos.
Lucy had this knack for making every failed glaze attempt a topic of hilarious debate. Our petty grumbles over the right thickness and amount to drizzle were legends in our circle. Incorporating egg whites into the glaze was our secret weapon for achieving the perfect consistency. As flour scattered over our faces and counters, the baking sheets became our battlefield, but the scent of baking cookies bridged all disagreements. Wins were marked by golden surfaces and whispered secrets of their making, not by declared victories.
Our mini-contests bonded us more than any scheduled activities. Each batch, with its cloud-like softness and sweetly layered glaze, captured the spirit of those fleeting college nights. Pillow Cookies weren't just a treat—they embodied the laughter and warmth of two friends finding comfort in flour and sugar, life’s necessities during any exam-induced meltdown.
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
For the glaze:
- 1 cup shortening
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 egg whites
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 16 ounces confectioners' sugar
Directions
- In a medium bowl, add the butter and the white sugar and mix with an electric hand mixer until they are well-blended.
- Stir the eggs and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla extract into the butter mixture.
- Stir in the sour cream.
- Sift 2 3/4 cups of the flour, the baking powder, the salt, and the baking soda together, then stir it into the cookie dough.
- Cover the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Drop the cookie dough by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets and bake until they are golden, about 10-12 minutes.
- Place the cookies on wire racks to cool.
- In a medium bowl, add the shortening, the milk, the egg whites, the remaining flour, the remaining vanilla extract, and the confectioners' sugar and mix with an electric hand mixer on high speed until a glaze forms.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies.
- Serve.
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