Rhubarb Cookies

If there is any vegetable that is a harbinger of spring, it is rhubarb. It is tart and around here, I only see it in the stores for a short time. Some people love it, and others don’t, and I have started enjoying it more and more. I read a lot of British cooking magazines, and rhubarb is very popular in those publications. You do most often find it paired with strawberries, as their sweetness balances the tartness of rhubarb. I do like that pairing, but I do think that rhubarb can stand on its own.

This recipe uses only rhubarb, but you roast the rhubarb with sugar, which does mellow it considerably. You may think that it takes too much time, but it is what makes these cookies. My house smelled fantastic while the rhubarb was roasting, but then you do need to wait for it too cool before making the cookies. Depending on how thick you cut the rhubarb, the roasted rhubarb will be more or less chunky. I mashed mine a bit, as I didn’t want large pieces of rhubarb in these cookies.

Once you have roasted the rhubarb, the cookies come together quickly. These cookies have the benefit of using vegetable shortening rather than butter. These are dairy-free, as long as you don’t add milk to the icing. I baked the first batch a touch too long, so I reduced the time. They don’t change much while baking, so you may want to flatten the cookies slightly. The icing was super thick, which was why I ended up adding some milk to thin it. Any sort of non-dairy milk would also work. These cookies are lovely- soft, with just a bit of sweetness. I love the icing especially; it sets off the entire cookie!

Rhubarb Cookies
1 pound rhubarb
½ cup sugar

3/4 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup roasted rhubarb
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon rhubarb juice
Additional milk

Make the roasted rhubarb: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the rhubarb and place it into a 9”x 13” pan. Add ½ cup sugar and stir to combine. Cover the pan with foil and roast for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and mash the rhubarb slightly. Allow to cool. Separate the roasted rhubarb and the rhubarb juice, retaining both.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, mix the shortening and sugar on medium until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and stir to combine. Add the roasted rhubarb and still on low to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir on low until the dough comes together.

Scoop the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the cookies slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the bottoms of the cookies are golden. Cool completely before icing.

Make the icing: in a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar and rhubarb juice. Add milk as needed, until the icing is the proper drizzling consistency. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.

Recipe from Tikkido.com