Watermelon Cookies

My baking board on Pinterest has 870 pins. The expression “down the rabbit hole” doesn’t even begin to come close, especially when I scroll through it and can see the progression of recipes from one starting point (like “summer cookie ideas”) to an entirely different place altogether. My board looks a bit like this:

Summer cookie ideas…summer sugar cookies…watermelon cookies…watermelon cake…watermelon cupcakes…Fourth of July desserts…red, white, and blue trifle…trifles…lemon raspberry trifle…lemon raspberry cake…raspberry donuts…and so on, and so on, for 870 pins.

These adorable watermelon cookies appeared in my Pinterest feed a few days ago, and I just had to try them. The original recipe can be found at Taste of Home, and I tweaked it just slightly to add more almond extract into my dough and to chill the dough for less time. The end result is a cheerful, summery treat with a very subtle almond flavor; next time, I might add more almond extract to kick the flavor up a bit.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• Red and green gel food coloring
• Miniature semisweet chocolate chips, if desired

Preparation

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and almond extract and beat until well-combined, scraping the sides of your bowl frequently.

Add flour in three batches, mixing well after each until a soft dough forms.

Scoop out 1 cup of dough and set aside; tint remaining dough red. Roll into a 3 1/2 inch long log. Note: I rolled my dough into a much longer log and didn’t have quite enough green dough to cover it, so be sure you keep your red log on the smaller side.

Take 1/3 of your reserved dough and tint it green.

Wrap each portion of dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.

Roll plain dough into an 8 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch rectangle. Wrap around the red log, pressing gently to adhere; I also rolled my log a few times to get the plain dough to stick better.

Roll green dough into a 10 by 3 1/2 inch rectangle, then wrap around your red/plain log, pressing gently to adhere. Again, I also rolled my log a few times to get the green dough to stick better.

Chill for about 1 hour; you can also chill overnight if you prefer.

Slice your log into 1/4 inch slices, turning slightly as you go for even circles. Per the original recipe, you can leave your circle intact for baking; I cut mine in half before I baked them.

Gently press miniature chocolate chips into each cookie for seeds; if you prefer, you can leave your slices seedless, but I think the chocolate chips add a nice whimsical touch.

Bake for 9-11 minutes; remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 1-2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.