Belgian Wit Beer Cookies

A couple months ago, Nick brewed a Belgian Witbier. It was our first all-grain batch, and you may remember I made dog treats for Kaiser out of the spent grains. The beer has orange peel and coriander in it, so it’s a bit reminiscent of a Blue Moon (one of my favorite mainstream beers, by the way). The recipe for the beer came from my brewer friend Aimee. Since she knew we’d made the Belgian Wit, when she saw a recipe for Belgian Wit cookies, she passed it right along.

I’ve made my fair share of recipes including beer before, but this is the first time I’ve ever tried making something sweet. Beer in dessert? Baking with beer? It sounded a bit odd, but the results sounded pretty yummy so I gave it a go.

I made a half batch because I only had enough ingredients for half, but I’ve posted the full recipe. You’ll want to make a full batch.

(from We Are Not Martha)

For Cookies:

2 12 oz. bottles Belgian Wit or wheat beer (Blue Moon, Hoegaarden)
5 tbsp honey
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 orange
2 tsp ground coriander
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

For Icing:

1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp milk
zest of 1/2 orange

In a medium saucepan, combine beer and honey.

Reduce over medium heat until you have about 1/3 cup of liquid. Let this reduction cool to room temperature.

While it’s cooling, preheat over to 350 degrees and cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and blend thoroughly. Then add the vanilla, orange zest, coriander, and beer reduction and blend again.

Mix the flour and baking soda together then slowly add to the batter.

Scoop mounds of cookie dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. The recipe told me 12 cookies would fit on a sheet, but I’d recommend less.

Bake at 350 degrees for 16 – 20 minutes. Now you see why I’d recommend less than 12 per sheet!

No worries though, they came apart easily. Cool on a cooling rack while you prepare the frosting.

Combine vanilla, milk and orange juice in a small bowl. In another bowl, place powdered sugar. Slowly add the milk mixture to the sugar, drop by drop, until you reach a paste-like consistency. Spread the icing on the cookies with a butter knife and garnish with a bit of orange zest. (We’ll pretend there isn’t already a cookie missing in this picture…)

These cookies reminded me a lot of my all time favorites– those supermarket cake cookies with a thick layer of brightly colored frosting and sprinkles. You know what I’m talking about, right? Love those things.

Anyways, these were cakey like that and the icing was awesome on top. The dominant flavor was the orange, though you do get a hint of hops! If Oklahoma wasn’t 108 degrees right now, these would have been SO good with a cup of tea! If you’re looking for something different than the average chocolate chip, definitely make these cookies!