Buttercream Cookies

I hate wasting food. I often have a problem with buttercream. I am terrible at judging how much I will need to frost a cake or cupcakes, and usually I overestimate. A lot. Now there are a few things you can do with leftover buttercream. You can always whip up more cake, or cupcakes, or cookies and frost them, but that's a lot of sweets around. You can freeze the buttercream, either in that form or frosted onto a cake. But if you'd rather not, or are using buttercream that has already been frozen, there are a few other solutions, besides just eating it by the spoonful (though it is good!). If you happen to have some leftover cake as well, try making Cake Truffles (see October 29th, 2012). If not, try making Buttercream Cookies. That's right, I did some searching and found that buttercream can be used in cookies. It is just like skipping the first few steps of creaming the butter, sugar, and vanilla together, because that is essentially what buttercream is! These cookies are quick, easy, tasty, and a good way to avoid food waste.

Buttercream Cookies
1 cup (approximately) buttercream, at room temperature
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose (plain) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, rewhip the buttercream. Mix in the cocoa, adding the egg when it gets to dry to stir. Mix in the flour and baking soda, using your hands if necessary. Depending on the amount and consistency of your icing, you may need to add more flour or maybe even another egg. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Roll dough into one inch balls or drop by a spoon onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake for ten minutes. Let stand on cookie sheets at least five minutes before transferring.

Variations 

• The cocoa is optional. But using cocoa does allow you to disguise the icing color. Otherwise, you can just add extra flour and make vanilla cookies, and depending on what color icing you use, they could be really pretty!
• Use any type of leftover buttercream you have on hand. Chocolate would be especially good. You can leave out the cocoa in these or keep it to make them extra chocolaty and counter some of the sweetness. Try mocha, peanut butter, Nutella, whatever.
• Instead of chocolate chips, add nuts, coconut, raisins, candies, or a combination.
• I have not tried other icings, but cream cheese frosting, whipped frosting, and others may work as well.

These cookies are flatter and softer than most cookies, and the texture is a bit different, but certainly good! The cookies are sweet and delicious. I can taste a hint of buttercream, but maybe that's because I know it is in there. I used 1/2 cup chocolate chips, which may have been a bit too much, but it really makes the cookies chocolaty and delicious! My leftover buttercream was blue and green, but if you mix it in enough, you can't even tell.