Celebrate the magic of spring with these crispy and buttery Cherry Blossom Cookies. Topped with edible salt-pickled sakura buds, these cookies are infused with the heavenly fragrance and flavor of Japanese cherry blossoms.
Spring in Japan is so beautiful and magical. All the hills and parks are covered with pink and white cherry blossom trees, and many of them adorn city streets as well.
To celebrate the beauty of cherry blossoms, I shared my Cherry Blossom Milk Pudding recipe last week, and this week I want to share Cherry Blossom Cookies with you.
Cherry Blossom Cookies with Salt Pickled Sakura
Many of you probably didn’t know that cherry blossoms (sakura in Japanese) are actually edible. In Japan, we preserve them with salt so they can be used in various dishes. However, it’s not as simple as just sprinkling salt over the blossoms. The whole preserving process takes place over several weeks.
Tender young buds are hand-picked, washed, and dried. They are then soaked in ume plum vinegar for several days before being dried completely. Finally, they are packed in jars or packages with salt.
These salt-pickled cherry blossoms are available from this Japanese online store that ships internationally (this company also sells them on Amazon), or another brand on Amazon. You might be able to find it at Japanese grocery stores when in season. You can also purchase it from Weee!
Buttery, Slightly Salty, Cherry Blossom Cookies
These cherry blossom cookies are butter cookies, or you may know them as shortbread cookies or sable cookies. They are unleavened cookies, which means that leavening agents such as baking powder or baking soda are not used in the recipe.
They consist of just butter, sugar, and flour and are often flavored with vanilla. We use salt-pickled cherry blossoms in this recipe, so it adds just enough saltiness essence to the rich, buttery cookies. You can smell and taste the cherry blossoms, which is the highlight of these cookies.
The texture of the cookies is “crisp” rather than chewy or soft cookies. It is commonly necessary to chill the dough for easy handling. The chilled dough will give clean, sharp edges to the cookies and holds its shape better in the oven.
Usually, for this type of cookie, you roll the dough into a cylindrical shape, chill, and then slice it into rounds (or roll out the dough, chill, and cut it out).
Ingredients Substitution
Powder Sugar vs. Granulated Sugar
I’ve made butter cookies with both sugars and they both work, so you can experiment and decide. I used powdered sugar for this recipe because I read some articles that granulated sugar in butter cookies would not dissolve completely while being baked. Given that butter cookies don’t contain liquid, the cookies would wind up with a rough texture.
Cake Flour vs. All Purpose Flour
Again, you can make butter cookies with flour. Butter cookies are meant to be somewhat crumbly because they have a high butter (fat) content. If you use all-purpose flour, they will be a little more sturdy than the ones made with cake flour (a mix of both would be best). Cake flour gives a light texture, and I think it fits better with this cherry blossom recipe. So I opted for cake flour for this recipe. In Japanese, we say this texture saku saku (サクサク).
Sparkling Sugar
White sparkling sugar can be replaced with granulated sugar. Sparkling sugar has larger grain so that it won’t melt and disappear while being baked. It adds a particular look as well as a nice crunch when you bite into it.
Recipes Using Salt-Pickled Cherry Blossoms
Use salt-pickled cherry blossoms this spring to make these delicious and pretty recipes! Happy spring!
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Cherry Blossom Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (4 oz, 1 stick, or 8 Tbsp; at room temperature)
- 1 oz salt-pickled cherry blossoms (1 pack; you can (buy it online)
- 1 cup cake flour (weigh your flour; for weights, click the Metric button above; or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off; you can made homemade cake flour; for gluten free, substitute an equal amount of this GF flour or this GF flour)
- ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 large egg yolk (0.5 oz, 15 g per egg yolk)
- white sparkling sugar (this is a coarse sugar with larger grains, so it won't melt and disappear; it also gives a nice look and crunch)
Instructions
Before You Start…
- Please note that this recipe requires at least 2 hours of chilling time.
- Gather all the ingredients. I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. For weights, click the Metric button at the top of the recipe to convert the measurements. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.
- If the ½ cup unsalted butter is not at room temperature yet, cut it into smaller pieces so that it will soften faster. It’s important to soften the butter before we start.
To Prepare the Cherry Blossoms
- Separate 1 oz salt-pickled cherry blossoms into two groups: 1) The good flowers for decorating the cookies; and 2) 1 Tbsp of the damaged flowers for blending into the cookie dough.
- To remove the saltiness, soak the two groups of flowers in separate bowls of water for at least 30 minutes. Tip: Salt is used to preserve the sakura leaves and flowers, but it‘s too salty to consume them as is, so we always need to soak them in water to remove the excess salt.
- After 30 minutes, squeeze out the water from the damaged flowers and pat them dry with a paper towel.
- Then, mince the damaged flowers and set aside.
- Next, prepare the good flowers. Remove them from the soaking water, one stem at a time. As you do so, dip the flower head in the soaking water a few times so the petals point upward and lie in the same direction. Place it on a paper towel. Repeat with the rest of the cherry blossoms. When you‘re done, cover the flowers with another sheet of paper towel and gently pat dry. Set aside.
To Mix the Dough
- Sift 1 cup cake flour in a bowl and add ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt to the same bowl. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the softened butter until smooth and creamy.
- Add ½ cup confectioners’ sugar and blend until soft and light, occasionally scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add 1 large egg yolk and mix well until combined.
- Add the minced cherry blossoms and blend well. Note: I‘ve revised this recipe (3/4/23) to add the cherry blossoms to the dough before adding the flour; the video and the step-by-step pictures reflect the previous version of the recipe.
- Gradually add the sifted cake flour and salt to the bowl and stir until just blended. Tip: Do not overmix, or the dough will be tough.
To Form the Cookies
- Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on your work surface. Shape it into a cylinder, about 1½ inches (4 cm) in diameter. Tip: If the dough is too soft and sticky to roll, wrap it with plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for 15–30 minutes. This will firm up the dough and allow you to roll it into a log shape.
- Wrap the dough log in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours. Optional: You can place the dough on a bed of rice while chilling. It’ll help keep the dough in a nice cylindrical shape, so your cookie slices won’t be flat on one side.
- After 2 hours, take out the dough log from the refrigerator and remove the plastic. Next, wrap the dough with a damp paper towel to wet its surface slightly. Of course, you can use the traditional method and brush egg wash on the dough, but the damp paper towel method works every time for me.
- In a tray that fits the cookie dough, sprinkle the white sparkling sugar. Remove the damp paper towel and roll the dough log in the sparkling sugar so that it adheres.
- With a sharp knife, slice the dough into rounds about ⅓ inch (7 mm) thick. You should get 16–18 cookie rounds from one log. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking liner. Leave about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of space between the rounds.
- Decorate the top of each cookie round with one or two reserved cherry blossoms, gently pressing them down so they adhere to the dough. Put the baking sheet with the cookies in the refrigerator for 10–15 minutes (or in the freezer for a short time) until firm and chilled. During this time, place the oven rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Tip: If you don‘t chill the cookie dough, the butter will melt too quickly in the oven and the cookie dough will spread and flatten.
To Bake
- When the oven is preheated, take out the baking sheet from the refrigerator and bake the cookies at 350ºF (170ºC) for about 15 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes; then, carefully transfer them to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.
To Store
- You can keep the cookies in an airtight container and store in a cool place for at least 4 days. You can also freeze the unbaked logs of dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 2 months. Let the frozen logs sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before cutting and baking. Do not let the dough fully defrost.
Notes
- Fluff up the flour several times with a spoon.
- Using the spoon, sprinkle the flour into your dry measuring cup (the one that measures exactly a cup at the top).
- Scrape off the excess with a knife.
Hello. I made these cookies and they turned out beautiful and a really nice buttery, crisp texture cookie. Instructions were great. I don’t really get a taste of anything special in the cookie from the added “cherry blossom”…but the little hit of salt is nice. Should there be a stronger flavor attributed to the blossoms? Can the flavor vary by brand? I used Nestlady from Amazon purchase. (All flowers in very good shape!) Thank you!
Hello, Lynda. Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
The dried cherry blossom usually has a pleasant Sakura (cherry blossom) scent and taste. But, depending on the type, brand, or year of harvest, it may be slightly different each time.
We hope this helps!
Thank you for your reply! I will try another brand and see if I can experience the right flavor. Such beautiful cookies and delicious butter cookie.
These cookies are very beautiful and turned out so perfect and buttery. Best recipe.
Hi Lili! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are so happy to hear you enjoyed Cherry Blossom Cookies. Happy Baking! 🤗
Hi Namiko!
I plan on making these for Mother’s Day but I’d like to use a cookie cutter. Will I need to include additional flour to roll it out or can I follow the recipe as is? Hope this isn’t a silly question, haha.
Hi Alicia! What a great idea for Mother’s day gift!
To use a cookie-cutter, you can follow the recipe and wrap and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours.
Then roll it out for cookie cutter. After you cut it into the shape, put it back in the refrigerator to keep the cookie dough cool and firm again. This process will help keep the cookie shape during the baking.
Please dust the counter/cutting board with flour when you roll out the cookie dough as need it.
We hope this helps!
Hi Nami-san! I was just wondering if you can use fresh sakura flowers for this recipe? We have some blossoming right now! 🙂
Hi Helen, We usually make them into a salted pickle Sakura and use them for cooking and baking.
Here is the post link where Nami explains how to make it. Please scroll down to “How To Make Them?” https://www.justonecookbook.com/cherry-blossom-milk-pudding/ We hope this helps!
Namiko, thank you for your recipe! I made your cookies for a Hanami Party & they came out great! Your careful instructions made it so easy. Thank you!!! 💕🌸💕
Hi Wendy! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s Cherry Blossom Cookie recipe and for your kind feedback!
Nami and JOC team are so happy to hear your cookies came out great! Happy Spring!🤗
Hi Nami. I baked them today using a convection oven at 160 degree Celsius as you mentioned. At the 15-minute mark, the edges were still not golden brown, only the top was. So I let them bake for another 1 minute. They tasted good but they were soft. May I know if this is what you meant by having a ‘light’ texture? I used 120g plain flour and I replaced 1 tablespoon of it with corn starch to make cake flour.
Since my cookies are soft, in order get a crisp texture, I am wondering if I should use all plain flour next time. Or should I just
stick to this recipe and let them bake 2 to 3 minutes longer? Please advise me on this.
Please let me know too, for how many minutes did you cream the butter and sugar together and mix the cake flour?
Finally, another problem I encountered was after refrigerating the ball of 1 dough for 1 hour, it was incredibly difficult to roll into a cylinder as it became awfully sticky. It stuck to everywhere on both of my hands and I had to stop and roll it on a piece of parchment paper instead. How come I don’t see you having this problem in the video?
Thank you so much for your help!
Hi Julie! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
This cookie should harden after it cools completely and usually very soft if it’s not cooled. We recommend cooling a little longer next time.
As for the dough texture, we would like to make sure that you are replacing 2 Tbsp of corn starch for every 1 cup of flour (120g) and sift 3-5 times, and then measure the mixture 120g for this recipe. You mentioned 1 Tbsp, so this might be the reason for the stickiness. It may be better to rest the dough in the refrigerator for longer than 1 hour if your kitchen is warm. It will help reduce the stickiness also.
The time for creaming the butter and sugar together depends on the condition of the butter. (If it’s very soft at the beginning, it will be shorter.) So we recommend creaming the butter until smooth and creamy. Also, mixing the cake flour depends on how often add the flour to the mixer, so make sure it blends until the dough is smooth.
We hope this is helpful and your next try will be a better result and easier! Happy Baking!
It looks delicious and very pretty✨ ^^) /
Hi Sahnaz, Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
Could you replace the pickled blossoms with dried blossoms?
Hi John, Thank you very much for trying this recipe!
We have never tried dried blossoms, but it should work. Happy Baking!
May I know for baking of cookies what is the ideal mode with convention (fan) or nonconvention (without fan) and how does it affect the cookies/end result?
I was wondering if there was a recipe for the dried salt pickled cherry blossoms. I would like to try. I have made the cookies without the blossoms, something I do to see how they work in my oven.
Thank you for the wonderful recipes, have a good day, 🙂
Robert
Hi Robert! Salt-pickled cherry blossoms are made with Yaezakura (八重桜), blossoms of more than five petals. They are carefully handpicked while the buds are still tender and young, then washed, drained and dried before they are sprinkled with salt. On the next day, the brine is squeezed out and the flowers are pickled in ume plum vinegar (梅酢) and let sit for about 3 days. Finally, they are dried in a single layer for another 3 days in the shade or until they are completely dried. To preserve, the blossoms are packed in a jar with salt. This way, they can be kept for one year. I do not have a recipe. I’m sorry…
I tried making the cherry blossom cookies but why do my cookies spread so much? It doesn’t keep its shape like yours. Any idea what went wrong?
Hi Wenny! I know why this happens; your cookies were left out too long before putting in the oven. Shortbread (butter) cookies need to be cool or chilled when placed in the oven. So if you take too much time on slicing and putting the cherry blossoms, I recommend putting back in the refrigerator. That way, the butter doesn’t melt too fast and retain the shape while the outer layer of cookies is cooked. I updated the recipe with this info.