Joanna Gaines Shares Recipe for Crew's Cookies With House Beautiful (2024)

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One of the year's most-anticipated cookbooks comes from former Fixer Upper star Joanna Gaines. Magnolia Table, Volume 2 is slated for release on April 7 after the first edition became an instant New York Times bestseller, surpassed only by former First Lady Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming.

In the final countdown to the big release, Jo confirmed months of speculation that her beloved recipes will soon come to life on screen when the Magnolia Network she is busy creating with her husband Chip debuts later this year. Over the past few weeks, Jo has been cooking up recipes from her brand new cookbook, Magnolia Table, Volume 2, on her Instagram account. Those "cooking show" videos, which were filmed at home by her adorable kids, have been turned into a one-hour special for the Food Network, which is slated to premiere this Sunday, April 5 at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT.

Ahead of the big day, Jo shared one of her new dessert recipes with House Beautiful. These cookies are a favorite of one of her best taste-testers, baby Crew. One batch yields about three dozen cookies, which your kids are sure to love, too. Even better, they're made with ingredients you're likely to already have on hand in your own baking pantry.

"Crew tagged along for the final recipe tasting for this book—and when these cookies hit the table, he had more than his fair share. This cookie has such a classic flavor that it makes for a really versatile treat—one that can be served as a simple dessert or an afternoon snack for the kids." - Joanna Gaines

RECIPE: CREW’S COOKIES

PREP: 1 hour, plus 1 hour chilling

COOK: under 40 minutes

COOL: 1 hour

COOKIES

• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

GLAZE

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• ½ to ¾ cup heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. To make the cookies: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium-high until well incorporated, about 30 seconds.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
3. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until all the ingredients come together; a dough should be forming on the paddle and not sticking to the sides of your bowl.
4. Place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll to about a ¼-inch thickness. Remove the top parchment sheet and use a 2-inch fluted round cookie cutter to cut out as many cookies as possible, leaving them in place. Gently peel off as much of the excess dough from between the cutout cookies as you can.
5. Carefully transfer the cut dough on the parchment from the work table to a baking sheet by gently sliding the parchment onto the baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This will firm up the dough and help you remove any remaining excess dough. Reroll the dough scraps and cut out more cookies.
6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.
7. Bake one baking sheet at a time until the edges of the cookies are slightly golden, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet front to back halfway through the baking time. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing, about 30 minutes.
8. To make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, ½ cup of the cream, and the vanilla. Mix in the remaining cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze is the consistency of glue. (Drizzle a spoonful of the glaze back into the bowl and it should hold a ribbon for about 10 seconds before melting into itself.)
9. Transfer the glaze to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip or a heavy-duty zip-top bag with the corner snipped off. Pipe the glaze in a spiral on each cookie, starting in the middle and leaving a ¼-inch border around the edges. Use a toothpick to smooth the glaze, if needed. Let stand until the glaze hardens, about 1 hour.
10. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

TIP: Letting cookies chill before baking helps maintain the perfect shape of Crew’s Cookies.

From Magnolia Table, Volume 2 by Joanna Gaines. Copyright © 2020 by Joanna Gaines. Reprinted by permission of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

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