Vanilla Bean Balloon Cookies are celebration cookies filled with hope, strength, and love. Decorate the cookies in colors to match your celebrations of birthdays, new babies, graduations, or special events. These particular Vanilla Bean Balloon Cookies are decorated in “breast cancer awareness pink”, in celebration of my friends Lisa and Diane; amazing, vibrant, caring women who are breast cancer survivors. I am so thankful that Lisa and Diane are part of my life.
Vanilla Bean Balloon Cookies are celebration cookies filled with hope, strength, and love. Decorate the cookies in colors to match your celebrations of birthdays, new babies, graduations, or special events. These particular Vanilla Bean Balloon Cookies are decorated in “breast cancer awareness pink”, in celebration of my friends Lisa and Diane; amazing, vibrant, caring women who are breast cancer survivors. I am so thankful that Lisa and Diane are part of my life.
A few weeks ago, my family and I participated in the St. Louis Komen Race for the Cure, a summer tradition for us. The 1K or 5K course meanders up and down the streets of downtown St. Louis. My husband and I walk. My daughter (and my son, when he is in town) run. At any pace, the experience is awe inspiring. Just being in the massive crowd, you become a part of something special. The fervently shared hope for a cure is a powerful unifying force.
Floating above the participants, pink balloons celebrate the women who have fought/or are fighting breast cancer. Walkers carry single balloons. Booths are decorated with balloon bunches. A huge pink balloon arch frames the race finish line. Balloons are cheerful and festive. They bring uplifting optimism and buoyancy to the dream of a breast cancer cure.
These pink Vanilla Bean Balloon Cookies celebrate life and the people who make it so special. They are soft, cake-like cookies with a sugary coating crunch. Vanilla bean paste and white chocolate chips fill the dough with flavor. I created cookie pop balloons by inserting lollipop sticks before baking, then adding ribbon “balloon strings”.
With or without sticks, Vanilla Bean Balloon Cookies add sparkle and a smile to any occasion.This desert safe recipe works well for summer care packages. I have plans to turn these into birthday balloon cookies for Paratrooper Derik’s birthday care package next month!
My post and these Vanilla Bean Balloon Cookies were delayed by a small mishap at the dog park. A jubilant puppy (albeit a 90 pound huge puppy) accidentally bumped into me while racing around the park. I flew a bit and landed wrong, breaking my left ankle. I have never been in a cast before. I don’t recommend it. The four weeks in a non-weight bearing cast have not been conducive to moving about baking. I have missed quite a few self-imposed deadlines. My husband had to step into my Super Mom role and flew to Chicago to help my son move and drive my car back to St. Louis. Weeds have turned my garden into a jungle, perfect cover for the bunnies growing fat on my hostas. Pax, no longer able to use up calories and excess energy at the dog park, is literally bouncing off the walls. I thank you for your patience as I count down the days toward getting the cast replaced by a walking boot in which I hope to be less sedentary.
You can find the pink ribbon sprinkles I used by clicking on this Amazon link.
You can read more about desert safe ingredients and find an index of all of the desert safe recipes on The Monday Box by clicking here.
Vanilla Bean Balloon Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup butter-flavored vegetable shortening Crisco
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 yolk
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ½ cup white chocolate chips mini chips or regular
- ½ cup decorating sugar or sprinkles
- 12 lollipop sticks optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, microwave vegetable shortening until melted. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat melted vegetable shortening and sugar until combined, about 2-3 minutes.
- Mix in the egg and egg yolk, water, and vanilla.
- Reduce speed of mixer and slowly add dry ingredients until just combined. Over-mixing will produce a less tender cookie.
- Fold in white chocolate chips.
- Use a large cookie scoop, or 2 rounded tablespoons, to portion out 2” balls of dough. Roll the balls in decorating sugar or sprinkles.
- If making cookies on sticks, gently insert 1” of a lollipop stick into one side of the dough ball.
- Place coated dough balls, or balls on sticks, 2” apart on prepared cookie sheet. Six cookies on sticks fit onto one cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Tops of cookies will not darken. Bottoms of cookies will have just begun to turn golden brown.
- Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Be especially careful to allow cookies on sticks to cool and firm up before transferring.
- These cookies are soft and cake-like. They will remain soft for about 2 weeks if stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
Notes
- Cookies on sticks can be individually wrapped in small candy bags available at cake decorating and hobby stores then packed in airtight storage containers.
- If needed, use crumpled wax paper between the cookies and the lid of the container to keep the cookie pops from moving during shipping.
- For cookies without sticks, double wrap pairs of cookies, with bottoms together, in plastic wrap.
- Place in airtight containers or ziplock bags.
Nutrition
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chrisscheuer
Wow, so sorry to hear about your accident. That is such a bummer. Hope everything is healing well. The cookies look wonderful and what a sweet and beautiful tribute to your friends. Great and inspiring photos!
themondaybox
Thanks, Chris! I am hoping to get the annoying cast off tomorrow, fingers crossed! 🙂 The Race for the Cure is truly an awe inspiring experience. These balloon cookies are my heart felt tribute to my friends and celebrate all of the women touched by breast cancer.
Melissa @ A Virtuous Woman
These cookies look delicious! I know several women who have breast cancer and they are such an inspiration to me. What a worthy cause!
themondaybox
Thanks, Melissa! Balloons are so cheerful and celebratory! Though these cookie balloon could be used for any kind of celebration, I especially wanted to bake cookies to honor those dealing with breast cancer!
Monet
These are just beautiful! And I'm so sorry about your ankle. I hope it feels better soon!
themondaybox
Thanks, Monet! I do love sparkly cookies! 🙂 I appreciate your good wishes for my ankle. I am just not used to having to sit still!
Jana
These look so good! I can't wait to try it out! Pinned for sure.
themondaybox
Thanks, Jana! Let me know if you try them. I love the soft texture and the vanilla speckles in these cookies. 🙂 Thanks for pinning!
enchantedhomeschoolingmom
You always make the best desserts! These are not only visually stunning but they look and sound so yummy. I am pinning these to make for my family 🙂
themondaybox
Thank you, Jill! You are so sweet! I hope your family enjoys the cookies! Kids love food on sticks. 🙂
Heather @ new house new home
Your cookies are so cute and what a great cause!!
As for the ankle - you poor thing. I know what you're going through having broken my left ankle last year - that cast couldn't come off soon enough!!
themondaybox
Thanks, Heather, for the kind words of ankle support! 🙂 All the little things become such big projects when you have a cast! Though I hate to wish time away, I am definitely counting down the days until my newest fashion accessory is history! 🙂 I am excited to give these cookies to my friend. I think she will smile when she gets them AND when she eats them!
Becca Niederkrom
These are so pretty and sparkly, yum!
themondaybox
Thanks, Becca! The sparkle dresses up this vanilla bean speckled cookie!
Ashley
Oh my gosh Wendy I hope your ankle heals soon! I hurt my toe this week (but nothing like breaking an ankle!) and that's been hard enough to move around! I can't imagine being in a cast! Take all the time you need to recover!
And these cookies look delicious - I love how pretty they are to celebrate such a great cause.
themondaybox
Thanks, Ashley! I am just so hopeful that my ankle won't get in the way of the Food Blog Forum! I can fly (in a plane 😉 ) as soon as I am in a walking boot but I REALLY want to be able to go on the foodie farm tour and I am hopeful that my stupid ankle will be up for the challenge! One step, literally, at a time. 🙂
Baking and photographing on one foot was a humorous event, but a labor of love.
Winnie
Suck gorgeous cookies!!
I really like colored sweets, and pink is my favorite colors.
These cookies look super cute
Pinning!!
themondaybox
Thanks, Winnie! I love adding color to sweets also! I especially like using decorating sugar, both for the color and the crunch! Thank you so much for the pin! תודה רבה
Operation Gratitude
Yum! (And I hope the ankle is better soon!)
themondaybox
Thanks! I hope the walking boot is an improvement over the cast! 🙂
Reviews 411
I want these! lol They look so cute and sound even more delicious! I LOVE white chocolate! Thanks for sharing this recipe... I am so trying this! 🙂
themondaybox
Thanks, Andrea! If you lived nearby, I would share. 🙂 These cookies definitely play up the vanilla flavor. You could also use chopped white chocolate instead of chips.
Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking
These cookies look amazing! And so adorably decorated for such a wonderful cause! The walk goes right down Peachtree in front of my building in Atlanta but it doesn't hold a candle to the ST Louis walk.
themondaybox
Thanks, Lindsey! The walk in St. Louis is pretty amazing, especially that one point, on top of a hill, where walkers-supporters-believers fill the street to the horizon. 🙂 These balloon cookies are yummy year round but they were decorated with love for this particular celebration!
Monica
First of all, I am so sorry to hear you broke your ankle! I hope that cast comes off and you're fully back on your feet real soon - take care!
And these cookies - they are so lovely and I love the inspiration and symbolism behind them. They do make me feel hopeful and happy. I love the special pink-ribbon sprinkles and how you put them on a lolly stick. It's all in the details and I feel your love in the details...
themondaybox
Thanks for the good wishes, Monica! I never realized before how difficult baking is without mobility! I thought I would just sit on a chair and mix and bake. Good idea, as long as you have somehow gathered all the ingredients in front of you and the extra flour isn't stored in a fridge in the basement! 🙂 I almost moved on from this post, as the race happened weeks ago, but it was too important to me to honor my friends. There is no time limit on hope and love. 🙂
Tee
They look so pretty & delish! I hope your ankle is healing well.
themondaybox
Thanks, Tee! These cookies were made with two very special women in mind. Cookies always taste best when you put in lots of love. 🙂 My ankle is annoying but it is a small thing in the big picture. I really hope the cast comes off next week... so does my dog! 🙂
Jennifer
Oh my gosh, these look soooo delicious!
themondaybox
Thanks, Jennifer! If you like vanilla, you will love these cookies. 🙂