Raspberry Cream Sandwich Cookies

I have been wanting to make this recipe since I first saw it in Martha's Cookie book years ago. However it seemed every time I was reminded of these adorable sandwich cookies, raspberries sadly weren't in season. When I picked up some fresh berries to make this pastry recipe a few weeks ago, I had leftover raspberries (which never happens). It took me about .2 seconds to decide what to do with those juicy red gems.

Recipe Rundown
Taste: Sweet and surprisingly fresh.
Texture: The cookies are buttery, soft, and slightly chewy while the filling is thick and rich.
Ease: Does dirty a few dishes but nothing overly challenging.
Appearance: The cute factor of these cookies was my favorite part.
Pros: Adorable, would be perfect for a girl's birthday, bridal or baby shower.
Cons: Can be a little much on the sweet side, and requires use of both an electric mixer and food processor.
Would I make this again? Maybe.

Raspberry Cream Sandwich Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
From Cookies by Martha Stewart
For the cookies:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter softened
• 1 1/2 cups plus 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla bean halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved

For the filling:

• 1 1/3 cups fresh raspberries (1/2 pint)
• 7 1/2 ounces best-quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

For cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Mix butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg, extract, and vanilla seeds; mix until smooth. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Scoop batter using a 1-inch ice cream scoop; space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
2. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through until golden and just set, 8-10 minutes. Let cool on parchment on wire racks.

For filling:

1. Puree raspberries and remaining 2 teaspoons sugar in a food processor. Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a small bowl, pressing to extract juice; discard seeds. Set mixture aside. Melt white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Remove from heat; whisk in cream in a slow stream. Slowly whisk in reserved raspberry mixture. Refrigerate up to 45 minutes.
2. Spread 1 heaping teaspoon raspberry cream on the undersides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies.