Edible Valentines

Love should always be sweet. And edible. Yes, definitely edible. This is why Valentine's day is one of the greatest days of the year. It is a regular love fest for all! 

It is an unwritten rule that one must decorate sugar cookies for Valentine's Day. Being law abiding folk, I dutifully made my sugar cookies and invited small people over to decorate them. The only thing I failed to foresee is that these little edible Valentines wouldn't actually make it to any recipient other than the decorators, themselves. All of the boys decorated their cookies and then promptly devoured them in about four minutes flat. So I guess they won't have anything to give their parents and teachers. But hey - when you're this cute, you can get away with just about anything.

Aren't these guys adorable?!

Oh, where are my own children, you ask? My camera battery died before I got to that side of the table. Parenting fail.

If you haven't made your Valentine's sugar cookies yet, it's never too late. It's never too late for a cookie.(I should stitch that on a pillow, or something.) 

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsps. almond extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1. Cream together butter and sugar. 

2. Add eggs, vanilla, and almond extract and mix well. 

3. Gradually add flour and salt until completely mixed in.

4. Cover dough and chill for about 2 hours. 

5. When ready to roll dough, remove from fridge and briefly knead to make it workable again. 

6. Roll and cut in desired shapes. If desired, press popsicle stick into the toe about 1/3 of the up from the bottom. 

7. Bake at 375 for for 10-12 minutes

Royal Icing

Ingredients:

4 Tblsp. meringue powder 

1/2 cup water

6-7 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbls. shortening

2 Tbls. corn syrup

Supplies:

Frosting Bags (Disposable always preferable)

Frosting Tips 

1. Whip meringue powder and water on high speed for several minutes until soft peaks form.

2. Gradually add the rest of ingredients until frosting is firm and falls slowly off an upside down spoon. 

3. If not frosting immediately, frosting can be stored in a sealed container for up to four weeks at room temperature.

4. Divide frosting into thirds. The first third will remain white and go into a piping bag. The second third will remain white and be thinned out for flooding the cookies. The last third is to dye red or other various colors.  I was going mostly for red, but I find that you need a whole barrel full of red food coloring to make it actually RED. I always end up with some sort of hot pink. 

5. Outline the cookies with white frosting using a 3 or 4 tip. Allow frosting to dry for at least 15 minutes.

6. Thin the white frosting left in the bowl using 1 tsp. water at a time until you reach desired consistency. The icing should be thin and able to spread easily but not too watery. Spoon it onto the outlined cookies and let the frosting fill the cookie, pushing the frosting to the edges. Allow to dry at least 15 minutes.

7. Dye the remaining frosting and place in piping bags. Pipe words or designs onto cookies.

OR

Just let the kids have at 'em. They're more creative, anyway!

Sherlock Holmes Deerstalker Hats

On a scale of 1-10, 1 being very excited and 10 being extremely excited, where does everybody rate their anticipation of Season 3 of Sherlock? You might say I am at a 10. My husband and I love this series. We share a lot of common interests, but none have been so good to our marriage as Benedict Cumberpatch. I mean, what's not to love? And the countless late night conversations wondering how he faked his own death...well...our questions will finally be answered. As is the question of how to pay proper homage to the premier - make these cookies. Let's be honest, I'm pretty novice in my fancy decorated cookie skills, but what I do know is a good theme. So these will go right along with your watching party (what? you're not having a party?! weird.) 

These cookies are more of a time investment than I usually make regarding treats, so plan accordingly. I like to make the dough and the frosting on one day and then bake and decorate the next, but obviously you can do it however you like. They will taste good no matter what.

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsps. almond extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Supplies:

Circular cookie cutter, about 4" diameter

Candy Cane cookie cutter

1. Cream together butter and sugar. 

2. Add eggs, vanilla, and almond extract and mix well. 

3. Gradually add flour and salt until completely mixed in.

4. Cover dough and chill for about 2 hours. 

5. When ready to roll dough, remove from fridge and briefly knead to make it workable again. Roll on lightly floured surface to about 1/4" thick.

6. For every cookie, cut out one circle and one candy cane. 

7. Cut the circle into almost halves; discarding the smaller half. Cut the candy cane into thirds. You will not need the top part of the cane.

8. Flip the candy cane pieces over so that the diagonal sides line up with the the bottom of the half-circle on either side. Gently press the dough together. One side should be slightly smaller than the other to represent the front of the hat.

9. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Thicker cookies may need longer baking time but don't overbake. Just look for slightly golden edges.

Royal Icing

Ingredients:

4 Tblsp. meringue powder 

1/2 cup water

6-7 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbls. shortening

2 Tbls. corn syrup

Supplies:

Frosting Bags (Disposable always preferable)

Frosting Tips 1 & 3. 2&4 will also work

Food coloring - Blue, green

Licorice strands - for the bow on top

1. Whip meringue powder and water on high speed for several minutes until soft peaks form.

2. Gradually add the rest of ingredients until frosting is firm and only slow falls off an upside down spoon. 

3. If not frosting immediately, frosting can be stored in a sealed container for up to four weeks at room temperature.

4. Place half of the frosting into a bowl to be kept white for the base.

5. Divide the rest of the frosting in half. Dye the first green and the second blue.

6. Outline the cookies with white frosting using a 3 or 4 tip. Allow frosting to dry for at least 15 minutes.

7. You have two options next - you can thin the rest of the white frosting if you are familiar with that technique or you can just fill by zig zagging inside of the cookie and then spreading with a spoon and letting set for at least 15 minutes.

8. Using the #1 or #2 tip, make green lines in a criss cross pattern.

9. Using the #3 or #4 tip, add thicker blue lines in between the green lines. Add a little licorice know on top and you're finished! Phew!

Recipe source for cookies and frosting: http://thedecoratedcookie.com/2008/11/cookie-dough-and-frosting-recipes/

And for your viewing pleasure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UcR9iKArd0

Season Premier this Sunday. Wahoo! Can't wait to hear what you think.

Swig Sugar Cookies

Happy New Year! I'd like to start 2014 off right, by posting one of the best cookies I had in 2013. (Incidentally, I'm eating one right now!) Now many of you, including myself, have probably made New Year's Resolutions to lose a little weight. Here is my theory on that. If you are going to be losing weight then you are going to be eating less sweets. But if you are going to be eating less sweets, then you should REALLY make them count, and only eat bona fide delicious things. You don't have calories to waste on not so tasty cookies. So to help you with your diet, I am giving you this gift of delicious sugar cookies. No, no, don't thank me. Thank http://www.vintagerevivals.com/2013/03/swig-sugar-cookie-recipe-literally-best.html where you can find the recipe. She asked for it not to be reposted so just follow the link and enjoy! Here's to weight loss and deliciousness! I love you, 2014.

*To my very discerning relatives (you know who you are) - as far as sugar cookies go, this is one of my favorites so far. Definitely a make again and definitely easy, with plenty of that sugary sweet taste and creamy frosting. I think you may be pleasantly surprised. :)

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Sugar Cookies

I have a confession to make. I love prepackaged cookie dough. I more than love it - I adore it. It's amazing! And it just comes in so handy! Baked, unbaked, any way you like it, always just waiting for you in the refrigerator in case you have a cookie craving and don't have the time or energy for baking. It's just such a wonderful invention. I really can't say enough good things about it. But as a self proclaimed cookie connoisseur, I feel a little guilty about this addiction. I feel like I should be a purist, someone who only accepts the homemade goodness of a made-from-scratch goody, with a palate too sensitive for something store bought. But alas. I am not. 

My favorite prepackaged cookie dough are the Pillsbury sugar cookies that come on a little tray and have seasonal pictures on them. You know, the kind marketed to children. Both times when I was pregnant my husband would always bring these home for me on at least a weekly basis for me and pop them in the oven around bedtime. I found that the ideal consumption is precisely six cookies in one sitting, complete with milk and probably a little TV. Now I'm not promoting this habit for all seasons of life. But sometimes you just gotta.

Well, I have finally found the homemade version of those delectable, six-at-a-time Pillsbury store bought sugar cookies from http://www.aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com. They are utterly delicious. And the thing is, no - they don't offer the ease of ready made cookies, but they do offer the goodness of home cookin' and ease my mind from store bought guilt. Because even if it's not actually healthy, everything's better for you if it's made from scratch, right? At least you know what's in it. AND you can make a big as batch as you want! Win win.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 cup white sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

4 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream together the butter, oil,  and sugars. Then add eggs and vanilla and beat well until light and fluffy.

3. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Add to the butter mixture and combine until completely incorporated and smooth.

4. Chill the dough in the fridge until easier to work with, at least 30 minutes.

5. Drop the batter by the tablespoon onto a cookie sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes. Do not over bake!

Enjoy your homemade guilt-free-guilty-pleasure cookies!

Sugar Cookies with Apple Cider Glaze

I live in a small town. A very small town. I was reminded of this fact when I set out to buy a leaf shaped cookie cutter to make autumnal sugar cookies and came up short. I think I tried three grocery stores and one specialty baking store that existed on Yelp but didn't exist in real life before I settled on a huge box of 100 cookie cutters from Walmart that turned out to not have leaves. So. There you have it. How do you know if you live in a small town? No cookie cutters. Only Walmart.

In the end I just made sugar cookies with this delicious little glaze. I am always on the look-out for a good sugar cookie recipe (as is cousin Abby) and I thought this one was pretty good. I liked it better than the Spider Cookie Sugar Cookies I tried a couple weeks ago. And the glaze was pretty tasty, if I do say so myself. I came up with it on the what-should-i-do-with-this-leftover-cider spot.

Sugar Cookies with Apple Cider Glaze

Sugar Cookies

2 sticks butter

1 and 1/3 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 and 1/3 tsp. vanilla

1 and 1/3 tsp. baking powder

3 and 1/3 cups cake flour

dash salt

In large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Chill dough until easier to work with, about one hour. Roll cookies on well floured surface. Cut into desired shape. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes until just lightly browned on the bottom (do not overbake!). Allow cookies to cool on wire rack

Apple Cider Glaze

Powdered sugar (about 2 cups)

Apple Cider (about 3-4 tablespoons)

1 tsp. vanilla

Here's the thing about glaze. You just do it by feel; I don't know exact measurements. I started with about 2 cups powdered sugar and added apple cider in small increments, about 1 TBLS at a time until it reached the proper consistency. To check if it's done, dip a knife into the glaze; if the glaze holds on the knife without running off, you're probably done.  If you add to much cider, don't worry, just add a little more powdered sugar. 

Dip cooled sugar cookies into glaze face down and place onto wax paper or tin foil. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Allow cookies to sit until glaze sets. Enjoy!

Sugar Cookie recipe adapted for quantity from Cutler's Bakery

Spider Web Cookies

To continue with the theme of Halloween, make these. But hurry, time's a ticking! (or time's a witching, whatever you will.) I used a simple sugar cookie for the base. This particular sugar cookie has a cake-like texture. You could use whatever sugar cookie recipe you fancy or even pre-made ones (do it, you know you want to).

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond flavoring

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. cream of tartar

Blend sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and almond flavoring. Mix thoroughly. Slowly add dry ingredients until mixed thoroughly. Chill dough until easy to work with, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Roll cookies out on floured surface. Cut using round cookie cutter of whatever size you would like. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes. Chill on wire rack.

Spider Web Decoration

Vanilla frosting, room temperature

Black frosting gel

Frost cookies with vanilla frosting. Using black frosting gel, draw circles on cookie in increasing sizes, shown above. Using toothpick or knife, start in center circle and pull frosting out in a straight line. Do as many lines as you like to create your own web!

Happy Halloween! Next week...Thanksgiving!!