Easter Sugar Cookies

This is the same recipe that I use for the cookies titled the best sugar cookies ever. The directions are just different because these are to be rolled. I have also included a link to a royal icing tutorial that has a ton of pictures. Yesterday I made two batches of these cookies, one for my class (I tutor a first grade student for one of my ECE classes) and the second for my family for this weekend. Be prepared to spend a few hours on these because you need to wait for the outline to dry before flooding them. And wait again before adding any details. Between the two batches yesterday I spent about 5 hours decorating. If you need to take a break from decorating cover the royal icing with a wet towel (squeeze out excess water) so that it doesn't dry out. And place the decorating bags in a glass with a small amount of water at the bottom.

Ella’s White Sugar Cookies:

Ingredients:

1 c butter, softened

1 c powdered sugar, sifted

1 egg, beaten

1 T vanilla

2 tsp lemon extract

2 tsp + lemon zest (I use the zest of an entire lemon)

1 tsp salt

2 ½ c flour, sifted

Directions:

1. Cream butter.

2. Add powdered sugar.

3. Blend in egg, vanilla, lemon extract, lemon zest, salt and flour.

4. Chill dough until firm, about an hour. (I normally make the dough the night before I need it)

5. Pre heat oven to 325degrees

6. Prepare workspace with sifted powdered sugar

7. Prepare cookie sheet, I use foil sprayed with Pam for easy clean up.

8. Roll dough to desired thickness, 1/8” to ¼”

9. Cut out desired shapes, and carefully transfer to prepared cookie sheet.

10. Bake for 10-12 minutes be careful not to brown the cookies.

11. Cool completely before decorating with royal icing.

12. Check out this great step by step royal icing tutorial: http://annies-eats.com/2009/12/04/how-to-decorate-with-royal-icing/

Royal Icing:
Ingredients:
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. meringue powder
5 tbsp. water

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance (about 7-10 minutes). Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to an air-tight container. This will be the stiffest consistency of the icing, and at this point it is still too stiff to use for decorating. Add water a very small amount at a time and stir by hand until fully incorporated. Continue until the icing has reached a consistency appropriate for piping. (Remember, if you are having any difficulty piping, it is still too thick. Add a little more liquid and try again.) Using a pastry bag, pipe around the edges of each cookie. Let stand so the icing will set. Make sure to keep the leftover icing covered at all times when not in use so that it does not begin to harden.

Once all the cookies have been edged, transfer some of the remaining icing to a separate air-tight container. Thin out by incorporating a small amount of water at a time, until the icing drips off the spoon easily when lifted and then smooths in with that still in the bowl. If you go too far and the icing is too thin, add more sifted powdered sugar to thicken it again. Once the icing has reached the desired consistency, transfer it to a squeeze bottle (or a plastic bag with a hole in one corner), and flood the area surrounded by the piping on each cookie. If it does not completely spread to the edges, use a toothpick to help it along. Allow to set.

Use the remaining thicker icing for piping decoration as desired. Gel icing color is best as it does not add a significant amount of liquid. Liquid food coloring can be used as well – add powdered sugar as needed to compensate for any thinning that occurs.
(Also from www.annies-eats.com)

Shamrock Cookies

I made these yesterday for my friend's birthday as well as Saint Patrick's Day. Since we had class today, I made enough for the entire class. They were a huge hit! Fair warning though, these are pretty time consuming to make because you pipe the batter into a clover. And since I doubled the recipe and made 70 cookies it took a long time. But I did learn something new, printer paper is oven safe. I learned this after I forgot the pattern under the parchment paper when I baked the cookies. I used a size 12 round tip for piping both the cookie and the frosting. In the future I will reduce the amount of cocoa powder because it tasted too chocolaty for green velvet. Also the cookie will leave your mouth a bit green.

Green Velvet Whoopie Pies: Source: cookies adapted from Dinner and Dessert, originally from Better Homes & Gardens, December 2008 Idea to make them shamrock shape: http://homeiswheretheholmansare.blogspot.com

For the cookies:
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tbsp. cocoa powder (although I recommend reducing o 2 T, possibly 1 T)
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/2 oz. green food coloring
For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 T vanilla extract
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.

1. I used a printed shamrock as a template under parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
4. Beat in the egg until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
5. Blend in the vanilla.
6. With the mixer on low speed, beat in about a third of the dry ingredients, followed by half of the buttermilk, beating each addition just until incorporated. Repeat so that all the buttermilk has been added and then mix in the final third of dry ingredients. Do not over mix.
7. Blend in the food coloring.
8. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip (size 12).
9. Pipe the batter onto the parchment paper using the shamrock print as a guide.
10. Bake 8 minutes or until the tops are set.
11. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets at least 10 minutes, until they can be easily transferred. Repeat with any remaining batter.
12. Allow cookies to cool completely before sandwiching.
To make the cream cheese frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract. Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth.
Transfer the frosting to a clean pastry bag fitted with a plain, round tip. Pair the cookies up by shape and size. Pipe frosting onto the flat-sided cookie of each pair, leaving the edges clear. Sandwich the cookies together so the flat sides are facing each other and press gently to help the filling reach the edges. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container. I refrigerated an hour before serving.

Yield: 35 Sandwiches

The Best Sugar Cookies Ever!

I've tried several different sugar cookie recipe before finally finding one that I love. The original recipe calls for almond extract but I changed it to lemon because of a potential nut allergy. I think the light lemon flavor gives it a little something special. I've tried making them using just vanilla or just lemon and both times they come out a little bland. I've made these as roll out cookies with royal icing, cream cheese icing and chocolate icing, as well as rolling the dough into balls and coating them with colorful sprinkles. A friend of mine liked these so much that she asked me to come to her house to give her a lesson on how to make them. She agreed that these are much easier to make, and is happy that she can now make sugar cookies with her grandson.

Sugar Cookies:
Source: Annie's Eats, my changes are in bold

Ingredients:
1 c butter, softened
1 c powdered sugar, sifted
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp salt
2 ½ c flour, sifted
1/2 cup sprinkles (optional)

Directions:
1. Cream butter.
2. Add powdered sugar.
3. Blend in egg, vanilla, lemon extract, lemon zest, salt and flour.
4. Chill dough until firm, about an hour.
5. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees
6. Prepare workspace with sifted powdered sugar
7. Prepare cookie sheet, I use foil sprayed with Pam for easy clean up.
8. Roll dough to desired thickness, 1/8” to ¼”or use a portion control scoop and roll the dough into a ball.
9. Cut out desired shapes or roll the dough in the sprinkles, and carefully transfer to prepared cookie sheet.
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes be careful not to brown the cookies. (about 15 minutes for the round cookies with sprinkles.)

Yield depends on the shape of the cookie, when I made them round dipped in sprinkles it made 30 cookies.

Andes Chocolate Mint Cookies

The first time I made these was for a thank you to Dan's friend for letting us use his lake house for the weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday. Except Dan kept forgetting to bring them with him, so three days later I made another batch and added the cocoa powder, it makes a huge difference. The cookies taste so much better with the small addition. I loved these cookies so much that I have butter softening on the counter to make another batch. As I'm sure you've noticed I haven't updated the blog in a really long time, so there is actually several months between this time and the last. I highly recommend these for anyone who loves chocolate and mint. And the cute little box is from World Market.

Ingredients:

1/4 c salted butter-softened (I used unsalted)

3/8 c dark brown sugar (I used light)

1/4 c sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 T cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

5 oz Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips

1 1/3 c all purpose flour, sifted

Directions:

1. Cream together butter and sugars

2. Mix in egg and vanilla

3. Sift together flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder

4. Blend flour mixture into sugar mixture

5. Stir in baking chips

6. Refrigerate dough for an hour.

7. Shape dough using a cookie scoop and place onto prepared cookie sheets. (parchment paper sprayed with non-stick cooking spray)

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes

Yields: 21 cookies

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Cookies

I learned something new when making these cookies, I don't really like white chocolate. So for the second half of the batch I added some semi sweet chocolate chips to the dough and those were fantastic. According to a friend of mine if you like white chocolate they taste good both ways.

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Cookies:
adapted from ATK recipe

Ingredients:
2 c. plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled until warm
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. white chocolate chips
1/2 c. macadamia nuts, chopped

Directions:
-Adjust oven racks to upper & lower -middle positions & heat oven to 325.
-Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
-Whisk dry ingredients together; set aside.
-Mix butter & sugars until thoroughly combined.
-Beat in egg, yolk and vanilla until combined.
-Add dry ingredients & beat at low speed just until combined.
-Stir in chips and nuts.
-Roll scant 1/2 cup dough into ball.
-To portion dough, I use a cookie scoop, or two teaspoons work too.
Leave plenty of space between each ball.
-Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft & puffy, about 12 minutes depending on size.
-Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking and place on wire rack to cool.

Peanut Butter Cookies with M&M's

About two weeks ago I had a craving/desire to bake some cookies, so I started searching through some blogs that I follow when I came across this recipe on Annie's blog (http://annieseats.wordpress.com) and I knew that I needed to try these. I add M&M's because I have them on hand, and also because I love chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter M&M's. Anyways these cookies are awesome, and you really should put them on your must make list. I sent 2/3 of my batch to work with Dan and meant to send some to my neighbor's but ended up eating the rest myself, oops.

* I halved the original recipe.

Source: adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

http://annieseats.wordpress.com/2008/06/10/peanut-butter-crisscrosses/

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
small pinch of grated nutmeg
1 stick (4oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup peanut butter (crunchy or smooth) (I used smooth)

¼ c + 2 T sugar
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
½ c M&M’s (my addition)

Directions:
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Whisk (I sifted) together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

Working with a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for a minute or two, until smooth and creamy. Add the peanut butter and beat for another minute. Add the sugars and beat for 3 minutes more. Add the egg, beating for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl and, on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they just disappear. Mix in the M&M's. You’ll have a soft, pliable (mushable, actually) dough.

I used a cookie to scope to form my cookies and places them onto greased cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. When done, the cookies will be lightly colored and still a little soft. Let the cookies sit on the sheets for a minute before transferring them to cooling racks with a wide metal spatula. Cool to room temperature.

Repeat with the remaining dough, making sure to cool the baking sheets between batches.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Peanut Butter M&M's

These cookies are one of my favorite which says a lot considering that I'm normally not a huge fan of chocolate chip cookies. I have actually made these cookies several times but have not taken a picture of them so that I could include them in my blog. These cookies are great with different mix-ins (different types of chocolate, butterscotch and different nuts.) Anyway, I have been wanting to make these again and had the perfect opportunity last week because I need to do a documentation panel of the learning of a child. I decided to make these with my two year old neighbor and we had a blast. He even told me that he's better at stirring than I am.

Also known as: Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup peanut butter M&M's

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.

Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy.
Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.

Stir in the chocolate chips and peanut butter M&M's by hand using a spoon.
Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted.

Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
By: Quakers

2 sticks margarine or butter softened
1 c firmly packed brown sugar
½ c granulated sugar
2 eggs (I use egg beaters)
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt (optional, I use it)
3 c Quaker Oats (uncooked) (I added an additional ½ to ¾ c)
1 c raisins (I added an additional ¼ c) (I soaked my raisins in warm water with vanilla extract for 10 minutes)

Heat oven to 350 degrees
Beat together margarine and sugars until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla, beat well.
Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, mix well.
Stir in oats and raisins; mix well.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared (cooking spray works best) cookie sheet.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet, remove to wire rack.

Makes 3 dozen