Coastal Theme Tea Cakes

I really enjoy baking with Nordic Ware pans - I'm getting quite a little collection going!  You may have seen my rose cakelets, my mini bundts, my Christmas tea cakes, etc.

My newest acquisition is their Sea Shell Tea Cake pan.  It has been on my Amazon Wish List for over 18 months...and I finally just DID IT.

The outside of the pan shows what your
finished product should look like

The inside shows you what tiny little bits of batter
will fit in the tea cake pan...1 Tbsp each.

 I have had issues in the past with overfilling these tiny little sections and I was thinking hard about what would not rise too much and would be moist and dense enough for one bite to be "just about enough".  I decided I would test the pan with a box of Milk Chocolate Brownie Mix I had bought a few weeks ago.    As you can see below, they turned out pretty good!  A few of them have "edges" but all were easy to see, nicely outlined, sea life tea cakes!  I had enough batter to make another pan, using my mini tea cake pan I used in the Christmas endeavors of 2011.  What was nice about using the dark batter was the ability to see more clear outlines.  I didn't take pictures of those using the other pan  because I was in a big hurry.  However, I sent all of these and some of the tea cakes from the other pan over to Joni at Paragraphs on Padre Blvd for treats at the Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival readings.  I heard a little feedback that they were enjoyed so, even though I used a box mix, it was the "just right" density to work in these little sea shell shaped treatlets!

If anyone has a suggestion for a homemade recipe I can use for tea cakes, please send me a link... I'd love to find that "just right" recipe for using these adorable little pans!!!

The final unadorned tea cakes - very tasty and quite cute!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

Cookie Memories

My regular readers may have noticed I have been very "off" lately.  I have experienced some losses that nearly wiped me out and baking and blogging on a regular basis have been more than I could handle.  I just worked on putting one foot in front of the other to make it through the last 7 months or so.  As Dory the fish so eloquently said it, I just had to "just keep swimming, just keep swimming".

For the past 3 days I have been baking cookies and decorating them for a Memorial Service for my big sister.  She loved the beach.  Everyone is encouraged to wear coastal attire to the service.  I have my new tropical shirt, my best flip flops, my dolphin necklace, and my mermaid earrings.  I'm almost ready.

In her honor I made cookies for after the service fellowship.  The entire endeavor was a cathartic walk down Memory Lane.  I began with sand dollar cookies - which brought back memories of our regular childhood camping trips to Mustang Island and Port Aransas.  We'd search for shells for hours and, in those days, the sand dollars were the primo find.  Now-a-days we rarely find more than the occasional broken sand dollar.  It's a sad commentary on the state of our oceans!

Sand Dollar cookies with a pearl sheen

I also made "my version" of conch shells.  Big sister loved The Keys.  She had one last chance to try to make it to her beloved Keys in December when I called her back home because our Mom died. She never was well enough again to make the journey...so, conch shell cookies are my offering.  I'm sure she is smiling.



My version of conch shell cookies - a little dry brushed pink
lustre dust gives the edge a little shimmer

She loved bright colors - yellows and oranges and aqua - the colors of the tropics.  So, my version of scallop shells with orange and yellow feathering.

Scallop Shell cookies with orange and yellow feathering.
After drying, embellished with some dots and lines.  I liked this set.

Palm tree cookies - she loved laying on a hammock hanging between two palms.  Reading a book or napping or just swaying to the gentle breeze off the Atlantic Ocean.  My first piping icing wasn't thick enough, so I had to get creative.  I think they turned out okay...but they sure do have a lot of royal icing on those palms!



The rustling sound of palms is one of my favorite sounds
These cookies have coconuts - our palms do not.
I liked the look though, so coconuts they are!

Dolphins - ahhhh, the dolphins.  We used to ride the ferry to Mustang Island and the dolphins danced around the ferry, smiling their happy smiles, delighting the souls of children and adults alike.  When I moved to the South Padre Island area I told her about our tribe.  She told me in January "I want to go see the dolphins with Scarlet...it's on my bucket list".  I knew that wouldn't happen because she would never have been able to make the 7 hour journey.  She entered at-home hospice care in January.  We met in Port Aransas instead, as one of her final wishes, and the dolphins were at the ferry waiting for her.  So, dolphin cookies were a must.  Dolphin Love - it's the best.

A happy pod of dolphin cookies

Flip Flops - we were two true flip flop devotees!  I know I have a LOT of flip flops - but she may have had more.  Flip flop cookies were mandatory!



Flip Flops - piled up like mine are.  I had fun making these.

The last batch of cookies are more about her beautiful grandchildren.  She had a lot of grand kids for a 62 year young woman!  She loved to tickle their tummies when they were little and say the belly button bug was getting them (a ladybug of course).  So, the final batch was my first attempt at lady bug cookies.  I hope they love them.  Unfortunately, I know they will turn their mouths black and red.  I did try the trick of adding cocoa powder to the icing to darken it before adding the black food coloring.  I definitely used less black gel color, but still...I'm anticipating some colorful mouths!  I used a tutorial from O So Sweet Cookies - and it was perfect.  I have had the lady bug cookie cutter for a while and never got to making them.  This was the perfect opportunity.

Lady Bugs - my first attempt...cute!

My cookie dough was in the freezer waiting for me (thank goodness) and I used both my long-time favorite Mather World's Best Sugar Cookie Dough and Lila Loa's Vanilla Variation.  I used Ali's Sweet Tooth's method of making royal icing and not a single bag separated!  Yay!!!

Now, after this I hope life will return to the more gentle pace I grew accustomed to when we moved to the coast.  I need the peace and tranquility of the waves lapping, the gulls calling, the pelicans soaring, and the sand between my toes.  I know, then, I will be able to feel the previous joy I felt for baking and blogging and sharing my meandering thoughts with my blog readers.  Thanks for hanging with me during this really icky time of my life.  I'm hoping this will be the final melancholy post you will have to endure from me!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!! 

UPDATE: 4/29/2013:  At the reception in Fellowship Hall,
the tables were decorated with leis, coastal ornaments, and
my cookies!  Everyone seemed very appreciative.
It was a lovely ceremony, filled with spirituality and
love and caring.  Happy Trails my dear sister!

Cookies for Book Signing

I love to take baked goods to share when our wonderful indie bookstore, Paragraphs on Padre Blvd, hosts a book signing.  I haven't been in my baking groove (as you can tell from the lack of posts) for some time.  Last night and this morning, however, I was "on" and ready to bake!  Both of these cookies have been blogged about before - but I decided to go ahead and re-post anyway!  The Lemon Ricotta Cookie below was changed only by the utilization of Meyer Lemons this time around.  Have to say I LOVE them.  I made one tiny change to the glaze by zesting two lemons instead of one in the glaze.  Meyer Lemon zest is much less tart (to my taste) than the usual lemons used in the past.  They are a cake-like cookie which I find very appealing.  I think they turned out great.

The other treat is a Vanilla Bean Madeleine.  Also, the perfect joining of cookie and cake!  Sometimes I make excellent Madeleines with no effort...and other times, like today, each batch was a struggle.  Nonetheless, they turned out okay and taste quite yummy.

If you are a local, and want to try any of these treats, come by the Pat McGrath Avery signing and discussion of her book "Emergence - The John Bax Story".  It's bound to be a good activity; an informative discussion of John Bax's life as a self-taught filmmaker who loved birds and captured incredible and beautiful scenes of birds in the wild.  He spent many years of his life in South Texas so I can't wait to learn more!  It is today, April 12, 2013, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Paragraphs is located at 5505 Padre Blvd. South Padre Island, TX.  Hope to see you there!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

Shrimp Boil

I've had a lot of shrimp boils in my day...but this may have been one of the best ones and easy to throw together!

Twelve people, a six-month old who had had enough fun for the day, an ocean-front condo with seating for 5...hmmmm.  No biggie - we could make it work!  We dragged in the balcony table and chairs, covered both tables with wax-backed butcher paper (double layer) and threw all of the food on the table.  Literally!

We used a big "turkey fryer" pot filled 2/3 with water and two packages of Zatarain's Crab and Shrimp Boil.  Started it to boil and first put in a bag of clean new potatoes and let it go for 15 minutes or so...next went the frozen corn (24 pieces) and then, 5 minutes later, three pounds of sausage chunks.  I prepped the 4 pounds of fresh shrimp purchased near the docks at Port Aransas by peeling, butterflying, and deveining (because my sister doesn't like to peel them and see the vein...so, like a good sister, I cleaned them for her).  Once the shrimp were added, they were finished cooking in 3 minutes or less and everything smelled so incredibly delicious!

We melted 3 sticks of butter and placed in little ramekins around the table; my sister-in-law, Lana, mixed up 2 bowls of cocktail sauce and toasted two loaves of French bread.  We put out a container of my homemade pasta salad and dinner was ready!

We carefully transported the extremely heavy boiling pot to the floor on top of towels, lifted the strainer basket up over the sink and let it drain.  With a towel underneath, my oldest son transported it to the table and we tossed it down the middle of the two tables.  One table got more potatoes and corn and the other table got the majority of shrimp (which, of course, we re-distributed!)...and everyone dug in. 

People took turns holding the baby and eating and laughing...what a great time was had....the laughter, the jokes, the sounds of happy eating!  Friends, family, and lots of joy all around the table. Anyone having room for dessert could nibble one of the "Beach Cookies" I made for the trip.

We finished the evening with the poker people (most of the people) playing a fun, albeit quite competitive, game of Texas Hold'em...which was, of course, a win for my sister-in-law Lana.  She's just a little competitive!

A fun time was had by all - good times, good times.

Sister-in-law Lana, big sister Cynthia, and their beautiful
granddaughter Sarah Jewel.

Bon Appetit, Y'all!

Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Loaves

A travel breakfast...hmmmm.  I dug through my folder of recipes I had intended to try over the holidays before chaos erupted in my life.  I wanted something easy that would travel well...something to snack on or to have with coffee as we sat listening to waves rushing in and gulls calling.

As soon as my hand touched a print out for Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Bread from Michelle Day at Michelle's Tasty Creations blog, I just "knew" this would be perfect.  We have pleasant temperatures this week-end, but there is a call for being overcast and a light rain.  What is better than the warm taste of pumpkin and cinnamon and all of those warm spices on a lightly drizzly day?  Not much.

I made a few minor tweaks - but nothing major.  My addition is a vanilla bean cream cheese drizzle for a bit of extra topping (like streusel isn't enough) .  Everything is baking while I type... I'm departing in a few short hours.  My house is smelling really awesome about now!  I should probably sample it before taking it with me, right?

Here's the recipe:

CINNAMON STREUSEL PUMPKIN LOAVES
Lightly modified from the Michelle Day recipe


Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup unbleached AP flour
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, cold and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Drizzle:

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 ounces butter, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1-2 tsp. milk - more if needed

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray three mini loaf pans with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large 4 cup measuring cup, add 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.  Whisk together until well blended.  Set aside.

In bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, oil, pumpkin, and vanilla extract until smooth.  Pour the flour mixture into the bowl and beat until smooth (on low) then evenly distribute the batter between the three pans.

For the Streusel Topping:
Mix the flour, sugar, and cinnamon with a fork in a medium bowl.  Add the butter and using a fork, pastry blender, or your fingers, crumble the butter into the sugar mixture until you have a crumble mixture.

Divide evenly over the three pans of pumpkin bread dough.

Bake for 40-45 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean).  Allow to cool in pans for a few minutes then remove to a cooling rack.

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Drizzle

In small bowl of food processor, pulse 1/4 cup softened butter, 4 ounces of softened cream cheese, and 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste until smooth. 

Add enough powdered sugar to make the consistency of a thick icing. Add milk, 1/2 tsp. at a time, pulsing after each addition until it's just the consistency you desire for drizzling.  I like mine a little thick.

When pumpkin bread is completely cooled, drizzle VBCC Drizzle over each loaf.  If you are eating it warm, drizzle over each slice after plating.

I sampled a slice with a glass of milk because I'd finished all the coffee for the morning....boy howdy, that is so yummy!  I love the crunch of the streusel hidden under the creamy tartness of the drizzle...all on top of the wonderfully aromatic pumpkin loaf.  Two thumbs up...and it was an easy preparation, so even better!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

Beach Cookies

The Beach Cookie created following
tutorial from Marlyn of Montreal Confections

I know it is February and many folks North of the equator are having a nippy week...but where I live, it's pretty nice weather!  I live on the Gulf Coast ...right on the water... and this week-end, I'm driving up the coast a few hours to spend time...at the coast.  Yep, weirdly enough, it's true.  My flip flops are happy to be in the sand, wherever the sand may be.

So, cookies were requested by the traveling companions ...apple butter cookies specifically.  Ask and ye shall receive!  I made 30 cookies and got them all decorated in one day via carefully scheduled fan drying of layers and starting early in the day.  I used a different method for making royal icing this time...from the wonderful Jaci at Ali's Sweet Tooth.  We both live in a land of great humidity.  Her method worked beautifully.  Not a bit of separation all day long...and a good thick base to work from with my handy dandy spray bottle. Yay!

My favorite cookies were a "beach" with waves I meticulously created using the YouTube tutorial from Marlyn at Montreal Confections.  I am slightly addicted to her tutorials...she is such a good teacher.  I saw it earlier last year and knew I would eventually get around to trying it out.  Today was the day!  Mine doesn't look as sharp as hers... but I'm pleased with the result for a first effort.  I didn't make fondant sea shells, I used some white and milk chocolate instead in a Wilton silicon mold I bought from Amazon.  I'm not fond of fondant...but I surely do love chocolate.  They came out sort of cute, so I'm glad I took that turn.

I didn't have the cool sanding sugar Marlyn used.
I used turbinado sugar instead.

I also used, for the first time, my air brush.  I carefully covered my table and used a 3-part science poster board to protect over spray as recommended by the talented Melissa at The Baked Equation .  I was so joyful to spray the shades of blue and then pearl the waves.  I am laughing myself silly now, though.  Guess what I didn't protect?  The inside of my nose!  I blew blue icky stuff this evening (OK - blue boogers - I'll just say it).  Good grief!  I'm thinking a mask may be in order next time.  Now that I see how cool the airbrush is, I know I'm going to try to find ways to add more depth to future cookies.

Since I didn't take photos during the process (and you can see Marlyn's online tutorial here) I'll just post these photos of the finished products.  Dolphins, sand dollars, star fish, and some scallop shells add to the beach theme.  The teen informed me "uh, those shells look a little different", in reference to the colors of the scallops.  Heck, I needed to use up some of the blue and peach icing from other cookies...so we have "different" scallop shells.  Leave it to the teen to point out the obvious!

Happy dolphins, funky scallops...it's all good when it gets in the belly!

The sand dollars are much better than my last attempt!  Still
a few issues to work out.  Still, better!
 

Slowly but surely, I'm trying to get back to enthusiasm for baking.  I have some more stencils I want to use as well as quite a few new cookie cutters.  I need to start sketching out some ideas.  I'll keep you posted!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

I airbrushed pearl on the center starfish and used sugar pearls to accent.
The rest of the starfish were just piped dots and no pearl.
I think I like the pearl best...and I like the dots better than the sugar pearls.
Next time :-)

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"Love" Cookies

The beginning of the 2013 Valentine Cookie Season

I don't know that I'm saying "I'm back"... but I have scraped myself up and "put on my big girl panties" and BAKED.  Finally!  Rough family stuff (too much to share here) resulted in a nearly two-month hiatus from doing most anything creative.  My brain just wasn't on that page.  Hopefully, I can keep myself motivated now that I got started!

While cleaning out my freezer I found a double batch of Apple Butter Cookie Dough all nicely wrapped and ready.  I had completely forgotten that I'd made that before everything crashed around me.  Score!  While that was thawing, I felt motivated to make a batch of LilaLoa's "The Vanilla Variation"" of her Sugar Cookie Dough and between the two, that got me baking!  I ended up with 16 large hearts, 40 medium size "shapes" and 60 minis.  I still have some vanilla sugar cookie dough in the fridge.

My first efforts were just some circles, squares, and rectangles in hopes of getting my piping skills going.  I'm one of those "don't use it you lose it" people.  I felt vaguely cursed because NONE of my icing turned out the way I wanted.  Again, when you do it regularly, you do it right.  This time, well...not so much.  My piping icing was too thin to hold some of the shapes, my flood too thick to lay down straight, I got craters, my little heart transfers didn't "heal" properly, and I learned I can't make my nail flower go in a complete circle without having to reposition my fingers.  (oh, so clumsy) Add to that, my icing didn't hold it's shape for the ribbon roses either.  It was supposed to be the thick stuff! Man, I was screwed.  I kept telling myself the Dory-the-fish line "Just keep swimming.  Just keep swimming".

I decided I would indeed just keep going and finish the cookies I had... I was trying out new tools I got for Christmas and as part of my retail therapy shoppingin January.  I got a heat gun from my son and I bought myself some stencils and new cookie cutters and better tasting Red Tulip AmeriColor gel from Karen's Cookies (man, I love opening boxes from Karen and Mike!).  I read a post from Sweet Sugarbelle about why this red food color isn't as icky as some of the other reds we've all used.  I ordered a big bottle!  Between Valentine and Christmas and Patriotic cookies - red is a popular color!  I also broke out my new airbrush and practiced with water...that will be the next thing I attempt "for real"!

Anyway, I got to it and this is just a post with a few photos (with the good, the bad, and the not-so-ugly).  Why I would share some of these?  I don't know.  I think I just have to start somewhere.  This will help me move along so I prove to myself I can do better.  I won't point out all the booboos, but the cookiers will be able to see everything I'm talking about.  No need for anyone to point out the obvious (like when I was wiping my tip and accidentally sucked up a drop of water from my too damp cloth and then aimed right down at my cookie...oh mercy).

I am dot crazy apparently.  I just felt like
everything was looking better with dots!

I love having the virtual friendships that have allowed me to continue to talk about cookies and tips of the trades on Facebook.  I think I now officially converse with cookiers more than my "regular" friends (oh wait, none of my friends are regular...they are all unique).  I'm not sure that is a good thing...but for now, it's what I need.  Cookie Convo!  I am also completely dedicated to finding my way to Cookie Con 2014.  Fingers are crossed.

I'm no van Gogh...but this is MY blue period!

So, here they are.  They are packaged up and ready to give to people who don't care that I'm not perfect and know what I've been going through.  Now that I think about it, I'm really surrounded by lots of good souls.  I feel happier than I have in a good bit.  Hope it's a trend!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

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THE MUTT HUTT - Restaurant Review

5/28/2013 UPDATE
Reported to be closed and out-of-business.  

I've been off the blogging trail for a while now.  I'm having a really hard time getting moving...I got very sick the week my Mom passed away - it took two weeks to get over that nasty cold and I'm still coughing a bit.  Add to that, our sunny coastal weather is....well...NOT sunny coastal weather.  The wind is whistling, the bay has a chop, it's 48 degrees and GLOOMY outside...for days now!  I think I have S.A.D. on top of the expected moroseness of a post-holiday-constantly-grieving-post-illness January!!!  Whew - that's a lot of stuff to get over, right?

So, anyway, the teen had an appointment at Venus on the island today for a haircut; so we decided to eat lunch out while we were there.  Obviously every other person in the near, and maybe far, vicinity had the same idea.  We stopped in at one of our favorite restaurants and no parking available...FULL!  I had mentioned as we rolled past The Mutt Hutt, that it was a new restaurant and I wanted to try it out some day.  Therefore, the oh-so-intelligent teen said "let's try that new place".  So we did!

My boy is a huge fan of Chicago-style hot dogs...and he mourned the closing of Windy City Hot Dogs in Port Isabel.  When I told him I had heard they had Chicago dawgs at The Mutt Hutt, I figured that would lure him in.  I find it amazing that a child (ok, young man) who will not eat a raw tomato, will not eat relish, and is not overly fond of poppy seeds, absolutely GROOVES on all of those things when they are piled up together.  Go figure!

I digress. (I know you are not surprised)

It was Tuesday, so I don't know if there was a special...
or not. No notice of a Tuesday special that I could see!

In we roll to The Mutt Hutt and it is "seat yourself" we assumed as we were not really greeted and I couldn't really see a clear place to place an order at the bar...so, we seated ourselves and waited.  They were either short staffed or are still struggling with being a new place.  After a bit, a very nice woman, maybe an owner (?), came and gave us menus and silverware.  She also set up another table and then took our drink orders.  She said she wasn't a very good waitress :-) but she did fine, really.  I feel certain this is a family-owned and operated restaurant.  Sometimes that is a bit more challenging to get rolling.

The teen and I perused the menu and looked around at the decor.  I pointed out a Beatles wall that had some Apple Record 45's, some photos of those Liverpool boys my boy is so fond of...and a really old framed Beatles album cover.  I knew I was going to like the people who liked the music we like!  Finally, about 10 minutes in, we got our orders taken.

Obviously, one of us got a Chicago Dog, which comes with fries (appeared to be hand-cut) and coleslaw.  He won't eat coleslaw and I try not to eat fries (or at least not a whole order).  So, I ordered the Shepherd Dog, which was was with sauerkraut and spicy mustard...and I told our waiter to give him all the fries and me all the coleslaw.  That worked out perfectly.

It seemed to take a while, considering it was just hot dogs...and the place was NOT packed.  While we were there, only 3 other tables were seated.  We arrived at 1:05 and our food arrived at 1:33.  I, unfortunately, was watching the clock because we had a 2:00 hair appointment!

I will say, it was worth waiting for!  The Shepherd Dog was a high quality wiener with just the right amount of mustard and a dry sauerkraut (perfect - no soggy bun) on a delicious fresh-tasting bun.  The coleslaw was some of the best I've ever eaten in my life.  An unusual hint of onion gave it a different taste which was right up my alley.  Mayo dressing - not thick though.  As Goldilocks would say, it was JUST rigggghhht.  Yum.

The teen's Chicago Dog was inhaled.  He said it was very good.  His generous mound of fries were, well... "enough for two people"... duh!  I counted out, and ate, six of his fries.  They were delicious.  It's not easy to get hand-cut fries crispy.  These weren't overly crisp but they, too, were just right!  Yum!
Ian elected not to try the coleslaw - his loss!

We ate everything, paid the bill, and were out the door in less than 20 minutes.  I'm sure that new vibrating fork would have been working overtime if we had one.  We were hungry and running late.  However, it was extremely satisfying and filled our hungry bellies.

As with any new business, I imagine it is hard to get the service issues smoothed out.  I think if they can iron it all out and hang in there until summer, the quality of their food will make for a very successful addition to island cuisine.  I love seafood - but having some alternatives is always a plus!  Their Facebook page says they have breakfast... and I saw alcohol behind the bar, so they obviously have that up and running.  I will need to check them out for breakfast.  I didn't see it mentioned on the menu (but I can't say I was looking for that so could have missed it).  Mr. Flip Flop and I are always on the look-out for a breakfast place that serves after 10:00... it's worthless to us if they stop serving at 10...he doesn't get up until 10!

Good luck to the Mutt Hutt...and we will definitely be back!

SPI FLIP FLOP FOODIE RATING:

4 – Lip smackin’ - good quality – flip flops will definitely be parked under their table again!

With a Sad Heart...

I'm sorry for disappearing at one of my favorite baking times of the year.  My mother was very ill and passed away this last week.  I was privileged to be by her side as she crossed over and it was peaceful and loving experience.  After getting through the holidays and getting some rest...I'll be back.  I'll be ready to honor her "cooking legacy" with lots of goodies in 2013.

I snapped these photos right before packaging them up and taking them with me.  They had just dried when I got the call.  She loved seeing my cookies and I always felt warm and fuzzy when she admired them.  She enjoyed reading my blog before she lost the ability to use the computer.  I miss her sorely.  She was a great lady.

I enjoyed using "accents" for the sleigh and snowman hats
I made weeks ago from leftover royal icing.  Waste not, want not!

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, blessed with good food, family, and love.  Give your loved ones an extra hug...and write down your Mom's and your Grandma's special family recipes while they are still with you.  Having done so with my Mom will remain one of my greatest treasures!  I wrote about it in 2010 and am so thankful to have that memory.

Now, get back to baking and preparing to enjoy a blessed holiday.  I'm going to bake off some of those cookies I froze (aren't I glad I did THAT now!) and take them with me when I return back to Austin for Christmas with my children and grand-children.

Hugs,
Debbi Hook
The South Padre Island Flip Flop Foodie

Christmas Cookies... I've gone to the Dark Side!

Pearlized Snowflake Chocolate Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies

I started prepping dough for holiday baking a few weeks ago, tucking it safely and well-wrapped in my freezer.  This week, I thawed, baked, and decorated my first batch of Christmas cookies using the new  chocolate sugar cookie recipe I found on AnnClark.com.  After rolling, cutting, and baking... I gave one a try and they were rich and dark and marvelous.

The only down side is that, even with sharp metal cookie cutters, the mini chocolate chips wreaked havoc with smooth edges.  They were also "not smooth" straight out of the oven - no problem there.  I was able to use my fondant smoother and "iron out" the dips.  Nothing to be done about the edges though.  You can see from the photos that some of the edges show the problem.  However, the flavor is so exceptionally good for a roll-and-cut cookie dough, that I think I'm not going to care.  They are "rustic"...yeah, that's the ticket.

Here's the recipe with a small tweak or two that I made...plus I renamed it.  The Espresso Powder gives it the depth of flavor...I wanted that to be in the title.

Christmas Lights
accented with Wilton Silver Color Mist Shimmering
Food Color Spray over white piped icing for the bulb's base

Chocolate Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Ann Clark

Click Here for Printable Recipe

  Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 large egg (room temperature)
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (I used Nestle's -
must use mini chips - you can't roll it with regular
size chips)

Method:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and both sugars until creamy.  Add egg, espresso powder and vanilla extract.  Beat until incorporated.

In a separate bowl (or large measuring cup), whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix just until completely incorporated.  I did this 1/2 at a time to reduce the "fly up" of dry goods.

Hand mix the mini chocolate chips into the dough.

Wrap the dough, in four portions, in plastic wrap and chill until firm (I froze them and then brought them down to the refrigerator for a day before using).  I wrap in small sections to make it easier to roll.  If you have too much, it is more prone to being uneven, cracking, and getting too warm before everything is cut out and moved over.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit   Roll the well-chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface.  Ensure your rolling pin is well-floured as well.  This dough can be sticky if not well-chilled.  Using metal cookie cutters (you need the sharpness to cut through the chips) cut the dough and transfer cookies onto baking sheets lined with parchment or a Silpat.  If they stick to the counter at all, use an offset spatula dipped in flour, sliding underneath the cutout, to help you make the transfer.  Because I have a warm kitchen, I almost always pop the trays into the freezer after the cut-outs are ready, for 5 to 15 minutes, to re-chill the butter (helps prevent spreading).

Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes (mine took about 9 minutes, except the large snowflakes, which took the full 10 minutes). The surface of the cookies look dry and set when they are ready.  Remove from oven and place baking trays on cooling racks for 10 minutes or so, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

I did re-roll my scraps - and they seemed to work just fine.  I actually used the last bit of dough left to form a free-style cookie as a tasting cookie.  Since it was a new recipe, I wanted to make sure they tasted good before I spent hours decorating them!  Delicious they were!!! (Did I just sound like Yoda?)

Christmas Reindeer
Oops I forgot to pipe their black hooves!
I'll do that before I package them.

I iced all of these cookies using my regular royal icing.  I have become a huge fan of the AmeriColor Meringue Powder.  It seems to taste better than the Wilton brand...but Wilton is absolutely fine too, I have both in my cabinet.  I flavored this batch with a mix of almond extract and pure vanilla extract.  I wasn't worrying about a pure white color so I didn't use the clear vanilla (actually, I rarely do - I like the real deal).

Mittens
The little lines for the cuff were
harder to pipe than I thought...and already
a couple of lines crumbled a bit.
Live and learn...I learn something from every project!

I did break one snowflake when piping and flooding.  In retrospect, I probably should have used a medium sized cutter for all cookies with this dough.  It is not as "hard" as regular sugar cookies.  These are not cookies I would feel free to bang on the table to help them smooth themselves out.  These are hold-and-shake cookies....of course, that's how I broke the snowflake, so I'll leave it to you to figure out how to smooth things along.

Snowflakes
I outlined and flooded these with a slate blue icing.
Then I pearlized them by spraying with Wilton's Pearl Color Mist.
Piped on the detail with white 20 second+ icing and
accented with blue sugar pearls.  I am quite happy with them!

This recipe will now be a stock recipe for cookie decorating.  I feel it is so important that pretty cookies really taste good.  Otherwise, what's the point???

OK - now that I've photographed the cookies, time to package them up and put them in the freezer.  What?  You didn't know you could freeze decorated sugar cookies?  Oh yes you can...and they taste just as good as the day I put them in (I don't leave them more than a few weeks).  It would be impossible to bake and decorate without stress if I didn't have a freezing option!  I follow the instructions found at Bake at 350's blog.  Believe me, it was a game changer for me!  The only problem is that I need a bigger freezer now!  Oh well, details...just details!

Christmas Ornaments
My hands were really tired, as evidenced by
some shaky lines and slanting sections
that were intended to be straight!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

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Carole's Chatter:  Food on Friday Christmas Favourites