Vanilla Citrus Roll-out Sugar Cookies

Simple miniature daisies coated with Lemon Drop Glaze
with a small yellow center piped from thickened, colored glaze.

When it is Spring, my head thinks of lemony desserts.  Happens every year.  The tart sweet combination of lemon and sugar is a flavor explosion for me!  I decided to make a recipe for a roll-out cookie dough utilizing some of my favorite flavors.  I think it turned out fairly well and is really just a simple rendition of the most popular cookie dough I make, the Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie.

These cookies are great with a simple lemon glaze or they can be beautifully decorated with royal icing flavored with either vanilla or fresh strained lemon juice.  Yum.

Here's what I did.

Vanilla Citrus Roll-out Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter - room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg - room temperature

1 Tbsp Vanilla Bean Paste

1 Tbsp Cream

1 tsp Lor-ann's Lemon Emulsion

Zest of medium lemon (finely zested - with a Microplane - don't get the pith!)

Juice of that same lemon (after zesting) - should be about 2 Tbsp

3 cups All Purpose Flour - unbleached preferred

1/4 tsp. baking powder (may use up to 1 tsp of baking powder if you want a higher rise)

Method:

In bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until well mixed.  

Add egg and mix until incorporated.  

Add vanilla bean paste, cream, lemon emulsion, zest, and juice of lemon.  Mix until smooth.  

Measure flour and add baking powder to flour, stirring to combine throughout.  

Add 1/2 of flour mixture to mixture in bowl and mix on low setting of stand mixer.  

Add the rest of the flour after all incorporated, again on low.  

Stop and scrape all the way to the bottom, pulse again.  

Re-check for crumblies on the bottom of the bowl and scrape up into dough with a spatula.  

Pulse again to fully incorporate all dry ingredients.  Don't over mix.

Love the flecks of lemon zest and vanilla bean that show in
the dough.  Wonderful flavor!

Divide dough in half, pat into a fat pancake shape, and wrap each half in plastic wrap.  

Chill in refrigerator for at least an hour.  Roll between two sheets of parchment for easier rolling of this sticky dough.  If you need to roll on the bench - flour generously to avoid sticking, or add an additional 1/2 cup of flour to the dough when mixing the dry ingredients in.  I always place my baking sheet with cut-outs on it into the freezer for about 15 minutes.  Since this is such a soft dough, I want to ensure the butter firms up and doesn't spread too much when baking.  After the freezer time, it is easy to brush any excess flour from the cookies with a pastry brush before baking.

Dip cookie cutter in flour so it doesn't
stick in this sticky dough.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until the bottom edge of the cookies are just barely starting to turn a light brown.

That can take anywhere between 10 and 18 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie and the particular pan I'm using.    These minis took about 12 minutes.

Remove when done and place pan on a cooling rack.  

Rest for at least 15 minutes.  

Remove from cookie sheet onto a cooling rack until completely cooled.  

  

I made a batch of  Lemon Drop Glaze and dipped the cookies upside down, placed on rack over the lined baking sheet and allowed to drip down the edges.

With the leftover glaze, I added more sifted powdered sugar and 2 drops of AmeriColor Electric Yellow gel color, and stirred until it was thick enough to pipe.  Using a #3 tip, I piped a little yellow circle in the middle of the daisy.  They were completely dry within 4 hours and able to be stacked between sheets of waxed paper in a container for storage.

Use at least a #3 tip so the zest doesn't clog the tip.

I had one of these this morning - it is a 2 or 3 bite cookie (if you are dainty - one bite if you aren't).  Wonderfully fragrant and full of flavor, enjoyed with a hot cup of tea or coffee.  These are not going to hang around very long I'm afraid!!!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

Cinnamon Rolls - Christmas Morning

Since it is just me, Mr. Flip Flop, and the 21 year old youngling at home for Christmas morning, I took breakfast requests.  Ian wanted cinnamon rolls...homemade.

Shoot, no problem.  I'll look up one of those recipes that you throw in the night before and pop in the oven the next morning.  Easy...right?

WRONG!

It started out great.  I had all the ingredients out, prepped and measured (except the flour) and I started with a recipe from allrecipes.com.  Unfortunately, the ingredients didn't exactly mesh with the instructions but I figured I could work it out.  It was evening of Christmas Eve - dinner was over - dishes done - this was all I had left to do.

The first part was heating some milk and then adding butter off the heat and allowing to come to lukewarm temp.  I stood there for about 10 minutes checking the temperature with a thermometer - I didn't want to kill the yeast.  I grew impatient with that and put in a thermometer with a digital alarm to tell me when it was 115 degrees.

I went into the living room and started writing my blog post about the gingerbread house I made, simultaneously watching the season finale of Homeland on the DVR when all of the sudden it was 11:00!  We were headed to bed and my husband said "didn't you have something going in the kitchen?"

O*M*G!!! - a small screech came out of my mouth and I scurried into the kitchen to find the temp at 77 degrees (too cool to activate yeast).  Even if I warmed it up, I'd have to let it rise for an hour after finishing the kneading and then roll it again and make and fill the rolls and then cut the rolls...you get the picture...I had at LEAST an hour and a half left to get those puppies in the fridge.

Not happening.

I told Mr. Flip Flop I would rather stick the now-cooled-pan in the fridge and get up earlier Christmas morning and finish the task.  I was exhausted.  So, that is what I did.  Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep through the night and woke up twice, ending up in the living room reading to get myself back to feeling sleepy.  Result?  I slept until 8:15 Christmas morning.

Fortunately, we're all adults.  Mr. Flip Flop kept sleeping, Ian got up, grabbed a coke, took a shower, and returned to his room without speaking. (he's 21 going on 16 some days)

I was in control this morning - I was rockin' it this morning.  I quickly pulled the milk and butter, popped it on low heat, and grabbed my Kindle to check my email and Facebook.  A few "seconds" later (hah, likely 15 or more minutes knowing me) I heard BOILING.  OH NO!  I grabbed the pan off the heat, grabbed some ice, threw it in the sink and sat my pan on it.  Out came the instant read thermometer...it was already down to 150.  I stood there until all the ice was melted and it was still 130.  I got one of those freezer paks and set it in the sink and put the pan on it.  Oh thank goodness.  Down to 115 in nothing flat.  I stirred and poured it over the yeast and fed it with sugar.  The rest of the dough proceeded BEAUTIFULLY.  A wonderful soft, poofy dough.  After the one hour rise (where it did double in size as required) I punched and rolled and measured and rolled again until I got it into a lovely rectangle shape.

As I looked at the filling instructions I thought "Huh? That can't be right!" so I ran over to get The Pioneer Woman's new cookbook that I won last week, thinking surely she would have cinnamon rolls in a holiday cookbook.  She did have it listed as a variation on an apple breakfast roll, so I looked at her ingredients for the filling and between the two recipes, I had what I thought sounded good.  I told my friend it was a Frankenstein recipe - bits and pieces from here and there..

I, of course, did not take any pictures of the process - who the heck has time for that on Christmas morning when you haven't had enough coffee nor sleep to be cogent?  Well, certainly not me.  Let me tell you, though, this was a wonderful cinnamon roll.  It was supposed to make 12 but I cut the middle section too thin and ended up with 13...kind of squished on the end...but still very, very delicious.  As you can see, we all dug in!

Here's the recipe I promised I would share for my friend, Diana.  But, really, Diana, you can skip the over-cooking, over-cooling, over-boiling of the milk and butter.  I'm sure it would work just fine without those extra crazy-making steps!!!

Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls
Inspired by AllRecipes.com and The Pioneer Woman

INGREDIENTS:

Dough Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter - cut into pieces
.25 ounce package active dry yeast (that is 2 1/2 tsp if you buy bulk like I do)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 1/2 to 5 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs

Filling Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 Tablespoon quality cinnamon
(you can add raisins or nuts if you like - we don't like)

Glaze Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar (confectioner's)
1 tsp. corn syrup (like Karo)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 Tablespoons heavy cream or Half and Half:

METHOD:

Prepare a stand mixer with a dough hook.  Add yeast to bowl.

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it barely bubbles.  Remove from heat.  Add the butter pieces to the milk and stir until melted.  Use an instant read thermometer and when it is exactly 115 degrees, pour the warm milk and butter onto the yeast.  Stir and add the granulated sugar, stirring again.  When you see it begin to form bubbles, add the eggs, salt, and two cups of flour.  Turn on the mixer to a medium low speed and let the dough hook stir until blended - add another cup of flour - increase the speed to get it well stirred in and add more flour until you get to the point where it has pulled together.  Allow the stand mixer to knead for about 5 minutes.  The dough will be very soft but holding onto the dough hook.  Add some flour to your counter or board and put the dough there to finish kneading by hand for about 3 minutes.  Soft and smooth is the goal.  Place dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap or a lightly dampened cotton dish towel.  Let rise in a warm, non-drafty location for 1 hour.  Should double in size.

In a small mixing bowl, mix the cinnamon and the brown sugar with a fork.
In a small bowl melt the butter for the filling in the microwave.  Took less than 30 seconds for me.

Punch down the risen dough and place it on a lightly floured surface.  Roll it into a rectangle approximately 10 x 15 inches.
Using a basting brush, completely cover the top of the dough with butter.  Sprinkle on the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.  If you are going to use nuts or raisins - now would be the time to add them.

Starting at the longest side closest to you, firmly roll the dough into a log.  Pinch together the final edge and place the pinched side down.  Cut into 12 even pieces (I'm sure you'll do better than I did).

Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan (I used a Pyrex pan).  Place the 12 pieces evenly in the pan.
Allow to rise slightly while you preheat your oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.

Bake rolls 24 to 30 minutes - watch carefully in the last 10 minutes.  Mine went from not ready to perfect in a two minute window (total of 26 minutes).

While they are baking, prepare the glaze - mix all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl with a small whisk.  You want your glaze to be able to drizzle but not too thin.  Adjust the cream accordingly.  If you go too far, just add a bit more powdered sugar and all will be well in your world..

When the rolls are golden brown they are ready.  Drizzle the glaze over the rolls.  Serve immediately.

Bon Appeit, Y'all!

My Favorite Cookies

It's December....

It's Time!

CHRISTMAS COOKIES!

I wanted to give you an easy to find list of my favorite cookies from past years.  Many I make over and over - some are reserved just for Christmas time.  I included my favorite brownies and homemade marshmallows...things that would go nicely on a "cookie tray" you might make for you friends or family.  So, here they are - enjoy!

DROP Cookies

Oatmeal Cookies

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Cranberry, Chocolate, Oatmeal Cookies

3-Kinda Chocolate Chip Cookies

Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mint Chocolate Delights

Forgotten Meringue Cookies

Lemon Ricotta "lemon drop" Cookies

Meringue Kisses

Chewy Chocolate Meringue Cookies

Peanut Butter Kisses aka Blossoms

Melting Moments

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

Spice Gooey Butter Cookies

BAR or SHAPED Cookies

Almond Joy Bar Cookie

Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

Homemade Marshmallows

Peanut Butter Crunch

Amish Friendship Bread made into bite-sized or mini cakelets

Fantasy Fudge

Lemon-glazed Madeleine

Pumpkin Spice Madeleine

Vanilla Bean Madeleine

Sugar Cookie Spirals

ROLLED Cookies

Vanilla Bean Rolled Sugar Cookies

Acorn Squash Rolled Sugar Cookies

Applebutter Rolled Sugar Cookies

Chocolate Espresso Choc Chip Rolled Cookies

Red Velvet Rolled Cookies

Gingerbread Rolled Cookies



Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

What a day, what a day...  I have been in the midst of a baking frenzy to get together some treats, prizes, and more treats for the grand finale of Paragraph's Mystery Week on South Padre Island.  If you read my blog post about Paragraphs Mystery of the Golden Booby, then you know that this week is the grand finale when all four authors are at Paragraphs on Padre Blvd and clues and the mystery will be discussed.  Prizes are in order (I'll be bringing a cookie or two for a prize) and I want to do what I can to say thank you to the hard working book sellers and authors who were so enthusiastic about providing all of us a bit of Winter fun! 


I decided, several weeks ago, to try to make a Blue Footed Booby Cake (I am not a good cake decorator - I don't practice) so I found a cake pan on Amazon that I thought could be made into a Golden Booby shaped cake.  I had also been perusing recipes and, only today, decided to make it chocolate (a strong second was a pumpkin flavored cake, but since my cookies were the Acorn Squash Sugar Cookies which taste a lot like pumpkin spice, I opted for chocolate).  I found a couple of recipes and in my usual mash-up method, I ended up with a Chocolate Sour Cream Cake.  I made a sample cake - it was yummy - so I got started.

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

Adapted from Ghirardelli's Grand Fudge Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

3/4 cup Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup sour cream

1/3 cup low fat milk

1 Tbsp. brewed coffee

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prepare two 9" pans by lightly greasing and flouring or use something like Baker's Joy spray.

In 4 cup measuring cup (or separate mixing bowl) mix the dry ingredients with a wire whisk.  Set aside.

In a 2 cup measuring cup (or separate small mixing bowl) mix the milk, sour cream, and coffee with a whisk.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes).  Add vanilla and mix until incorporated.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated after each egg added.

Add 1/3 of dry ingredients on low speed, alternating with 1/2 of the wet ingredients, ending with the dry ingredients.  Mix with each addition until well incorporated.  Scrape down to the bottom of the mixing bowl to insure everything is well incorporated.  Mix until smooth and fluffy.

Divide the batter into each pan and level with an offset spatula.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a cake tester (or toothpick) comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

Allow to cool on rack (in pans) for 10 minutes.  Turn out onto cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

I used a Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese frosting and did a thin crumb coat on the bird after the cake had cooled completely.  It was another unusually cold day today, so the cake cooled fairly rapidly!  After the crumb coat had firmed up in the fridge I did another layer of butter cream, colored some frosting for the wings and some for the beak and tried my hardest to decorate a cake that looked vaguely like the fabled Blue-Footed Golden Booby.  I could not, however, bring myself to spray it gold.  I don't mind a bit of lustre dust on a cookie - but an entire cake?  I thought not.  While I was at it, I made some blue feet out of royal icing I had left from decorating the cookies.  I had made little blue feet RI transfers for some cookies and a big set of feet for the cake.  I was praying it wouldn't break when I removed it from the wax paper.  It didn't - but it did break when I put it on the slightly rounded cake...fragile RI transfer was flat - cake was round.  Not a good mix.  I glued everything back together with more blue RI.  Woo hoo!

I'll have written this over a two-day period....and the only photo of the cake I got was a fast one at the event, in not very good light.  So, here it is.  Don't laugh...I was really working outside my comfort zone. The blessing is, it was a darn good cake and nearly every crumb was scraped off the cake board!  Yay...I love it when a plan comes together!  If anyone has any cake photos, I'd love to have a copy!


I'll be sharing a post on the cookies I made - probably tomorrow or the day after.  This was an unusually hectic week and I didn't do my usual photos.  I will, however, share what I have!

Until then...

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

Lemon Ricotta Acorn Cakelets

I'm in love with Nordic Ware pans.  I've posted about my seashell teacake pan (which I prefer to call cakelet pans) but I haven't shared my newest acquisition...the Acorn pan!  I saw it on Amazon and searched every local retailer possible to no avail so I finally broke down and ordered it online.  When you live in the boonies and you want something specific, Amazon can be a real life saver.  I am still a firm believer in shopping in local independent shops whenever possible...but sometimes...you gotta go with the big box in the sky.  This was one of those times.

It's been on my wish list for over a year.  I kept hoping the price would go down.  It didn't.  I also opted to buy a second seashell cakelet pan.  It gets really old to try to make batches of these and wait for cooling in between.  Nigh impossible for my patience level!  So, now, I have 4 Nordic Ware "teacake pans".  One, the first, is not my favorite, but I use it anyway.  I'm sure I just need to find the correct density batter/dough to make that first one work well.  I usually end up with a lot of holes and that's not always pretty!

Anyway, here's a picture of my new pan.  So cute!

Nordic Ware Acorn Cakelet Pan

I had every intention of creating or finding a pumpkin recipe for the acorn cakelets...but I ended up having 6 expensive Meyer lemons that were staring at me from my counter, and I needed to use them before they became over-ripe on me.  I search for them so I really don't want THAT to happen!  Therefore, I grabbed my absolute favorite lemon cookie recipe (which is quite cakey) and decided we would have lemon acorns...and lemon seashells too, because, I do live at the coast!

I whipped them all up and having 3 pans made life so much easier.  The recipe made exactly 2 pans worth of each cakelet (4 pans total).  Since I started the acorn first, it was great to have it cool and easily washed for the 4th round.  I did up the glaze recipe a bit because I tend to run out when I use the original recipe instructions.  Here's the link to the original recipe from Giada De Laurentis.  I don't change anything in the dough. However, I do give a quick spritz of Pam or other cooking spray to the pan before filling.  I use a 1 Tbsp. scoop to fill (and actually liked the second batch of acorn cakelets where I used a heaping Tbsp scoop instead of it leveled off).  For a more ample amount of glaze, I make it thusly:

Lemon Drop Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 lemon finely zested (a Microplane is perfect for this task)

Combine ingredients with a small whisk.  Cover and let sit for 15 minutes or so to ensure any sugar lumps dissolve.  Re-stir before using.

Place the cakelets on a rack over a baking sheet.  Ensure they are completely cool.  Dip the cakelet upside down into the glaze, allow to drip a second or two over the bowl, then turn right side up and place back on rack for glaze to harden.

The glaze is hardened and the cakelets are now
easy to handle.  If you look close you can see
the zest in the glaze.  OMG - so good!

I call it Lemon Drop Glaze because my family says these cookies/cakelets taste like lemon drops.  They are deliciously sweet and tart and my eyes roll when I bite into one!

I have no idea how long these cookies or cakelets last.  They don't stay around in my house long enough to find out!  Keep covered and enjoy (I love a cup of coffee or hot tea with 2 or 3 of these babies).

See you on the other side of Thanksgiving my friends!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

Thanksgiving Cookies 2013

I've been studiously working on cookies all week.  We are staying home this year because Mr. Flip Flop has to work Friday... so family Thanksgiving will be celebrated over the week-end (probably with Mexican Food because we'll all be stuffed with turkey already).

I wanted to get some cookies in the mail today for some of those family members we won't be able to see.  I hope they make it there intact and on time for them to enjoy...I've happily played with this first set...and will be working on more to take with us for our little celebration when it finally happens.  It's not the day you celebrate thankfulness and family that matters, it's the people you're with!

I used Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie dough and you can find the link to a printable recipe here.  Scroll to the bottom of the recipe and it says "print page" below the comments box.  I roll all of my cookies 3/8" thick and this dough does a great job of not spreading when well-chilled. For best results, chill overnight in the fridge.  Give it a try!  I like to use Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste...it's the best I've ever tried.  If you can't find it locally, you can order it on Amazon in the U.S.  If you can't find paste or order it...you can scrape whole vanilla bean pods of their seeds and add it to the dough instead.  I would suggest 2 or 3 beans...you really want to see the little specks in this cookie and have a fragrant vanilla aroma when it bakes.  The Lor-Ann's emulsion is also available on Amazon if you can't find it locally.  I have gotten it at Hobby Lobby and at Michael's down here in The Valley.  It makes a delicious difference to the taste.  Shake both the paste and emulsion before using for best results.

So - here's a sharing of photos...with some commentary.  I'm still struggling with the stencils, but I assume, as my husband says, "it's a cookie...they will eat it".    I guess that is the absolute truth, but I really like them to be the best that they can be!

Large Turkey and Mini Pumpkins

I wrote a Turkey Tutorial last year and I mentioned that I felt like it needed a wing.  I finished my big turkeys this year and thought the same thing, but I had not remembered my comment that I would address that issue in 2013.  So, I thought, "how about a royal icing transfer?"  I'd finished everything last night and had some brown and ivory royal icing left over so I grabbed a piece of flat parchment paper and piped a brown "shape" and two lines of ivory...ran a needle tool down them for feathering and left it to dry last night.  I glued them on with some more brown icing, used a dry paint brush to neaten up where some squished out after I applied the transfers, and voila!  It was just the trick! 

I see so many cookie artists' work that I worry I am using somebody's idea without giving credit.  I try to go back and see if I can find pictures where I got the idea.  These little pumpkins are one of those ideas I know I got "somewhere" and I can't remember where.  I know I got the idea for the ivory pumpkin from LilaLoa's blog.  What I don't remember, is who I saw use lustre dust in the crevices to accent the pumpkin curves.  It wasn't a white pumpkin, but an orange one.  If I find it, I'll be sure to add in credit.  I waited until the pumpkin sections were dried and then I dipped a dry paint brush in some bronze edible lustre dust, tapped off the excess and just ran it down the seams.  I really like the effect! (Update 11/28/2013 - I was looking at some YouTube tutorials today and saw Haniela had done orange pumpkins painted with lustre dust...I think that may have been where I got the idea.  Here's the link to her tutorial if you are interested.  She does great work!)

Two different leaf techniques.  I usually suck at leaves.
I love these front two!

Okay - I had to stop in the midst of my blog post writing and try like crazy to find my inspiration for the front two cookies.  I know it was a "chalkboard" style of cookie - dark background and light leaf veins.  Checked Cookie Connection clips, my Facebook feed, Google images...nada zip!  Again, I'll apologize in advance.  I think it was someone sharing someone else's cookies on Facebook.  Any whoo.... I am not really very good at Fall Leaves as a subject matter.  I think it is from living in Texas my entire life and we don't really get the colored leaves so I haven't any real-life experience to draw from.  I coated everything with a different orange that I mixed up with orange, brown, and some other color I can't remember...it looked "Fallish" to me and less like Halloween.  I based coated the leaves and let them dry.  I remembered seeing a YouTube video from Ali Bee's Bake Shop which demonstrated speckling leaves with lustre dust.  So, I watched it again and did that on the back cookie.  Then I watched a YouTube video from SweetAmbsCookies that inspired me to paint the piped veins with lustre dust...so I did that! I was down to the last two leaves last night (I put aside stuff I'm not good at) and decided I was going to use an edible food marker (brown) and just draw veins.  I was tired and I didn't really want to pipe anything any more.  I let them dry but didn't like the way they looked so I got a brush and dipped dry bronze lustre dust and started dry painting the entire cookie.  The lustre dust changed the brown to a kind of silvery bronze color and I perked right up.  I loved it!  Then, I used some of the wet to paint a border around the two leaves.  They ended up being one of my favorites in the bunch!  AND SO EASY!  I don't use my markers enough.

Turkey stencil from Designer Stencils.

I made 6 larger rounds in hopes of having an easier time stenciling.  Some luck...some not.  I waited too long into the decorating process and my hands were tired and shaky...and my icing wasn't "just right" and I got some "under flow" with the stencil...not crisp and clean.  Oh well - I'll keep trying.  The pumpkins, acorns, and turkeys were much easier this year due to practice!  The acorn was a larger cutter I found in a set at Michael's.  I find I really like my mid-sized acorn better - it isn't so "round" and the caps look better when they are a bit smaller.  Again...it's a cookie...they will eat it!

More efforts at stenciling....

The lower left cookie ... well, I moved it before I finished stenciling the words at the bottom...and once you do that - there's no going back.  So, I used a food marker to write the words.  Necessity is the mother of invention (not that invented anything, it just sounded like the thing to say).  I am posting this picture mostly to show the cookie on the lower right side.  The stencil skills were sucky on the leaves...but the words were crisp.  Good grief!  However, I liked the border I made.  I used a tiny little leaf tip from PME... #ST50... to go with a scallop and dot border.  I liked the way it looked, so I'm sharing.

Another DesignerStencils.com product.

This cookie was another experiment with borders.  I like multiple borders and I had a tip I'd never used because I couldn't figure it out.  It is a "spiked leaf" from PME and is #54.  I had it in with my star tips and when I sorted tips the other day I found it and looked it up.  I thought it was squished or something and then realized it was a leaf tip.  Huh, who knew?  Obviously not me!  I tried it out on this cookie as a border and while it was bigger than I expected, it was kind of cool.

Tired of looking at cookie pictures yet?  Yeah, me too...I have other things I should be doing...like packing these up to go out in the mail TODAY!

Here's the last one...

A stencil job I'm happy with!

This stencil turned out just the way I imagined it in my mind.  A little bit of maroon, some yellow, brown, and green leaf.  It came out fairly well I thought and I liked the shell and dot borders too.  Whew! (#13 Wilton star tip for the border).  All of my dots are using a PME 1.5 tip and a looser consistency of RI than I used to use.  I find if I space correctly, pipe straight up and down, and follow the Julia Usher school of "you should never have to push down a point if you have the right consistency of icing" (that's not a direct quote, but the general idea)...I get nicely rounded dots.

So, I have more cookies to make and I'll share those likely next week.  I won't have time for more blogging as we are ramping up for the big Gobble Gobble day.  Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving if you don't hear from me before then!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

Squash Sugar Cookies, Take Two!

Undecorated allows you to see how nicely they
are rolled and cut as well as the bits of squash and
spices in this wonderful Fall-ish cookie!

In early August, Ian asked for a spice cheesecake for his birthday.  I didn't recall having a recipe for a spice cheesecake but we looked back at the blog because he remembered I had made one before.  We found a 2010 recipe for Squash Chocolate Cheesecake.  He said "yes, that's the one"!  I was so surprised!  Squash? I asked of the "vegetable-hater"... Yes, he confirmed...that's the one.  Fortunately, I've got a couple of cups of roasted and peeled acorn squash in the freezer - it's a wonderful staple to have on hand for sweets (I use it often in lieu of pumpkin) and as a wonderful addition to soups.  The recipe only called for a cup of the squash, so I decided to re-make the Squash Sugar Cookie recipe, I had also done in 2010, with the remaining squash.

I noticed, when reviewing that recipe, that it didn't include any egg.  Huh?  Was that a mistake?  I tried to find the source recipe and it is no longer posted on the B&B Recipe web site.  Hmmmm.  I set out some butter and followed the recipe and I have to say "this MUST be a mistake"...the dough was way too crumbly.

After 2 1/2 more years of baking experience since I developed that recipe, I knew of a couple of tweaks that would make a much nicer cookie...still keeping the sweet flavor of the squash silently in the background.  So, here's the recipe I ended up with.  The texture is now perfect for rolling and I can only apologize if anyone tried to make the one I posted in 2010!!!  I try to be very careful...but sometimes mistakes happen...and I think that may have been one of those times.

Printable Recipe

Squash Sugar Cookies, Take Two!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup drained, dry, roasted acorn squash (I squeezed the squash in a cotton kitchen towel, twisting until quite dry - then I pulsed it in the food processor...I remember the previous cookies having some long strands of squash - the food processor didn't truly puree the squash, but it did cut the long strands)
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Method:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until combined.  Add squash and mix until combined.  Add egg and vanilla bean paste and mix until well incorporated.

In a 4-cup measuring cup, mix all of the dry ingredients with a whisk and add to the wet mixture in the mixer bowl.  Mix just until blended.

Divide dough in two parts.  Form a disk and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour - preferably 2 or 3 hours for a nice rolled cookie.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remove dough 5 minutes prior to being ready to roll the dough.  Roll either on a lightly floured surface or between two sheets of parchment paper.
Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut various shapes.  Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet or on a baking mat lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on thickness (some thick cookies that were cut with a large cutter took 13-14 minutes to bake...light brown along the bottom edge is the indicator).  Allow to cool on rack before decorating with a glaze or buttercream frosting....or royal icing if you want to decorate nicely!

These are a great Fall flavored spice cookie with an unusual cookie ingredient.  However, they are great any time of the year.  They are an awesome cookie!  The photos I took were of the naked cookies...the next post will include some of these that I baked recently and decorated for an on-the-beach birthday party.  Keep an eye out for that!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!




 

Vanilla Bean Cheese Cake

The saga of Mr. Flip Flop requesting cheesecake for his birthday continues.  This year, he requested a simple vanilla cheesecake.  Drat...I so like experimenting.  HOWEVER, since I am on a vanilla bean paste kick (still) I decided to modify our family's favorite basic recipe and eliminate the chocolate and supplement the vanilla extract with some vanilla bean paste.  So, with these few tweaks...here's the "new" recipe!

Happy Birthday dearest husband...you bring tremendous joy and love into my life... I look forward to growing old together (which, obviously, is drawing closer and closer LOL!!!)  Hope you enjoy your cake!

VANILLA BEAN CHEESECAKE
Adapted from Marble Cheesecake Recipe 
Austin American-Statesman, 1974

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons salted butter, melted

3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons quality vanilla bean paste
4 eggs
1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup sugar with hand whisk in a mixing bowl.  Break up any lumps.  Add melted butter and mix until all crumbs moistened.  Press in bottom and 1 3/4 inches up the side of a 9-inch spring form pan (I usually wrap the spring form pan in foil on the outside before making the crust...just to ensure there is no butter leakage).  I prefer to press the crust using a flat-bottomed metal 1-cup measure.  Works beautifully!  After crust prepared and in pan, set aside and begin filling.

In bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, 1 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean paste on medium speed until smooth and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, with mixer on low just until blended.  Add cream and continue beating on low speed just until blended.  You don't want to put a lot of air in it at this point.

Pour mixture into prepared crust and allow to sit a minute or two.  I run a sharp knife through to pop any bubbles, taking care not to touch the bottom of the crust.

Place on rack in middle of oven and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the center appears nearly set when gently shaken.  Remove from oven and let sit on a cooling rack for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, very gently run a sharp knife around the edges and then release the spring to loosen the sides of the pan. 

Yay...sides released and nothing stuck!

Cool 30 more minutes on rack, then oh so carefully, remove the sides of the pan to avoid getting crumbs on the cheesecake. 


 

I leave mine on the base...I have NEVER successfully removed a cheesecake from the bottom of the spring pan....I don't care how many YouTube videos I watch!  Chill cake several hours.  Makes 16 servings (well, not in this house...more like 10 LOL!!!)

There is a note on the original recipe that the top of this cheesecake typically cracks during cooling.  I kept my fingers crossed that this wouldn't happen...and it didn't!  I have a 75% crack rate (I don't really measure...but that sounds about right) for cheesecakes.  I noticed this one does have some bubbles that surfaced in the middle though...and my crust went a little higher than usual (I don't measure that either).  Like I always say...it is what it is!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

Crescent Roll Explosion Apple Tartlets

What do you do when you've had a sort-of crappy day, get home with loads of groceries and find a can of crescent rolls exploded in the grocery bag?  (The end of the can blew off...really...just exploded!)

If you are me, you gently rescue the dough, make 4 squares out of the 8 triangles (pinching/pressing the seams together), spoon in some canned apple pie filling (I used Lucky Leaf), pull the dough over the filling to make a "purse"...pinch all seams thoroughly... bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown.  Allow to cool.  (These crescent rolls were H.E.B. store brand reduced fat...worked perfectly)

Two were round, two were elongated...the dough was not consistent...
but, considering it had exploded, no surprises there!

While cooling, mix up an icing/glaze consisting of about 2-3 Tbsp heavy cream, 1/2 tablespoon vanilla bean paste, a dash of cinnamon, and 1/2 to 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar until thick and smooth.  Load into a zipper sandwich bag and snip the end...drizzle all over the dumpling-like dessert.  It was so freaking delicious!  E-Z P-Z!!!

I was so irritated in the beginning and all smiles at the end of it all!  My husband nearly licked his plate and smacked his lips!  That's a good sign.

Inside the "explosion tartlets"...yummy!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

Run to Hear 2013 Cookies!

I've written in the past about Run to Hear... a charity near and dear to my heart.  It's a wonderful charity focused on raising funds to help support deaf and hard of hearing children who want to hear and speak.  A group of children, calling themselves The Deaf Club since they were pre-teens, are now all entering their late teens and early 20's.  They wanted a way to "pay it forward" because they know how very fortunate they are.  All of them, through the years, have become cochlear implant users and they are very aware of how incredibly expensive their gift of hearing has been for their parents.  They came up with having a benefit 5K to raise funds...and this was their 3rd event.  In past years, most of the work was done by the parents, with the kids in training.  This year... a huge amount of the work was done by the young adults.  Before long, I expect it to be totally in their hands.  We are all very proud parents.

This month's incredibly busy schedule included learning a new cookie decorating technique (actually TWO techniques) and using said techniques in the preparation of 150 cookies for the Run to Hear families and for some excellent volunteer workers!

Technique #1 - Using edible wafer paper, printed with the Run to Hear logo, as the centerpiece of each cookie.

Technique #2 - Finally getting the correct royal icing consistency so that I could learn to pipe a shell border. 

I started by working with our tech support guy and photographer extraordinaire, Alex Labry, on the Run to Hear team.  He provided me with a .jpg of the color logo.  I then sent the logo to an Etsy seller, CookiePixie.  She worked with me to custom design the wafer paper order to make the most cookies possible at the lowest cost.  I received many compliments on the vivid colors...she was great to work with.

Next, once I received the wafer papers (30 to a sheet), I began making cookie dough and baking off the cookies - I elected to go with small scalloped edge squares.  It took 4 batches of Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie Dough rolled 3/8" thick.  Next, I prepped enough white royal icing to outline and flood 160 cookies (extras in case I screwed up).  I needed to make sure it was smooth, so it was a bit looser than usual and they turned out really nice.  One thing I will do if I ever attempt a huge project like this again, is to make a template and draw, with food color markers, an outline on the cookie of what I want to pipe.  My base coat sizes were not consistent.  Anyway, after I got them all flooded, I set them under the fans (I had to buy an extra fan to keep them all going...humidity was HIGH).  I knew I shouldn't be particularly concerned with bubbles because I knew the wafer paper would cover most everything.  However, my need to have things neat made me compulsively try to make each cookie bubble free!  I let them dry thoroughly under the fans for 24 hours.  Applying the wafer paper requires a completely dry base coat.

The next step was to cut the square logo prints.  I had read on the Cookie Pixie blog that she sometimes snipped off her corners to get good adhesion.  I did some without...and most with curved corners.  The ones with straight corners tended to be the most difficult to get to lay down flat.  Since I'd never done this before, I messed up a few.  I tried techniques I had read about on The Cookie Connection web site...and I ended up finding the most success painting the back of the rounded corner squares with corn syrup. 

 

I wiped my hands with a moist dish towel and dried them between every single application.  The deal with wafer paper...water melts them immediately.  The deal with painting with corn syrup...very sticky endeavor.  Impossible to get the edges without getting it on your hands.  I soon got into a rhythm.  Because my cookie surfaces were not consistent I learned quickly to just cut all of the squares and put them in a bowl.  Then, I'd sit three cookies in front of me and my bowl of light corn syrup and artist's paint brush.  I had a pair of tiny, very sharp scissors at my right hand and a cleaning station to my left.  I trimmed each square to fit each cookie and allowed the trim bits to fall into a ramekin.  Flipped the paper, painted the back and carefully turned it onto the cookie, gently smoothing all the way to the edges.  Move the cookie to the rack in front of the fan.  Complete the 3 cookies, re-smooth the edges...repeat 160 times.  Dry another 24 hours.

The next day, I made more royal icing and added just a spritz of water to the thick "concrete" to make the stiff icing to pipe the shell borders.  I had never been successful with making a shell border - either the icing was too loose or I didn't "get" what the motion was supposed to be like.  Then I watched Julia Usher demonstrate it on her Ultimate Cookies DVD.  I had some wax paper to the side and used it, as she instructed, to practice and make sure my tip and icing consistency were just right.  After watching her a few times, it just clicked!  I used a #13 Wilton star tip and I went to town!  I did mess up a few and let my husband eat the mistakes. 

I also wanted to eat one myself to make sure the wafer papers tasted okay.  Truth was, they didn't taste like anything.  They didn't melt as fast as I expected and I could tell there was "something" on the icing...but it tasted just fine!  150 cookies later, under the fans to dry again.  The piped border neatly covered all of the wafer paper edges.  I had every intention of piping colorful dots around the outer edge of the scallops...but I gave up.

OK - I admit by this point, I was T*I*R*E*D of cookies!  I gave myself a break and then got started on bagging each one.  I decided not to tie with little ribbons this time, but did seal each with a happy face stickers.

I boxed them up and prayed they would make it unscathed on the 390 mile journey to my destination.
The prayers were answered and the run, and cookies, were a success.  Whew! 

Deaf Club Members and the young ladies who came up with the idea of
paying it forward with a charity event...
Claire Labry, Bridget Black, and Karlie Franke!
Photograph courtesy of Alex Labry Photographer

Bon Appetit, Y'all!

What's Up Pup?

It's been a busy few weeks here at the coast.  Balancing regular work, working out, working on cookies, husband's new work schedule, and working on household chores ...results in lots of work going on!  The good news is that my husband is working a regular day shift for the first time in 20 years (woo hoo!).  He's been traveling a LOT for the past 5 years and he was soooo ready to get a job close to home with no 350 mile journeys to get home for a week-end.  That DID happen in March...but he wasn't all that happy...and he still had drive 130 miles every day.  He was very fortunate to get a job even closer to home within the same company and started two weeks ago.  It's been quite an adjustment...a good adjustment, but it is a change!  I'm back to cooking regular dinners, having more laundry, and needing to be "with the family" in the evenings instead of working on my many projects.  When you then add Zumba back into my life with an additional topping of working out in the gym 5 days per week... my free time has gotten more challenging to find! 

Blogging seems to be slipping between the cracks.  My family doesn't like to wait for photos and stuff before eating...that wore thin fairly quickly the first year or so of blogging!  Now, however, I'm starting to gently push the issue again! 

On the 4th of July we stayed at home and avoided the high volume tourist traffic heading to the island.  We love the island in the Fall and the Spring...we do NOT frequent the island much during the Summer!  Holidays and week-ends are particularly unappealing now that we live here and can enjoy a traffic-and-crowd-free season by waiting for September.

Our grill died a rusty death (a side effect of living on the Laguna Madre) and Mr. Flip Flop had bought some beautiful Choice boneless Rib-eyes at Sam's Club.  I picked up some fresh jumbo Gulf Shrimp at Quik Stop in Port Isabel and thus we had the makings for Surf and Turf...even if I had to do them in a stove-top grill pan.  They were outstanding!  We are particularly fond of baked yams so I picked up a few at the grocery store as well as some really nice fresh green beans.  I had intended to make some of Ann Smith's Sour Cream Crescent Rolls but time got away from me and we ended up with Pillsbury's Crescent Rolls instead.  We were so full from all of the good food, we could have done without the bread completely!  Everyone else had already done a nose dive into their steaks and shrimps when I realized I had only eaten one shrimp and still had a "photo op" with my plate...so here it is.  My steak was half the size of the boys' but their plates were no longer "attractive", so the smallest shows here!  It was really quite an easy dinner to throw together.  I seasoned the steaks with Weber Chicago Style Seasoning (one of our favorites after dining at the Weber Restaurant in Chicago) and while the steaks were resting, I quickly pan-grilled the peeled and de-veined shrimp.  I snapped the beans while watching one of my DVR'd shows and boiled them in simple salt, pepper, and onion powder.  Delish.  Yams went in the microwave and were perfectly tender and moist.  Yummy to the X-treme!  I only ate 3 shrimps and half of my steak...but I ate two servings of green beans and all of my yam.  We all sat around in a food-induced daze after dinner!!!

Dessert was quickly-decorated miniature star sugar cookies (eaten later that evening).  I started them late Wednesday night and finished them off on Thursday morning.  They were all gone by Friday.  Not my best work, but I was at a tired spot in the day and my hands were not cooperating with piping straight lines and my red icing was not "just right" in the consistency department.  Still, they were very patriotic looking and the family was appreciative.  They are liking the slightly revised recipe I've been using (Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies) and that I'm rolling at 3/8" thickness instead of 1/4".  It makes for a slightly softer, more buttery textured cookie.  Mr. Flip Flop and I went to Lowe's last week-end and bought me some 3/8" untreated trim board to use as rolling guides.  They are fabulous!  Easy to roll out consistent thickness cookies.  Plus, they are much sturdier and less inclined to break when I shake them or bang them on the table to get a smooth surface.  Thicker is better I think!

On Friday I started a big 150-cookie project and spent the past afternoon, evening, and this morning busily base-coating 13 dozen cookies.  The decorating of those cookies will take several days and involve a new technique (or two) for me...so keep your eyes out for a blog post on that before long!

Hope everyone had a great 4th...we sure enjoyed relaxing at home.  Sometimes that is just the best thing in the world!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

Red Velvet Coconut Bars

UPDATE - After Book Club:
I would now substitute a basic chocolate cake mix instead of Red Velvet.  The red from the cake mix got all over fingers, teeth, and tongues.  Since bars are meant to be handled with your fingers, and I saw how intense the red was, I did take forks and plates and lots of napkins.  It was a bit embarrassing to see how overly intense the red was.  Oh well, lesson learned.  It was really tasty though!  Try it with just a chocolate cake mix and it will do fine...although, at Christmas, it might be pretty!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am going to my first Book Club meeting Tuesday morning at Paragraph's on Padre and wanted to take a treat to have with coffee.  I found a recipe on Inside BruCrew Life's blog and I wanted to give it a try, but as so often happens, I didn't have all of the ingredients.  Since I'd rather be nibbled to death by ducks than go to the grocery store today, I scanned my pantry shelves.  I went crazy... I just flew by the seat of my pants and hoped it would turn out better than okay...but if it was at least okay, I'd have something to take.  I am a huge fan of Jocelyn at Inside BruCrew Life - she has a plethora of yummy desserts and I have tried several of them... not a bad one in the bunch.  I was very hopeful that my fly-by of one of her desserts would be something she might appreciate.

Here's what I ended up with:

Red Velvet Coconut Bars

Red Velvet Coconut Bars
Inspired by Inside BruCrew Life

Ingredients:

1 Red Velvet cake mix (used Duncan Hines)
6 Tbsp salted butter, melted
1/3 cup Half and Half
1 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk (not evaporated milk)
8 ounces Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
7 ounce bag of Bakers Angel Flake Coconut (sweetened)
6 ounces Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 tsp. brewed coffee
1/2 cup heavy cream

Method:

WEAR GLOVES
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare a 9x13 pan with cooking spray (I used a glass pan because I wanted to see what the layers looked like) .
Combine the cake mix, melted butter, and half and half until crumbly and wet.

Press one half of the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan.  Set the remaining dough to the side. (If you failed to heed my warning to wear gloves - well, you now have red hands)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until mostly smooth.  Add the coconut and mix on low.
Pour the cream cheese mixture over the dough in the pan and smooth out evenly with a spatula.

Pull and drop bits of the rest of the cake dough over the top of the cream cheese mixture.  The dough is very "doughy" so try to pull small pieces and get them evenly over the top...it will not provide full coverage.  That's okay.

Bake at 350 degrees 28-30 minutes.  There was still a bit of jiggle in the middle when it came out.  That's okay too. It firms up when cooled.  The edges are lightly browned.  Place pan on rack and allow to cool completely.

Place chocolate chips in a heat resistant mixing bowl and add one teaspoon of brewed coffee.  In a small saucepan, bring the whipping cream just to a slight boil, stirring the entire time.  Remove immediately from the heat as it reaches a boil and pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips.  Stir until mixture is creamy and richly chocolate!  You have ganache....yum.

Spread thinly over the top of the bars.  Let set completely before cutting into squares.

The "red" part of the Red Velvet is quite messy and impossible
to cut without getting color on the white portion.
Regardless, they are delicious!
 

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!