Tag: cookies

Candy Heart Cookies

IMG_5443.jpg

If you are in the baking mood and want to get in touch with your artistic side, these cookies are both fun and challenging to create. While the actual mixing and roll out portion is super easy, the decorating is more of a mindful practice. My cookies are in no way perfect, but I enjoy the process and love making them my own.

IMG_5466.jpg

I know we all have a basic sugar cookie recipe, but this one is my favorite because of several reasons – it is super simple, you have baked cookies in no time at all, and they taste the best with the kind of soft texture I require of a sugar cookie. No crunchy cookies in my house.

IMG_5474.jpg

I like to use a mix of almond and vanilla extract in the dough. I love the flavor of vanilla and can’t be without it in a sweet confection. I use almond because the icing has almond as well, and they compliment each other. If you like a certain flavor, by all means use it instead. These cookies can be your blank canvas to experiment on.

IMG_5487IMG_5480

The best part of this dough is it does not have to chill. You can make and bake with no time in between – which is great for people such as myself who cannot wait to eat a cookie once they’ve started the process. I have a chocolate chip cookie recipe that requires DAYS between making and baking and its basically torture (if it weren’t for the cookie dough I sneak in the mean time).

IMG_5511

So whether you want to eat a great sugar cookie, to test out your cookie icing skills, or need a gift for someone sweet, this cookie recipe is something fun to try.

Roll Out Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon almond flavoring
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring
  • 2 1/2 + a little more all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Cream together butter and confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl. Add egg and flavorings, blending well. With a sifter on top of your large bowl, sift in flour, baking powder and salt, then mix until ingredients are just incorporated. You will know when the dough is ready by touching it – the dough shouldn’t really stick to your fingers. If dough is too sticky, add more flour. Let dough sit for 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick and cut with heart shaped cutters (any size works – I used small and medium). Place on silpat lined cookie sheets and bake for 7-8 minutes, being careful not to let brown. I take them out when they look completely dry, but have no browning whatsoever.

Icing:

  • one bag confectioners’ sugar (2 pounds)
  • 5 tablespoons meringue powder (available at Michaels)
  • 2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup warm water (+ more if necessary)

Stir extracts into water. Using a whisk attachment on a stand mixer, slowly mix confectioners’s sugar and meringue powder. Add water and extracts slowly, with mixer on low. Once incorporated, whisk on medium-high for about 2-4 minutes, or until thick, fluffy and glossy. Icing should form a soft peak.

Separate icing evenly into four bowls (or into 5 if you want to do another color). Add pink food color to one, purple to another, green to another and yellow to the fourth. Since I used small amounts of frosting, only a little coloring was needed – so start with just a tiny bit, adding more until you get the color you want.

Here is an amazing trick for getting colors into piping bags. For each color icing, I place about 3 tablespoons into piping bag and pipe an outline around each cookie. Then you fill the outline with about 2 teaspoons matching icing and smooth to edge with an offset spatula. If your icing seems to thick, you can add a touch of water (works best with a spray bottle until you get proper flooding consistency). The flood icing stops at the outline, and dries smooth and flat. Place cookies by a fan to dry if you want them extra glossy. Let cookies dry for about 2 hours before piping any lettering.

To pipe lettering, dye leftover pink or leftover white frosting red. Use trick for piping bag above, and use #2 wilton tip to write phrases on cookies. Take your time and don’t get frustrated! It takes patience and practice. By the last cookie, I’m sure you will feel like a pro.

Depending on cookie cutter sizes used, this recipe makes about 2 to 2 1/2 dozen. Can be doubled.

food coloring // Wilton tips // icing bags // heart cookie cutters // Silpat // off-set spatula

 

 

Soft, Dreamy PB Cookies

IMG_3062

Ever feel like a cookie will make everything better? Yes? Ok good, me too. A batch of these heavenly peanut butter cookies have the ability to not only make everything better, but they make the future bright too. Because you know there are more to devour.

IMG_3064

They are super soft, chewy and rich with peanut butter deliciousness. A perfect match for a glass of cold milk.

IMG_3069

IMG_3072.JPG

I need to stress the importance of doing the criss cross pattern. You have to. It’s how you know it’s a peanut butter cookie and is simple/fun to do. Just take the tines of a fork and press into the dough once, turn fork and press again.

IMG_3168IMG_3175IMG_3190IMG_3192

Sprinkle with some regular good ol’ granulated sugar, bake, and eat. YUM.

IMG_3076

IMG_3063

Note: So I accidentally bought salted peanut butter at Traders Joe’s. Apparently the normal peanut butter we all use is unsalted. As I dumped the cup into my softened butter, I licked the spoon before putting it in the sink. YUCK. Salted peanut butter tastes, well, over salted. I feared the batch ruined. In an attempt to fix it, I left out the 1/2 teaspoon salt and all was right in the world. Cookies turned out fine. This note is in case you somehow buy salted PB. If you are allergic to peanut butter, I am sure a soy nut butter would work just fine in place of regular PB.

Dreamy PB Cookies

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar, for sprinkling
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Use a cookie scoop (whatever size you would like) to measure out balls of dough, and roll with your hands to make perfect. Place on a silpat lined cookie sheet. Press down with a fork in a criss cross pattern and sprinkle with sugar.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and refrigerate cookies for 15-30 minutes while oven is heating. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Do not over bake! Unless you like crunchy cookies. Store in an air-tight container. Makes around 2 1/2 dozen with a medium cookie scoop.