Beginning with Cookies

Where to begin this blog?  I'm thinking you can never go wrong with cookies.  We made a batch of sugar cookies the other day (Husband and Daughter made the dough (Betty Crocker Cook Book recipe--always a winner. Daughter and I cut, baked and painted.)).

Want to see?

We rolled and cut (this is a the "after" with a cool rolling pin shaped cutter where all the pieces fit together--love it <3 )

Put them on a cookie sheet (threw parchment paper over the sheet to make it easy to slide them off--that's my lazy side).

See the roller cutter?


and to the right are these cool Williams-Sonoma "stained glass" cutters I got last Christmas--I don't see them online so I'll have to describe.  They have regular cutting edges, but after you do that you press the spring piece in the middle and it cuts a few more shapes and presses pretty little design dents.  You're supposed to fill the inside holes with crushed hard candy to melt it into the "stained glass" but Daughter and I couldn't be bothered this time.  Still the shapes and dents make a very pretty cookie.

Cooling (see the pretty not!stained-glass ones?)

Painting.  We mix powdered sugar (about a cup), milk (about a teaspoon or so) and 3-4 drops liquid food coloring (the kind you get at the grocery).  Daughter likes to make a plate "palate" and mix, blend, and add more drops of color.  Me?  I guess I'm less picky because I just use whatever colors seem close to a good fit.

Drying the frosting.

Yes, the snow-man does have on shades--I smeared a drop and had to turn it into something.

Yes, that is the doughboy--Mrs. K may possibly have once bought a bag of Pillsbury flour just to get that cutter.

Did we really make more Christmas shapes than Fall shapes in the middle October?  Yes we did.  We like the shapes.  Please don't judge.

Done!  Just got that cake dome from Crate and Barrel (gift certificate shopping!)--love how it makes snacks look like display things.  And having them out reminds us that we had fun making them.  And also, this way they're easy for Mrs. K to get at and eat.

A few words about this recipe: These are from the Betty Crocker 40th edition cookbook--the new one has "low fat" and "no roll" sugar cookies--that's not what this is.  

These are, to my mind, the perfect sugar cookies:

• Lightly buttery, with a hint of vanilla and almond
• Sturdy enough to frost but with a crisp "break with the bite" texture
• Roll well
• Don't rise or puff too much, don't melt and flatten when you cook them (it's just plain irritating when you cut cool shapes with dent details and have them puff into blobishness when you put them in the oven)

 But, don't plan to mail these--far too crumbly to make the trip!