More St. Patrick’s Day sugar cookies with buttercream frosting :)
To see the Christmas ones and get the recipe, go here.
St. Patrick’s Day sugar cookie with buttercream frosting
For the recipe, go here.
Homemade fortune cookies
With Valentine’s Day less than a week away, I have joined the sugar-coated celebration. Chocolate, sprinkles, strawberries, and love notes; I’m in.
Valentine’s Day is a great excuse to make fortune cookies. It’s fun to create your own “fortunes”. (As you can see I had fun with mine.)
I’ve made fortune cookies lots of times, but this is the first time I’ve dipped them in chocolate. Homemade fortune cookies are crisp and delicate and have a bit of an almond/vanilla flavor. They’re great on their own, but the chocolate elevated them to new heights.
Ingredients:
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 teaspoons water
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Directions:
Write fortunes on pieces of paper that are 3 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets, or line with Silpat sheets (better yet!).
In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg whites, vanilla extract, almond extract and vegetable oil until frothy, but not stiff. Stir in water. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth and there are no lumps.
Place level tablespoons of batter onto a baking sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. With the back of a spoon, evenly spread the batter into 4-inch circles. Because the cookies get brittle very quickly once they’re out of the oven, I’ve found that 3 cookies per baking sheet is about right. To speed up the process, after the first batch has baked a few minutes, prepare the second baking sheet with 3 more cookies and put in oven. Keep track of time, but each batch should bake for about 15 minutes.
Bake until the outer 1/2-inch of each cookie turns golden brown and they are easy to remove from the baking sheet with a spatula (14 - 15 minutes). Note – it’s better for the cookies to be slightly over-baked rather than under-baked.
Working very quickly, remove a cookie with a spatula and flip it over in your hand. Place a fortune in the middle of a cookie. To form the fortune cookie shape, fold the cookie in half, then gently pull the edges downward over the rim of a glass, wooden spoon or the edge of a muffin tin. Place the finished cookie in the cup of a muffin tin so that it keeps its shape. Continue with the rest of the cookies.
Buffalo chicken bite with blue cheese dressing
Super Bowl food at its finest. For the recipe go here.
Homemade marshmallow dipped in chocolate with sprinkles
The quintessential 1:00am snack. To see the one with chocolate and crushed graham crackers go here.
Today was a day for baking.
Sue’s Sugar Cookies
- 2/3 cup butter (room temperature)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 4 teaspoons milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups flour
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix until light. Stir in milk. Sift together dry ingredients (I don’t usually do this, but it wouldn’t hurt so as to avoid a potential lump of baking powder or something.) Cream dry ingredients into mixture and combine thoroughly.
Without eating delicious dough first, divide dough in half and wrap disks in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour. One at a time, roll out on floured surface until about 1/8-inch thick, or slightly thicker. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Gather up scraps and re-roll and cut.
Bake at 375 degrees until barely golden around edges. Cool thoroughly before frosting. Unfrosted cookies can be wrapped and frozen.
Buttercream Frosting
- 1 pound box C&H powdered sugar
- 3 to 4 tablespoons milk or cream (cream is better, and you can taste the difference)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 stick salted butter
Starting with the 3 tablespoons milk or cream, beat with electric mixer for 2 minutes, scraping bowl often. Add more cream if needed.
