Sugar Cookies For The Win!

Ok here is cookie post number three. I decided on sugar cookies because they are also a classic christmas cookie staple. I have to be honest, sugar cookies are my least favorite cookie ever. I would say I like them a little better than oatmeal raisin. Actually out of all the christmas cookies, sugar would definitely be on the bottom. Since I enjoy baking for others, I chose sugar because I know people like them, and I figured I could practice more with royal icing. I also wanted to split the dough and do something different and make red velvet sugar cookies. Red velvet flavored anything to me screams Christmas and it is a flavor that I enjoy. I love red flavored things. I think they came out great.

Yummy Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookie Dough

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (226g)
• 1 cup sugar (200g)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (315g)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl and use an electric hand mixer) and beat until creamy and well-combined.

Butter Butter Butter

Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until completely combined.

There is an egg in there you just can't see it.

In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Gradually add dry ingredients into wet until completely combined.

Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap and transfer approximately half of the dough onto the wrap (dough will be quite sticky at this point, that's OK!).

This is where I added some red velvet emulsion for flavor and color to the remaining dough

Cover with clear wrap and mold into a disk.  Repeat with remaining cookie dough in another piece of cling wrap.  Transfer dough to refrigerator and chill for at least 2-3 hours

Once dough has finished chilling, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Set aside.

Generously dust a clean surface with flour and deposit one chilled cookie dough disk onto the surface.  Lightly flour the dough and roll out to 1/8" (for thinner, crispier cookies) or 1/4" (for thicker, softer cookies).  Continue to add flour as needed both on top of and beneath the dough so that it doesn't stick.

Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and use a spatula to transfer shapes to prepared baking sheet.

I had leftover dough so I marbled it together to make these

Squirrel Friend

I really love these cut outs

Bake on 350F (175C) for 9-10 minutes, or until edges just begin to turn lightly golden brown.

Allow cookies to cool completely on cookie sheet before moving and frosting.

Now Decorate

cute squirrel with a scarf

moose with a scarf

snowy trees

close up of the sprinkles

snow moose cookies

I love these sugar crystals

Pretty Sugar Cookies

Raspberry Linzer Cookies

Now enjoy some yummy christmas cookies, next cookie will be Thin Mints.

Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies For The Win!

So it is cookie month, and last week I made gingerbread cookies, which were a hit. I wanted to make another cookie that would be delicious and represent christmas time. I went with a linzer cookie. I think these cookies look beautiful, especially with the dusting of powdered sugar and that peek of jam in the center of each cut out. I've never made Linzer cookies and decided to make them for this post. The hardest part was deciding on the shape. I went with a circle and a star cookie. The flavors were spot on, almond and raspberry go really well together and I did also zest a bit of lemon in for some brightness. It really took these cookies over the top. I still have to decide on next week's cookie. I think I'm going with sugar cookies. Here's how the Linzer turned out.

Beautiful Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies

Linzer Cookies

• 2 sticks (1 cup) of room temperature butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 cup of almond meal (ground almonds)
• 2 cups of flour
• zest from one lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar for dusting tops
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam

First sift your flour, almond flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl take your room temperature butter and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and beat until pale and fluffy

Add in your lemon zest, vanilla extract, almond extract and egg yolks and beat until combined

Gradually add in your flour mixture and mix just until dough forms

 
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in fridge for about 1 and a half hours (dough will be a little crumbly sort of like a shortbread dough) (that's why chilling is a must)

Dust your work surface and roll dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut out your shapes. These cookies need a top and a bottom, so don't forget that. For your top cookies remember to cut out a mini shape.

Bake cookies in 350F oven for 12 minutes or until edges become golden brown


Let cool completely on cooling racks

Place all the tops together on a wrack and dust generously with powdered sugar.

like snow

On the bottoms spread raspberry jams on each cookie

I love raspberry jam

Now take your powdered sugar tops and place them on top of each raspberry jam cookie

Circles

stars

*I placed some more jam in a piping bag and filled each cut out with more jam*

Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies

Ok, here are the delicious Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies,  I think these look really pretty and remind me so much of Christmas. Bake these for your family and friends this holiday season.

Gingerbread Cookies For The Win!

Ok, this is the last month of 2017 and I am happy to say that I exceeded my 52 recipe post goal for the year, yessssss. I will probably do the same thing in 2018 with maybe more savory bakes added. It has been challenging at times to keep up with this blog but I did enjoy doing it. I liked how the past couple of months I've been sticking with a theme instead of random bakes, so that will more than likely continue. Speaking of themes, I decided that for this month I would be posting cookie posts. I like baking cookies, but I don't bake them often (unless they are french macarons, I bake those a lot *see past posts) especially during the holidays I don't really bake them. Nisha normally bakes some peanut butter cookies, and if we do bake cookies during the holidays they most likely come from those giant pillsbury tubes of cookie dough. My family loves gingerbread anything but sadly we've never tried making our own. So I hit up Michaels and bought an assortment of cookie cutters and other cute cookie decor and set off to make some beautiful and delicious cookies.

Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread cookie

• ½ c. (1 stick) butter, at room temp
• ¾ c. molasses
• 1 egg
• 3 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. ginger
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. allspice
• ¼ tsp. cloves

Cream butter, brown sugar ,molasses and egg together.

Add remaining dry ingredients and mix well. **I like to sift all of my dry ingredients before adding into the wet mixture**

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

On a floured surface, roll out dough to ¼".

Using cookie cutters, cut out shapes and place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

These cookies will continue to firm up as they cool so don't be tempted to put them back in the oven.


To ice these cookies I did go with a royal icing

I used meringue powder instead of egg whites. I used wilton meringue powder (I'm still up in the air about it)

• 4 cups sifted powder
• 3 tablespoons of meringue powder
• 5 tablespoons of warm water.

I just put it in my stand mixer with a paddle attachment on low for for about 10 minutes, until stiff peaks were formed and then diluted with water to get a thick piping consistency and a flood consistency when I started filling the cookies.

And here are some of the cookies, as they are drying.

I did eat the legs of the panda before I remembered to take a picture

Here's some that we painted with food coloring after letting the royal icing sit for a day

I will definitely be baking these again, and I also loved painting these with a little food coloring, some vodka, and some watercolor brushes. They scream holiday and they taste delicious.