Easy Christmas Sugar Cookies!

I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet but I already have a hangering for Christmas cookies. When I was little (and actually still today), one of my favorite Christmas traditions wtih my family was making and decorating Christmas cookies. My mom always made sugar cookie dough and us kids would line up at the table/bar in the kitchen and she would cut out all types of shapes (reindeer, wreaths, snowmen, Christmas trees, etc.) and we would all decorate them. She let us run wild. We stood by the philosophy that the more decorations the better (even though sometimes the taste of the cookie was sacrificed with the abundance of sugar sprinkles and red hots). Today, I decided to give the sugar cookie thing a try. I wanted to make sure I could do it when needed. It was really simple. I usually think the typical sugar cookie is lacking a little flavor so I varied a couple of recipes and made a vanilla almond sugar cookie. They were delicious!

Here are some of the results. I realize that the decorations are totally amateur but I had limited decorating tools. Just a couple of tubes of Betty Crocker Cookie Icing I found at the store. Pretty neat stuff if you don't want to make your own icing.

Vanilla Almond Sugar Cookies - Christmas Cookies!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter, softened

3/4 sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

3 teaspoon pure vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in flour slowly, a little at a time until mixture becomes dough.

2. Cover and chill dough for about 30 minutes or until dough is easy to handle.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time until 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutter to cut into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate with sugar, sprinkles, etc.

4. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes. Cool.

5. Decorate with icing.

Enjoy!

Meringue Snowflakes!

I saw these in a magazine and thought it was a really neat idea for the holidays. I should first say that I don't really love meringue. My mom is always embarassed because I always request that she leave meringue off of all of her pies and she thinks it looks silly--I try to explain to her that it tastes so much better that way! I'm sure many of you would disagree. However, even though I don't love meringue, I love all things crafty, original and Christmas-y. Also, I was intrigued to see a new way to use meringue. What a neat holiday treat to bring to someone's house! It also looks pretty impressive (if you can pull it off).

The best thing is that you can make all sorts of designs --you don't have to stick to the snowflake. The meringue can be piped into snowmen, wreaths, Christmas trees, or just about any shape you like. I read that some people even use them as cake decorations! I was thinking it might be neat to put them on cupcakes.

I am going to try to make them this weekend. I will let you know the results.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon flavored extract, such as lemon, peppermint, orange, or almond
2 tablespoons colored sugar or edible glitter

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 200°. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy, about 3 minutes. Set the mixer speed to high and beat another 3 minutes or so until the eggs whites are fluffy.

2. Add the confectioner's sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue beating until the egg whites are stiff and glossy, about 5 minutes. Then beat in the extract.

3. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a pencil to draw snowflake patterns on the paper. The meringues will not spread, so they can be drawn fairly close together. Turn the papers printed-side down and stick them to the baking sheets by dabbing a little meringue in each corner.

4. Spoon the meringue into a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip and pipe it, erring on the thick side so the snowflakes will be less fragile, onto the paper-lined sheets following the patterns. Sprinkle the meringues with colored sugar or edible glitter.

5. Bake the snowflakes until dry but not browned, about 1 hour. Carefully slide the parchment paper from the baking sheets to wire racks and let the meringues cool completely.

6. Using scissors, cut the paper between the meringues to separate them. Then gently peel away the paper from each one, keeping one hand under the snowflake to support the edges. The meringues will stay crisp for up to 2 weeks if stored in an airtight container at room temperature (do not refrigerate them). Makes about 20.

Tip: For the best results, avoid making them on a humid day.

4th of July!!!

How fun to have a holiday to celebrate my first dessert! I haven't decided what I am going to make yet but I have to try something all-american. I'm thinking an apple pie or maybe a cobbler.



Here is the recipe for the Sour Cream Apple Pie I was planning on making. I will definitely be making it soon.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups apples, peeled and chopped
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS
1. Stir together 2 tablespoons flour, salt, 3/4 cup sugar and nutmeg in bowl. Combine egg, sour cream and vanilla in another bowl; mix well. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients; mix well. Stir in apples and spoon mixture into unbaked pie shell.
2. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F (205 degrees C) oven 15 minutes.
3. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake 30 minutes more. Remove pie from oven. Increase temperature to 400 degree F (205 degrees C).
4. Prepare cinnamon topping and sprinkle over pie. Return to oven and bake 10 minutes more. Cool on rack.
5. To Make Cinnamon Topping: Combine 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon in bowl. Cut in 2 tablespoons butter or regular margarine until crumbly, using a pastry blender.