snowflake cookies

Remember, remember, the month of December...

it's when i drag out my rolling pin, motivation, and patience to make these little guys. Four and a half hours of hunching over 80 something little cookies, tweezers, sanity, and something good to watch on tv. thankfully, history channel had a marathon going on, so i was set.

::gathering my raw materials::

(note: this recipe is courtesy of paula deen's sugar cookie recipe).

the dough--done the night before, because i needed every ounce of energy for the next day...

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Edible Paint Icing (aka royal icing)
Garnish: silver dragees, sugar pearls, sparkling sugar




Directions:

(the dough)
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and almond extract until combined.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating until smooth. Wrap dough in heavy-duty plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour...or a day, like I did.




::the next day::

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with assorted snowflake cookie cutters and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, or until edges are very lightly browned. Let cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.





::the icings::

First one - Royal

3 tablespoons meringue powder
2 cups confectioners' sugar
Food coloring, optional

In a medium bowl, combine water and meringue powder; whisk until foamy. Whisk in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Add food coloring, if desired. Use immediately.



I portioned some white icing out into a piping bag with a writing tip for the snowflake pattern. For the rest, I added water to make it runny, and easier to spread to paint on the cookie. Paint each cookie with a pastry brush.


While the icing is still sticky, garnish with colored sugar crystals as desired.



Second- chocolate

If you want to do chocolate coated cookies, set up a double boiler, and do the same steps...but with yummy melted chocolate. = ) The chocolate will harden in place, but you want to work quickly, before it thickens and hard to paint.




Pipe your royal icing onto the cookie in whatever snowflake design you'd like. It's easy to go from corner to corner of the cookie, and do a little "V" at the end. While the icing is still soft, place various colored dragees or edible pearls as desired.


And there you have it. Festive snowflake cookies. You can get as detailed, or keep it simple. Either way, they make a nice gift, and keep the holiday spirit going.

annual snowflake cookies!

Pumpkin pie

I had a faux Thanksgiving celebration with my family this past weekend, and was saddened when I learned that nobody made pie. No homemade pie? ::sad face:: That Saturday morning, I pouted, sighed, and ran off to the grocery store to buy a can of pumpkin. Blech. The best pumpkin pies are made with fresh pumpkin, buuut I was on a time crunch, and really wanted to bake.

Anyway, along with the good 'ol vodka pie crust recipe (which I've actually simplified to save the headache of lugging out the food processor), my first attempt was great. I decided to blog it upon return to San Diego so here we go.

I didn't follow the recipe (oh wait--do I ever?) but it's freakin PIE--and as my dear sister said..."pumpkin pie is like the easiest thing to make EVARRRR..." ::grin:: really, the longest part of pie making is the baking process...in which you have no control. The rest will take you a half hour or less.

::gathering my raw materials::

The filling:


- 1 12 oz can cooked pumpkin (not a fan--I've read The Jungle too many times, but if you're on a time crunch, go for it)

- 1 8 oz bar cream cheese (it adds a nice consistency and flavor to the pie) at room temp.

- 2 large eggs, or 3 small eggs

- 4-6 oz heavy cream

- 1/2 cup granulated sugar

- Allspice. Nutmeg. Cloves. Ginger. Cinnamon. Or you can be lazy and get the premade "pumpkin spice seasoning" from the store. I prefer each individual seasoning b/c I can control how much (or little) goes into the mix.

The Pie dough:

(the following makes a single crust since pumpkin pie doesn't typically use a double crust)

- 1 cup flour

- 1 stick chilled butter, diced into little cubes (I used salted, saves the hassle of forgetting the salt later)

- 2 tbsp granulated sugar

- 1/4 cup ice water

- 1/4 cup vodka


::Directions::

Preheat your oven to 350F. Start with the crust (so you can toss in the fridge to chill while you make the filling). If you want to avoid a food processor, you can get industrious with a metal potato masher, or really anything to just cut the butter into the flour. I used my pastry cutter.


Take your cubed butter and cut it into the flour and sugar until you get little "curds" that resemble something like oatmeal. Dribble some vodka in. Stir with a wooden spoon.


Now dribble in some water. Stir more with a wooden spoon.


Keep alternating your water and vodka until your dough starts to come together into a ball. Ditch the spoon and knead it with your hands. If too sticky, add more flour. The consistency is perfect once all your crumbs have unified into the ball, and it's not sticking to your hands. remove from bowl, and wrap in plastic. Throw in the fridge.





::The filling::

In a large mixing bowl beat your cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add the pumpkin and beat some more. Add the eggs and continue to beat.



Add your heavy cream. Finally, add your spices as desired. Make sure to stop and scrape the bowl before you're finished beating everything. Set aside.



::Assembly::

Get your dough ball from the fridge and generously flour a flat surface for rolling. Flour your rolling pin and roll out your dough until it's much larger than your pie pan.



Roll it in on one side to make it easier to transfer into the pan. Allow sides to drape over the edge. Press the dough into the inside of the pan.



Fluting the edges is entirely up to you. I do it, just b/c it adds a nice little touch, and I like to eat crust. = ) Fluting is just really pinching the edges of dough into a pattern of your liking. Doesn't have to be perfect.


Once done, pour the filling into the shell, scraping all the filling out with a rubber spatula.


Pop into the oven and bake for about an hour. Check on it at the 45 minute mark to make sure it's doing ok. Touch the top of it to ensure that it's not sticky. Once it feels firm and the crust is browned, it's done. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Refridgerate if desired.


So there ya go. Pumpkin pie with a little twist. Cut it up and enjoy with a blob of whipped cream.

apple spice oatmeal bars

ah, distinctly i remember, it was in the warm november...

i'll leave the poetry to poe. on with it.

weekend, early morning/day work shifts transition into in "what do i do with myself?" afternoons and evenings. oh look! apples that i bought, and haven't eaten. oats. butter. flour. a container of pumpkin spice topping. oven. bake.

simple recipe which i kinda drew out, only b/c i wasn't rushing myself. good with coffee or milk. more of a "keep your hands busy" recipe, that makes the house smell good.

::gathering my raw materials::




::Ingredients::


1 cup oats (those instant/cooks in 2 minute type)

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 stick butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 heaping tbsp pumpkin spice seasoning (aka - nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves). you can add each one individually, or just use the "all in one" version, aka pumpkin spice seasoning.

2 granny smith apples peeled and chopped

icing - 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar, 1 tbsp melted butter


::Directions::

Preheat oven to 325F. Peel and chop your apples. Doesn't have to be fancy. Toss with extra cinnamon. = )





Sift flour, salt and soda. Add oatmeal, brown sugar and butter. Mix with pastry blender until grainy. Pastry blenders are fun tools. I accidentally stumbled upon mine at a deli/liquor store, of all places. $1.99 compared to $11.00 @ crate and barrel. = D


Put half the mixture into lightly greased 10 x 10 inch pan. Cover mixture with apples. Put on remaining mixture. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Cut while still warm.




When completely cooled, drizzle or pipe frosting as desired. Enjoy!