Cookies

Alright, it is becoming closer to Saint Patrick's Day. We wear green. I decorate with green. The best part of Saint Patrick's Day is it means Spring is almost here! The outside starts to blossoms with a lot of green. These cookies are good. I didn't press down hard enough to get the crinkled edges. These cookies are good and pretty. I had to go with green for the time of year.

Swig Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for topping
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp water
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp salt, plus a pinch for the sugar topping
5 1/2 cups all purpose flour
frosting (recipe below)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter, vegetable oil, sugar, powdered sugar, water, and eggs.
4. In another bowl, combine the baking soda, cream of tarter, salt, and flour.
5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. 
6. Combine until incorporated. Dough shouldn't be sticky just crumbly.
7. Scoop the dough into balls and place onto the baking sheet. 
8. On a small plate, combine a little sugar with a pinch of salt for the topping.
9. Dip the bottom of a glass into the sugar topping mixture. Press the bottom of the glass onto the dough for a cookie press. 
10. Press the dough until flatten. The edges should be crinkly.
11. Bake the cookies for 8 minutes. 
12. Remove from the oven and place the cookies on a wire rack. 
13. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp salt
1 package (2 lb.) powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk
2-3 drops of green food coloring

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sour cream, and salt.
2. Slowly, add a cup of powdered sugar with a little milk then add another cup of powdered sugar with more milk until the desired consistency. 
3. Add one drop of the green food coloring until the desired color.
4. Frost the cookies immediately before serving.

Recipe adapted from Vintage Revivals.

One year ago...................................I made Mint Chocolate Pudding.
Two years ago.................................I made Mint Cheesecake Pie.
Three years ago...............................I made Bourbon Cookies.

Did you already know.............................
-In the U.S., Irish ancestry is the second largest behind German ancestry.
-In Australia, over 1/3 of the population has Irish ancestry.
- Eleven U.S. Presidents had Irish ancestry including President Obama.

Flag Cookies

I am so happy summer has arrived. Do you have any plans this summer? Our big plans are my children are attending camp during the day. At first, they really didn't want to go but now love it. Also, my sister is staying with us for the summer with her two girls. I love having them around but the best part is when we have dinner at night with all the kids. They really enjoy listening to my husband's stories about when he was young. Do you share a lot of your stories at dinner time too?

My abstract flags

Frosted Soft Sugar Cookies
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 Tbsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
3. Add one egg at a time and mix well. 
4. Add the vanilla and scrap down the bowl.
5. Slowly, add the flour mixture. Mix until incorporated.
6. Cover the dough and chill it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
8. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
9. Scoop about 1/4 cup of chilled dough and roll into a ball.
10. Place on the parchment paper and flatten slightly.
11. Space the cookies about 3 inches apart.
12. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies are just set. Don't over bake.
13. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely.

Frosting:
5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla extract
7 Tbsp milk (more if needed)
Sprinkles red and blue if making the abstract flags

1. In a medium bowl, add the sifted powdered sugar.
2. To the bowl, add the melted butter, vanilla, and the milk.
3. Whisk the mixture until smooth. 
4. Frost the cooled cookies and top with the sprinkles.

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats.

One year ago......................I made Virgin Bloody Marys.

Did you already know........
-Summer solstice for this year was June 21st.
-Today the moon was closest to the Earth than it will be all year.
-Since the moon will be a full moon when it is this close to the Earth, it is called a Supermoon.          

Abstract Art Sugar Cookies

When you were a kid, did you make your Mom wonderful artwork?  She thought it was a master piece and would hang it up for you. Well, I guess I never stopped wanting to make my Mom something special. So, I made her cookies with lemon extract. She loves lemon flavored desserts. I also spent some time with my kids making some art work of our own. I gave these to my Mom and she liked them.

Can you tell what I made?

Abstract Art Sugar Cookies Icing
4 Tbsp meringue powder
1/2 cup water
1 lb.powdered sugar, sifted
Food coloring gel

1. In a large bowl, mix the meringue powder with the water.
2. Beat the icing until foamy.
3. Add the sifted powdered sugar to the meringue mixture.
4. Beat on medium high for about 5 minutes or until the stiff peaks form.
5. Divide the icing into separate bowls before adding desired colors with food coloring gel. Make sure to leave some of the icing white.

Decoration directions:

1. To frost your cooled cookie, pipe a white border in the center of the cookie. (I used this cookie recipe.)
2. Flood the cookie with white icing. Allow to dry for at least an hour.
3. Once the middle white "canvas" dried, decorate the white icing with your art work. Allow to dry.
4. Take the cookie and dip the side of the cookie into the desired color to make a border. 
5. Carefully dip another side of the cookie into the icing and allow to dry before attempting the two other sides.

Frosting recipe adapted from Bake at 350 degrees. Make sure to check out her step by step directions or her wonderful cookies.
 
One year ago....................I made Seven Cheese Bread.

A bow, butterfly, and flower for my Mom

Did you already know......
-On May 10th, 1908, Anna Jarvis organized a Mother's Day observation in Grafton, West Virginia and Philadelphia.
-In 1914, Congress designated Mother's Day would be observed on the 2nd Sunday in May. 
-According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 4 million woman gave birth last year.

Happy Mother's Day! I love you Mom!

Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles

Spring is here! The snow is almost gone. At least, we can see the ground! Maybe the snow would have helped hide all the colorful Easter eggs better. My sister's husband hides the Easter eggs anyways so my sister can participate. She takes her Easter egg hunting seriously. I still think the kids find more than her. It could be that I secretly hand them a couple I find but Shh......don't tell her.

Sugar Saucers with Sprinkles
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sprinkles

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix the butter until fluffy.
2. Add the oil and mix well.
3. Add the sugar and powder sugar. Mix well.
4. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix well.
5. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. 
6. Fold in the sprinkles until incorporated. 
7. Refrigerate the dough for an hour.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
9. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
10. Once the dough has chilled, scoop the dough with a standard size ice cream scoop. Place the cookie dough onto the parchment lined baking sheet. 
11. Space the cookies at least 2 inches apart.
12. Gently,press the dough down until the cookies have flatten to about 1/4 inch thickness.
13. Bake the cookies about 12 minutes or until the edges are golden. 
14. Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack. 

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen Cookbook by Rebecca Rather.
One year ago..................I made Patty Melts.

Did you already know.....
-Easter is observed at different times depending on the religion.
-The Christian Church observes Easter on the first Sunday after the vernal equinox full moon by the Gregorian calendar.
-Easter has no set date but is observed any time between March 22 and April 25. 

Snowman Sugar Cookies

We make sugar cookies every year for Santa. The kids love it. They can roll the dough and cut out any shape they want. Plus they get to decorate their cookies with the sprinkles, frosting, and especially the colored sugars. These are the cookies we are leaving for Santa.

When I was a kid, I loved watching all of the holiday specials. Rudolph and Frosty were always playing. My favorite show was The Year Without Santa Claus. I loved the Heat Miser and Mr. Freeze fighting.

 Sugar Cookies
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 sticks salted butter, cold
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp pure almond extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor, add the flour with the baking powder and sugar. Pulse about 5 times.
3. Add the butter and pulse for about 15 times or until it looks like a course crumble.
4. Add the egg with the extract and pulse until well incorporated. 
5. Scoop the mixture onto a floured surface and knead together to form a ball.
6. Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.
7. Place the cookie dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 5 minutes.
8. Remove from freezer and place in the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes. 
9. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Recipe adapted from Bake at 350. Frosting recipe is found on Bake at 350.

When I first encountered her blog, I thought she was amazing. There was no way I could make cookies that look like hers. Her blog shows step by step and I have now made several cookies which I am amazed. Check out her site.

Did you already know...............
-The Year Without Santa Claus came out in 1974.
-In 1956, the Pultizer prize winner Phyllis McGinley wrote The Year Without Santa Claus.
-The story is how Santa has a cold and believes no one cares about Christmas. Santa's two elves show Santa prove him wrong.

My initial plan

-There is a remake of Mr. Freeze Crank Dat.

Merry Christmas!