Week Fifteen- Sugar Cookies (Option 2)

My camera is missing! I hope it turns up soon. In the meantime I thought I would post this weeks recipe anyway. I decided to make sugar cookies again. This recipe is a little less fussy than the first. You don't have to refrigerate the dough and it is much easier to work with. You also get more cookies out of this recipe, so more cookies- less work! That's always good right?

Sugar Cookies:
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
3 1/2 cup flour
1 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1 t salt

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together shortening and sugar. Add milk, egg, and vanilla. Mix well. Combine flour and other dry ingredients. Add to creamed mixture. This will make a stiff dough. Place dough on a floured surface and roll out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch, cut into desired shapes. (The thicker the dough the softer the cookies) Bake for 8 minutes. Cool and top with 2-3 inches of yummy frosting!
Pictures coming soon. . . I hope.

Week Fourteen- Sugar Cookies

Something about Sugar cookies screams Valentines Day to me! In preparation for Valentines Day- let's make Sugar Cookies!!

The Dough:

1 cup REAL butter (no substitutions)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp extract- almond or vanilla

2 1/2- 3 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This takes about 2 minutes, and should look like this:

Add in eggs, and extract and mix to combine.

In a separate bowl mix your dry ingredients. Slowly add the the dry mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined. Start with 2 1/2 cups flour and add more if needed. You want a stiff dough, but adding too much flour the dough will crack and be too stiff when you go to roll it out.

Shape the dough into two balls and smash flat. Wrap in wax paper and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. Your cookies will hold their shape better if you chill the dough.

After your dough has chilled and you are ready to roll it out lightly sprinkle flour onto your work surface. Roll the dough out with a roiling pin and cut into desired shape.

Bake at 350 for 8- 12 minutes.

A note on rolling out: if you want a soft cookie bake a shorter time and make a thicker cookie. If you want a crispier cookie bake longer and make a thinner cookie. (you probably figured that last part out yourself!) I would bale this until the edges are golden.

After baking cool on a cooling rack.

I got one dozen of these large hearts.

Now for the frosting:

I used a icing, and it was good, but really it was missing something. While I was eating my third one I realized it was frosting!! For a great sugar cookie you need a really yummy icing and lots of it. So while this isn't the icing in my picture, this is the recipe I recommend!

The Only Butter cream Recipe you will ever need:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 t vanilla or almond extract

4 cup powdered sugar

2- 4 tbsp milk, to consistency you want

Cream together all ingredients. You can make this any color you want!

Week Thirteen- Andes Mint Cookies

I got this recipe from a friend in Texas, Heather, and they have been a favorite around here since the first time I made them. Thanks for the recipe Heather.

Andes Mint Cookies

3/4 cup margarine ( I have used butter flavored Crisco and they still turn out)

2 T water

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

2 cups or one package chocolate chips (I have only ever used semi sweet- if you try it with Milk Chocolate I would love to hear how they turn out!)

Melt all of these ingredients over medium heat on the stove till well combined. Then add:

2 beaten eggs

Combine in a separate bowl the add:

1 1/4 tsp soda
2 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

Mix again until well combined. Roll the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. While cookies are still hot, place half of an Andes mint on top and swirl around.

Just a note: I am not trying to point out the obvious here, but just in case someone is

wondering. . . Why do I have to combine my dry ingredients before adding them to the wet ones? It just dirties another bowl and adds a step right!?!? Wrong!! It is important because doing this gets all those ingredients like flour, salt etc all mixed together evenly. Then they will mix into your dough even. You DO NOT want to bite into a big lump of baking soda- Yuck!

My two cents: If I am feelings really nice I will put a whole Andes mint on top, Bryce likes them that way! Also, the first time I made this I wrapped the dough in plastic and I thought that was a pain. Now, I just leave it in the bowl and chill it. Then when I am ready to make cookies I let the dough set for about 20 minutes to soften then use my cookie scoop and scoop it out.

Enjoy!!

Week Twelve- Hamburger Cookies Courtesy of Brinkley

For a school project Brink had to invent what she thought was the "best cookie ever." She had to make enough cookies for everyone in her class and then do a presentation about why hers were the best. Her cookies did turn out really yummy and since then she has been bugging me to post them on the Cookie Blog. So this week the cookie of the week is the Hamburger Cookie invented by Brinkley! I hope you enjoy, don't let the strange name fool you, they really are great cookies. (Grandma you are REQUIRED to make these- I think you know she will be checking up on you!)

Hamburger Cookies

1 cup softened butter
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ½ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ large package of M&M’s
4 Hershey’s Bars
Chocolate Frosting (we mixed a can of chocolate frosting with cool whip)

First gather all your ingrediants.

Next, with your mixer, mix together butter and sugars.

Then add eggs and vanilla, mix well.

In a separate bowl mix your flour, salt and baking soda.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar.

Beat all together together really good.

Cut your Hershey bars onto little pieces.

Last add the chopped up Hershey bar and M&M’s.

Scoop dough onto a cookie pan.

Bake in your oven on 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes.
When golden brown remove from oven and put on cooling rack.
When cookies are cool frost with chocolate frosting and place two cookies together.

Instructions were typed by her too. I am so proud- I hope I have a future little baker on my hands!! By the way she got an 'A'!

A note on the frosting: I wasn't in the mood that night to make homemade frosting- sinec it was a last minute addition. I heard somewhere once that mixing cool whip with a can of frosting was really good and made it lighter. Whoever invented that is a genius and has earned my undying adoration!! It was so good and easy- which I think we all agree makes it taste even better. I didn't measure mine I just whipped it up in my Kitchenaid- starting with the frosting and adding the cool whip as I went. It is pretty fool proof. I plan to try this on cakes, cupcakes etc. I think I might have even lied a time or two when people asked if it was homemade. Please don't tell on me!!

Week Eleven- Double Chocolate Peanut Buttercup Cookies

My sincerest apologies for my lack of posting!! I love this "experiment" and I just got busy with the holidays and missed a week. Then one week turned into two, two into three. . . you get the idea! What's funny is that I don't think I ever missed actually making any cookies, I just missed posting. But, I am back and I am committed! So here is the cookie of the week: Double Chocolate Peanut Buttercup Cookies. These cookies are gooooood! Definitely snitch one when they ate fresh out of the oven. I plan on taking a batch of these as a "suck up" gift to my Aerobics teacher tomorrow. I am hoping she will let us skip the million jumping jacks she forces us to do. . . She probably won't, but a girl can dream.

Enough blah blah blah- Let's BAKE!

2 1/4 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 of a 12 oz bag of peanut butter cups coarsely chopped
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In a large separate bowl beat the softened butter, peanut butter, both sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy. (do not rush this step- I swear this is a secret to soft yummy cookies) Add your eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until thoroughly blended. Stir in the dry ingredients until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips and peanut butter cups. Using a cookie scoop place cookie dough two inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until slightly firm to the touch, about 10-13 minutes. Mine went 12 minutes but they were still soft. Allow the cookies to cool before transferring to a cooling rack. Makes about 4 dozen.

My two cents: These are yum! Just take my advice- double the recipe and just use the whole bag of peanut butter cups! If you don't you'll wish you had. . .

I almost forgot- don't forget to eat some dough- that is good too. I ate almost as much dough as I did cookies. Enjoy!!

I always love to hear what you think or how yours turn out. Leave me a comment!