As a Matter of Food

My girlfriend and I decided to start a new tradition this year, well a tradition which is new to us.

Each year, my husband’s grandmother, aunt, mother, cousin, and her daughter, spend days before Christmas making cookies and candy for Christmas. I have not joined them yet in this tradition, because they always gathered up in the mountains at the vacation home. So this year I decided to just do something here at home. My girlfriend and I went to the store and went nuts buying this ingredient and that ingredient. We spent way too much time and money at the store! I had all these great plans of making 3D sugar cookies and a whole list of other things. We ran out of time and ended up using Pillsbury’s sheets of sugar cookies. We made mini chocolate cupcakes and decorated them with vanilla frosting Christmas sprinkles. Okay, so we didn’t get to be super pastry chefs but we had sooo much fun! After all, that was the point of this experience. To spend time together and have fun, talk, and share time in the kitchen. We definitely had several tastings to make sure that our cookies and cupcakes were good enough to give as gifts. Oh and they were so delicious.

Once we were done I put them in two big boxes. One for my girlfriend to take to work the next day and one for my mom to take to her work. I also made a little box to share with my other girlfriend and her husband.

Here is the recipe for Christmas Sugar Cookies which I was going to use, but ended up having to pass on.

Christmas Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

2 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. milk

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and almond extract.
2. Add flour, baking powder, salt and milk; mix until blended.
3. Gather dough into a ball and wrap wit plastic wrap.
4. Chill dough for 1 hour. Heat oven to 400 degree F.
5. Divide dough into fourths. On lightly floured surface, roll dough portion to 1/4-inch thickness.
6. Dip cookie cutter in flour; cut dough with cutter.
7. Place 1inch apart on cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F for 6-7 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.
8. Cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
9. Frost and decorate as desired. Allow frosting to dry before assembling.

Makes 2 dozen cookies

Royal Icing

Ingredients:

1 egg white

1 3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp water

food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine egg white and powdered sugar, and beat on low until well blended.
2. Add water, and mix until well blended.
3. If icing is too think, add water, drop by drop.
4. If too thin, add a small amount of powdered sugar.
5. Add food coloring, if desired. Icing will harden on cookies.

This is the only 3D cookie which was made. My girlfriend was determined to at least make one.

I bought a 3D cookie cutter set from Plow & Hearth over the Summer to try out.

Boxed mini chocolate cupcakes.

An assortment of sugar cookies. YUM!