Saturday, December 19, 2009

Dec. 18: Decorate Cookies

Decorate Cookies

I used Alton Brown's sugar cookie recipe. I think they would be better if I hadn't rolled them as thin as I did. The flavor is pretty short bready, which Justin really loves. I once found the perfect sugar cookie recipe... but I lost it, and when I loose something its pretty amazingly lost. They were soft, but held their shape, they weren't too sweet, or too floury. They had cream of tartar in them, and you had to put the dough in the fridge, but other than that I can't remember.

Justin had to run out to buy some powdered sugar. Luckily I had Reuben's two favorite colors in food coloring (and oddly only those two colors).

Reuben decorated two cookies, and promptly ate both of them. Yellow frosting covered in sprinkles. He brushed his teeth and then went to bed (at 7:30).

Justin had is first piping frosting on cookies experience and was very impressed with himself. We just used sandwich bags because my pastry bags unsealed themselves when I tried to pipe churos (the dough was too hot I think when I put it in the bag).

My sisters went caroling without me. Two of them will be in minnesota Saturday night. I've had those horrible sad christmas songs in my head, you know, I'll be home for Christmas, and White Christmas. Luckily it is snowing, so while I am washing dishes I can look out the window and watch it flutter past, and I'm so high up that I can't see the ground to see that there isn't much evidence of the snow. When you don't have to shovel you really can love the snow. Until you think about walking in it to get to church in the morning, and then you go back to just liking it.

6 comments:

sallysue said...

Our church service was cancelled for tomorrow. I love North Carolina. :)
Someone once asked me why people from Utah (or other snowy states) disliked snow - I answered, I like visiting it, but to do day to day things such as driving and shoveling snow, you do tend to get tired of it.
The cookies look tasty! I'm sorry you lost the other recipe.

Heidi said...

So sweet. I love your holiday activity updates. What fun you guys are having!! (I hope Lilly and I can join your caroling party tomorrow.) Beautiful cookies. Lovely pictures of your outings. Happy holidays my friend!

Lark said...

I made the buttermilk Pralines. My candy thermometer was broken so I tried to use a meat thermometer. I don't think that one really works either. I had to use the soft ball method. The candy is not quite right but it still tastes good. Your sisters are sleeping when they wake I will try the pralines on them.

Jamie Curtis said...

i love following all of the fun things you are doing to build up to christmas!! you are such a fun mom!

merry christmas!

Margaret said...

I think we have that recipe you lost:

1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 c. margarine (softened)
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
2 1/2 cup flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cream of tartar

Mix sugar, margarine, egg, and vanilla. Mix in other 3 ingredients. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours. Heat oven to 375, roll out and cut out the dough, bake about 7-8 minutes.

I LOVE these! We make them every year!

Tammy Lorna said...

How fun! We had our young womens sleep over at my house last Thurday night, and we made up Gingerbread cookies (men, hearts, bells, candycane shapes) and decorated them. They looked pretty fantastic - even though we used plastic bags for the piping too :)

Your entry cracked me up though, because you mentioned 'Cream of Tartar' which I'd never heard of before! There was a lot of head scratching and suggestions of alternatives before we somehow (google?) decided that a teaspoon of lime juice would do the trick! No idea if that's correct at all, but our icing turned out nice and firm anyway, with egg whites and icing sugar and food colouring, so all good! I'll have to post some pictures on my blog :)

xo Tammy