Sunday, November 14, 2010

Week 2- Holiday Cookies.. Basic Sugar Cookie

Print

I know that they say that getting kids involved while you are cooking is great. They eat better, it's educational, it's involvement.  Today, I say the hell with that. Sometimes you just want to get in and out of the kitchen. I love the "idea" of the kids helping, and really truly do let them get into it.
But some times, what could have been a 10 minute, relatively low-mess project, turns into flour all over my kitchen, some kind of gooey, sticky, drippy thing hanging from my drawer handles and baby girl soaking wet.  

I literally felt like I was playing beat the clock on this blog entry.. I could hear the race horse anthem playing in my head as I quickly rolled out my dough and stamped out my cookies. Then, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, I can hear my husband taunting me with that phase.. the dreaded phrase of "she's Ah-hup. UGH.. the baby was up from her nap.. Really, just 5 more mins??? 

Honestly, I have no right to complain. Somehow I have been blessed with excellent sleepers at night and naps have always been 2-3 hours for both of them.

But, Charlotte being up meant one thing, a partner in the kitchen, and a partner like Charlotte is like letting a herd of cats into the kitchen.. I love her, but not today..  

My point in sharing this, is that this week's recipe for Holiday Cookies is super easy, and super delicious, but if you have a 2 year old "helping" please plan for more time.. ;)

These cookies for me are amazing. You can use them plain, decorate with royal icing, roll into balls and press chocolate kisses or jam into the center the list goes on. Really fast, really easy, totally yummy.
Enjoy and may your kitchen stay flour friendly..


Basic Sugar Cookie recipe
Adapted from Real Simple

Prep Time: 25mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Makes 36 cookies

Ingredients
  •             5 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for shaping the cookies
  •             ½ teaspoon baking soda
  •             ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  •             2 cups unsalted butter (4 sticks), at room temperature
  •             1 ½ cup sugar
  •             large eggs
  •             2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Directions
1.              In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2.              Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.
3.              With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated (the dough will be stiff). Shape into a disk and (unless otherwise specified in an individual recipe) refrigerate, wrapped, for at least 1 hour or freeze until ready to bake off for the holidays.
4.             Alternately, make cutout cookies by doing the following: Heat oven to 350° F. On a floured surface, roll out each disk ¼ inch thick. Cut into shapes and place on parchment-lined baking sheets; refrigerate until firm. Sprinkle with decorating sugar, if using, and bake until just beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.



No comments:

Post a Comment