Decorated Sugar Cookies

This week on my online mom's group was the Cookie challenge, which I hosted.  The group vote was for fall decorated cookies (the Peanut Butter Sandwiches came in second).  This is my recipe, which I've had for years and slowly tweaked.  It's perfect for cut outs.  It doesn't spread or fluff up too much and it's not particularly sweet, which is nice because the royal icing is.  

Enjoy!

Cookies

2 sticks butter

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon milk

2 1/2 cups flour

Pinch salt

Royal Icing

2 egg whites

4 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 juiced lemon

milk for thinning to flow consistency 

Cookies

• Preheat to 325
• Whisk flour and salt.  Set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add vanilla and milk.  Beat until combined.  Add flour mixture and beat until just combined.
• Roll out thick on powdered sugar covered surface.  Use cookie cutter.  Re-roll any scraps.
• Bake until edges are pale golden, about 10-12 minutes.  Cool.

Royal Icing

• Beat egg whites to stiff peaks.  Mix in sugar and lemon.  Beat 1 minute.
• Color (I use Wilton gel colors)
• Outline first, thin icing, then fill in using a toothpick to push into corners.  
• Let dry overnight before stacking.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

I saw this recipe on Martha last week and just couldn't pass it up.  It's from 'Wichcraft (one of Tom Colicchio's restaurants) and they looked so tasty.  They were!  The oatmeal gives them a nice and different crunch.  And I loved the turbanado sugar.  

The recipe states it makes a dozen sandwiches but I got close to 30, and that's with half of them being thicker than called for.  The filling amount was perfect for all of those though.  When I make them again I'll roll thicker and cut the filling in half.  It's just not good for my rear to have that many cookies sitting around eying me up.

Enjoy!

Cookies

1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons AP flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar (I used light and threw in about a tablespoon of molasses)

1/2 cup peanut butter

Turbanado sugar for sprinkling 

Filling

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cookies

• Line baking sheets with parchment. Preheat to 350.
• Melt 4 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add oats and cook until toasted, stirring, about 5 minutes.  Cool.
• Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.
• With paddle attachment, cream 1/2 cup butter and both sugars.  Add peanut butter and mix well.
• Add oat mixture and flour mixture.  Mix on low until combined.  Roll dough between two sheets of parchment about 1/4 inch thick (I did thicker and liked it better).  Refrigerate until chilled.
• Cut out using 2 inch round cookie cutter.  Sprinkle with turbanado.  Bake 10 minutes.  Cool on sheets.

Filling

• Mix all ingredients together with paddle attachment on medium until smooth.  Use a disposable pasty bag to cover half of cookies.  Top with other half.

I got the recipe from Martha.

Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes

First, I must apologize to my 3 faithful readers.  I have been gone too long.  I have been baking, but have managed to forget to take pictures of the final product.  I've also been working on a side project.  My friends on my on-line mom's group have helped me start up a cookie business of sorts.  So I've been busy making about 1,117 thousand cookies for trials and pictures.  Take a look!  Sugar on Top orders.  

Anyway, these cupcakes I made for my coffee meet-up, which is where most of my baked goods end up.  They get treats, I get free coffee.  Win-win.  They're a nice, moist cupcake with a cinnamon icing that has a nice kick to it.  And they go wonderfully with coffee!

I halved this recipe and got 9 perfect cupcakes out.  I accidently kept the icing recipe full scale, but it's a good thing because I used it all on those 9.  If I had made the full cupcake recipe I would have had some pretty skimpily frosted cakes!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes

 1 1/2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

3/4 cup hot brewed coffee

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Heavy 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Heavy 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

Heavy 1/4 cup oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

Heavy 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

• Preheat oven to 300.  Line cupcake pan.
• Put chocolate in hot coffee, stirring occasionally, until fully melted.
• In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• In bowl of electric mixer beat the eggs until slightly thickened and a light color.
• Slowly add oil, buttermilk, and vanilla to eggs.  Then add melted chocolate mixture.
• Add the sugar mixture until well combined.
• Pour into liner about 3/4 of the way full and bake for about 35 minutes.

Cinnamon Buttercream Icing

2 sticks butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 cups powdered sugar

• Beat butter until light and fluffy.  
• Add vanilla.
• Slowly add sugar and cinnamon.  Beat on high for about 5 minutes.

This recipe was slightly adapted from Ice Cream Before Dinner