Christmas Sugar Cookies

Merry Christmas everyone! I've been neglecting my blog and will spare you any excuses. However, I have been baking a lot (big surprise) for the holidays. We like to decorate sugar cookies with our families every Christmas and had a nice time together last night. I made Dorie's sugar cookies again but this time I added more vanilla, rolled them a little thicker, and baked them a little less. My husband said he liked the crunchier ones, and I much preferred this batch. Funny how we are all different. Either way, these were easy and delicious. The dough is irresistable, too. That's my definition of a good cookie, even if rolling the dough and cutting the shapes is less than fun for me. I do love the end results, though.
Every year we have some fun cookies. Last year we had some weird fall themed snowmen after I got out some fall sprinkles on accident (never again!) My mom made these cute little guys. I love that they have collared shirts, haha.

I'm making 100 red velvet cupcakes for the family Christmas party tomorrow (my mom has a really big family...) and can't wait to decorate them with my enormous new frosting tips (I even sprang for the 16 inch bag, wow!) Kristi and I are going to try to decorate them together tomorrow while the kiddies play. Wish us luck!

Soft Sugar Cookies
adapted from Baking by Dorie Greenspan
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons (10 tablespooons) softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat for a minute. Reduce speed to low and add flour slowly, being careful not to over-beat. Divide the dough into half and shape into two disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least two hours.

Preheat the over to 350. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment. Roll out dough onto lightly floured surface to about 3/8 or 1/2 inch thickness and cut cookies out with cutters. Bake for 8 minutes for soft cookies, 10 for crisp. Remove from oven, place onto cooling racks, and frost after cooled.

LaNell's Icing
My mom is always a little more generous with the butter than I am. She made the frosting this year and it was delicious as usual.

1 stick softened butter
1 bag powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 tablespoons milk

Beat butter in mixer until soft. Add about 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time until encorporated. Add vanilla and milk until desired consistency is reached.

Peanut Butter Candy Bar Cookies and three winners!

Look at those innocent little cookies, hiding a sweet and salty treat. It all started when my husband reminded me that he had volunteered to bring a treat to work today. Sure, I said. After all, I bake a lot (ahem) and I didn't think it would be a big deal. Well, Tuesday was a crazy day and we ended up with Suns tickets from my dad, last minute. Before we could go, I had to borrow my uncles enormous truck and trailer, drive my kitchen table and chairs from my in laws basement where they've been waiting for us to finally get our house, so the electrician can place the chandelier, unload (thanks to my brother for the help), and try and fail to move the piano we got on Craigslist. We made it to the game in the middle of the first quarter which I considered quite a success. We had sweet seats and I'm so glad we got to go- especially since I just heard that Raja and Diaw were both traded away! Diaw is my best friend Kara's favorite eye candy (he's French, after all) and Raja used to be a model before he joined the NBA. That's all I'll say about that, since my dutiful husband reads my blog. My dad has actually met Raja a few times at work (Raja drives a BMW) and he says he's also quite nice.

Some how, though, the treats were forgotten, and I found myself listening to the whirl of the KitchenAid at 5:45 this morning as I made the requested peanut butter cookies. After I sent my tall man off with some criss-crossed peanut butter cookies, I decided to try wrapping some of the dough around Milky Way bars like Kara's mother in law does. Just scoop out a regular cookies worth of dough, flatten it in your palm, place about 1 inch of candy bar in the center (chop a big one, buy funsize, whatever works for you), and roll it around in your hand. Bake as usual. I don't think you'll be going back to the plain old peanut butter cookie. I know I won't (and I know I'll be looking at the Snickers, Milky Ways, and Three Musketeers differently from now on!)


Congratulations to Chocolate Chic, Megan from My Baking Adventures, and Allergy Mom who had the luck of the random number generator! Email me your address and we'll get your prize right out. Thanks everyone for the entries. I had an awesome time reading the great comments and hope it do it again soon. Now seriously... you probably have some left over candy bars in the pantry from Halloween. Go make these cookies!

Peanut Butter Candy Bar Cookies
by Anne Strawberry

1 cup softened butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup smooth peanut butter
2 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 bag bite size candy bars (or 4 full size bars) - Snickers, Milky Way, Three Musketeers, etc

Preheat oven to 375. Cut candy bars into 1 inch pieces and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined. Mix in peanut butter. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Scoop dough out, flatten slightly in your palm. Place one piece of candy into the middle and roll in your hand to wrap the chocolate into the middle of the dough. Please on baking sheet, spacing apart generously, and bake from 9-12 minutes until dough has set but before cookies take on too much color. Remove from sheet and allow to cool. Enjoy warm!

TWD- Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies! Nothing says Christmas more than these, especially to my husband. His family used to make these every year for Christmas and at some point (I'm presuming during their teenage years) they decided it just wasn't worth it. I've tried my best to reincarnate this holiday tradition and every Christmas since we got married, even when we were stuck in Utah two years ago since I was too pregnant to travel home, we've made them. Even better, this recipe is easy to make, has DELICIOUS dough, and rolls out like a dream. I made a double batch and put 50 straight into the freezer to take to scouts on Thursday. I'm sure the boys will end up with some interesting designs- it should be a lot of fun for everyone!

Thanks to Ulrike for this fun choice. Find the recipe there and whip some up tonight. With a quick dough, good freezability, and perfect rolling texture, I think these are just right. Next time I'll roll them a little thicker since I prefer a chewy sugar cookie (well, I prefer all my cookies to be chewier) but these crisp, easy to ice cookies are perfect. Don't miss all the other beautiful sugar cookies from the talented Tuesdays with Dorie bakers.

Lemon Glaze
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon meringue powder

Combine all ingredients and stir until smooth. Dip cookies to ice and allow frosting to harden.

Cupcake pops, moving, and more

Part of the perks of living near family (two big families- our parents come from families of 7 kids) is getting together a lot. Part of the problem is getting together a lot! Really though, we love it here... and we'd better, since we just bought and house and my husband isn't looking forward to taking the bar exam anywhere else! So... we're abundantly blessed but really busy this time of year. Unfortunately, my blogs have been very neglected. I also haven't checked my regular reads and I've really just been in survival mode. I know you all think we have three course Barefoot Contessa meals for dinner every night followed by some exotic dessert (cough cough) but I'll admit we've eaten a lot of soups, salads, and sandwiches... not to mention leftovers and crockpot dishes! We are also working on remodel for our house and I can't wait to have a kitchen of my own again, soon.

This is our old kitchen in Utah. My husband really wanted to try a new color so I flipped through the colors in the paint store and tried to keep an open mind. I don't think I was that successful, since it went about like this.

Red (no, all my accessories are red). Orange (nope, never have liked it). Yellow (maybe... maybe.) Green (I'd love green!). Blue (could be too Americana with all the red). Purple (never have been much for purple for myself). Pink (I'd love a soft soft baby pink, my husband would die). Brown (the rest of the house is tan, I'd like some color).

And there you go. It left yellow (his choice) and green (my choice). I was prepared for yellow but last minute I told my husband, "I just can't do it! It's not me! I want green for the room I'm always working in!" He caved and said as long as it was something different Green was fine.

So I went back to the paint store and chose a random green, bought a trial, and slapped it on the walls. He came over and said, "Looks just like the old green. But if it makes you happy..." So there you have it... this color green seems to be my soul mate. In my defense, it is a little less grey and a little more "apple". Either way, it's going to be pretty. We spent last weekend ripping out flooring, painting, and begging our relatives to babysit. We hope to move this weekend and have the kitchen operating in about two weeks. The blue is the color for the master bath (approximately) and the rest of the house will be the tan, with white doors and trim. The flooring is coming in this week and I'll have pictures soon.

So... I allowed myself a little blogging time this morning and went over to Bakerella's site. Along with a million cute Christmas ideas, I saw my cupcake pops I made last summer! They aren't quite as cute as the last batch I made with Auburn, but I think I've figured them out now and can make them pretty easily. If you try them, give yourself plenty of time, counter and fridge space, and cute decorations. I would also recommend using the scalloped cookie cutter instead of the trays (and a big one- the less scallops the easier they'll be to see after all that dipping!)

And finally... don't forget that today is the last chance to enter the giveaway! Tomorrow I'll be back with Dorie's ridiculously delicious sugar cookies.

Reese's "Jingle Bell Rock"-y Road Pie

Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas music is all over the radio! I finally feel ready for the holidays and this month's Pies With That theme- Holiday Songs. I had a ton of fun picking a theme but in all the mayhem I nearly missed making my own pie! It came to me, though, while I was driving one day- those chocolate bells could totally make a "Jingle Bell Rock" pie.

From there, I decided on Reese's chocolate bells and a rendition of my Aunt's wonderful peanut butter pie. For the rocky road portion, I mixed in toasted walnuts, marshmallows, and chopped chocolate (I opened my last bar of Greek chocolate I smuggled in my suitcase!). I also had to fight every urge to drizzle the whole thing with caramel or chocolate. It would have been beautiful but there was already PLENTY going on here without adding any more sugar!

That piece was cut out for the photo and stolen instantly! So much for a solo shot!

I intended to make a regular graham cracker crust but happened to run out of grahams before I got enough, so I threw some pretzels into the food processor to make up the difference. The crust ended up pleasantly salty and complimented the rest of the pie. I did make it in the spring form pan to hold more pie since I had a big crew eating it. Thankfully, this is one rich pie- so one 9 inch spring form covered about 16 people (plus toddlers- we don't usually count them for food but with desserts, they are starting to eat their share!). The end result reminded me a bit of Dorie's Peanut Butter Torte, but I liked it a bit more without the chocolate crust. But honestly... with peanut butter, chocolate, and more, "how bad can that be?!" Don't forget to enter the giveaway here if you haven't yet!

Previous Pie's With That entries:
Nie's Vintage Cherry Apple Pie and Galette
Emma Hearts Knightley Pie

Reese's "Jingle Bell Rock"-y Road Pie
from Anne Strawberry

Pretzel Graham Cracker Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup pretzel crumbs
3/4 stick melted butter
3 Tablespoons sugar

Preheat the oven to 375.

Combine all ingredients with a fork and press into butter, 9 inch spring form pan. Bake for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.

Peanut Butter Rocky Road Filling:
2 packages of Neufchatel cheese (or cream cheese), softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (sifted if necessary)
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 ounces chopped chocolate (not too fine)
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1 bag Reese's peanut butter cup Christmas bells

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand mixer), combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Gently fold in chocolate, walnuts, and marshmallows. Dump into cooled pie crust and smooth.

Using a thin serrated nice, slice the Reese's bells in half and position in a pattern on top of the pie.

Refrigerate until firm (at least 4 hours) and serve. Top with chocolate sauce or caramel (if you can handle it!)