Showing posts with label holiday gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday gifts. Show all posts

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Sour Cream Decorated Cookies / #ChristmasCookies

This post is sponsored in conjunction with Christmas Cookies Week. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the Christmas Cookies Week recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

Welcome to #ChristmasCookiesWeek2018! I am so happy that you stopped by. All this week, a group of blogging friends and I will be sharing #ChristmasCookies that you will love! Make sure to come back by everyday through Friday to find a new recipe!
 
So....let's talk cookies!

 Every year I make dozens of cookies for friends. I give them out during the holidays so they know that my family and I are thinking of them and wishing them the best of the season! It's my favorite thing to do, at my favorite time of year!

 So I thought it would be fun to make the cookies for my tins this week, with you! While we are baking I will be talking about why I chose a certain cookie, how I decide which cookies to include, the importance of choosing variety, fillers to make the cookie tin full, and make ahead pointers to make everything less stressful and more fun!

 Plus, as part of the party, we are having a giveaway! You can enter at the bottom of this page! Good Luck!

 Today we are making Sour Cream Decorated Cookies with sprinkles courtesy of Sprinkle Pop! Thank you, and I love your sprinkles! These cookies are easy to make, and they are quite different from the cookies we are making later this week. These cookies are made with sour cream, which makes them softer, and they also have nutmeg which is definitely a different flavor than most traditional sugar cookies. They are differently delicious! 
Sour Cream Decorated Cookies
(printable recipe at end of page)

 1 cup Butter (softened)
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3 1/2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 pinches Nutmeg

 Royal Frosting
6 ounces Warm Water
5 tablespoon Meringue Powder
1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
2.25 pounds Powdered Icing Sugar
Cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the sour cream and egg.
Add vanilla and mix. In a separate bowl stir together the flour, nutmeg, and salt. 
Add a little at a time to the wet ingredients, until fully incorporated.
Take a large spoonful of dough and set it between 2 pieces of parchment paper. If you use large parchment, fold it in half, placing dough on one side of paper.
Fold the paper over the dough, and use a rolling pin to roll dough flat, about 1/4" thick. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Once dough is chilled, cut out the pieces with a round cookie cutter.
Place dough on cookie sheet. Bake dough for 6-8 minutes at 350 degrees. 
Take your cookies from the oven and using a small cookie cutter, press it into the center of the cookie. It will make an indentation like above. Let cool. Make the frosting. You can find directions to the frosting where I made Place Setting Cookies last year. 
Take about 1 cup of frosting out of the white frosting and tint it green. Set it aside. Use a #2 tip and fill your frosting bag with white frosting. Make a circle of frosting, not too far from the edge, around the cookie. Use your Sprinkle Pop sprinkles to go around the circle. You can go on to the next step, or wait for the circle of sprinkles to dry first.
Use the green frosting and a #2 tip to outline the Christmas Tree. Top it with a star sprinkle! Let dry!
So now we have the first cookie for our cookie tins. One of the reasons I love these cookies is because they are simple, yet very creative. You can make this cookie your own by filling in the tree, and maybe adding sprinkles to it, or making the circle of frosting wider, which would use more sprinkles, and give it a different look. Either way, it's going to fit in the cookie tin perfectly. 

 I hope you will stop by tomorrow to see my Christmas Tree Whoopie Pies! They will make a great addition to our cookie tins because they take a little extra time to make, but they are not difficult, and they are always a favorite around this time of year!

 So what did all my blogging friends bake today? Check it out below!:

#ChristmasCookiesWeek Monday Recipes
Make sure you enter the #ChristmasWeek giveaway!! So many great prizes! Keep reading to find out more!!

 This post is sponsored on behalf of #ChristmasCookiesWeek. The generous sponsors, YumGoggle, Sprinkle Pop, Silpat and Adams Extracts have provided us with products for recipe creation and a giveaway for our readers. As always, all opinions are my own.   Thank you to Ellen at Family Around the Table and Christie at A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures for hosting #ChristmasCookiesWeek. 

Prize Package #1:

  From Adams Extracts comes a selection of baking delights including their prize-winning pound cake mix, pure vanilla extract, pure peppermint extract, double strength pure vanilla extract, pound cake flavor extract and vanilla cinnamon sugar.   Adams traces its beginnings back to Battle Creek, Michigan, when John A. Adams began making and selling his Green Plant Sarsaparilla extract, Adamur, in 1888. In 1905, he moved his family to Beeville, TX. At the time, most vanilla was sold to pharmacies and was often labeled “Do not bake or freeze.” John A. Adams, whose imagination was stirred by his wife’s yearning for a flavoring that wouldn’t bake or freeze out, announced that he could produce a better vanilla than the one his wife was currently using. Working with just $6.71 worth of materials on top of an old icebox, John A. Adams discovered the formula he wanted.  

Prize Package #2:

  YumGoggle is giving away a variety of holiday and Christmas cookie cutters. The winner of this prize package will receive a sleigh, large ornament and two cookie cutter sets. The first is a mug/ sweater set called Ugly Sweater Specialty Cookie Cutter Set and the second is a Santa/ reindeer set called North Pole Specialty Cookie Cutter Set. Each set includes 2 cookie cutters, 2 templates, 2 instruction cars and 4 bonus templates.   The YumGoggle gallery features food photography from contributors around the world. If you’re looking for a recipe, chances are you’ll find it on YumGoggle. The photos not only whet your appetite but you can easily find the recipes by clicking the photo.  

Prize Package #3:

  The winner of this Sprinkle Pop prize package will get their choice of 3 sprinkle varieties, at $35.00 value. Winner will be contacted by or need to contact Sprinkle Pop for fulfillment.   Sprinkle Pop offers trendy sprinkle mixes that you won’t find anywhere else. Fun fact: Over 50% of their sprinkle mixes are dyed in house, making each experience one of a kind. Sprinkle Pop also creates one of a kind confetti shapes that are unique to their mixes. Make every occasion a festive one with these fun sprinkle creations.  

Prize Package #4:

  One winner will receive an 11 5/8 inch x 16 1/2 inch Silpat® baking mat which is perfect for all of your cookie baking throughout the year. Reduces the need for parchment and is reusable.   The original silicone baking mat made from a dedicated silicone with reinforced fiberglass mesh. Nothing sticks to Silpat® which means you’ll spend less time cleaning and more time enjoying your baking creations. Silpat® replaces the need for butter, grease, oils, and sprays.
  • Multi-purpose non-stick silicone baking and pastry mat.
  • No cooking sprays, oils or parchment paper needed.
  • Not to be used as a cutting surface.
  • Can be used in the oven, microwave and freezer.
  a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclaimer: Thank you #ChristmasCookiesWeek sponsors: Adams Extract, Sprinkle Pop, YumGoggle and Silpat for providing the prizes free of charge. The #ChristmasCookiesWeek giveaway is open to U.S. residents, age 18 & up. All entries for the winner will be checked and verified. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. The number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Four (4) winners will be selected at random from entries received. The prize packages will be fulfilled by and sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. #ChristmasCookiesWeek bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members in their household are not eligible to enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social channel mentioned in the #ChristmasCookiesWeek posts or entry.

Sour Cream Decorated Cookies

prep time: cook time: total time:

ingredients:

Sour Cream Decorated Cookies
1 cup Butter (softened)
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3 1/2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 pinches Nutmeg

Royal Frosting
6 ounces Warm Water
5 tablespoon Meringue Powder
1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
2.25 pounds Powdered Icing Sugar

instructions:


  1. Cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the sour cream and egg.
    Add vanilla and mix. In a separate bowl stir together the flour, nutmeg, and salt. 
  2. Add a little at a time to the wet ingredients, until fully incorporated.
  3. Take a large spoonful of dough and set it between 2 pieces of parchment paper. If you use large parchment, fold it in half, placing dough on one side of paper.
  4. Fold the paper over the dough, and use a rolling pin to roll dough flat, about 1/4" thick. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
  5. Once dough is chilled, cut out the pieces with a round cookie cutter.
    Place dough on cookie sheet. Bake dough for 6-8 minutes at 350 degrees. 
  6. Take your cookies from the oven and using a small cookie cutter, press it into the center of the cookie. It will make an indentation like above. Let cool. Make the frosting. You can find directions to the frosting where I made Place Setting Cookies last year.
  7. Take about 1 cup of frosting out of the white frosting and tint it green. Set it aside. Use a #2 tip and fill your frosting bag with white frosting. Make a circle of frosting, not too far from the edge, around the cookie. Use your Sprinkle Pop sprinkles to go around the circle. You can go on to the next step, or wait for the circle of sprinkles to dry first.
  8. Use the green frosting and a #2 tip to outline the Christmas Tree. Top it with a star sprinkle! Let dry!
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Posted by at 9:23 PM 0 comments
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Saturday, November 26, 2016

A Trio of Brittle / #SundaySupper

If you love making sweet treats for friends, family, co-workers, and just about everyone you know, you are going to love this Trio of Brittle! I have been making brittle for at least 10 years, maybe longer. It all started when I wanted to make a gift for some long time friends, and I could not decide what to make for them. Having had known them a while, they had already tried it all! So I came up with these brittles, and about 10 other flavors, and the rest is small time history!  

Today I made Hot and Spicy Peanut Brittle, Cashew Brittle, and Turtle Brittle. If you have never made brittle before, you should know that it requires patience, and a really, really good candy thermometer! But homemade brittle is worth the time and energy. Once you make this, you will never buy it again. You will make it forever, mostly because your friends and family will always want more!

A Trio of Brittle

(Printable recipe at end of post)  

2 cups Sugar
1 cup Light Corn Syrup
1/2 cup Water
3 cups Cashew Pieces or (1 cup caramel bits+1 cup chopped chocolate + 2 cups Pecans) or (25 ounces of Hot and Spicy Peanuts)
1 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Butter
2 teaspoons Baking Soda 
Pan Spray
Baking Sheets or Shallow Pans 

This is the basic brittle recipe. In the recipe above I have listed "3 cups of Cashew Pieces" as an ingredient. That is the only ingredient that changes. The rest of the recipe stays the same. So, lets make Cashew Brittle first!
Combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook slowly until the sugar dissolves. The temperature needs to reach 275 degrees in about 40-45 minutes. I always use 2 thermometers when making candies. Just in case! 
Add the cashew pieces. I buy these at Trader Joes, and I love them for snacks! Cook until the temperature reaches 295 degrees, about 15 or 20 minutes longer. While the mix is coming up to temperature, spray the baking sheet with a light coating of pan spray, and set aside. 
Remove from heat and stir in butter. Add salt and baking soda. The mix will start to change color and rise in the pan. Stir quickly.

Quickly pour it onto the baking sheet, spreading it out as evenly as you can. Set aside to cool completely.
Let's make the Turtle Brittle by boiling the sugar, corn syrup and water together until the temperature reaches 275 degrees.
Add only 2 cups of pecans and continue cooking until the  mix reaches 295 degrees. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter. Add salt and baking soda and stir. Pour mixture onto baking sheet. Spread mix as evenly as possible.
Begin dropping the caramel bits and the chopped chocolate onto the mix. As it sits on the brittle, it will begin to melt into the mix. If you want to push the caramel bits down into the mix more, use a flat spatula. The mix is still very hot. Set aside to cool completely.
For the Spicy Peanut Brittle, once again let the first three ingredients cook until they reach 275 degrees.
Add the spicy peanuts until the temperature reaches 295 degrees, Remove from heat Add butter and stir. Add salt and baking soda and stir immediately.
Quickly pour onto baking sheet and evenly spread. Let cool.

Let all the brittles sit until completely cooled. It takes about 20 minutes for each. 
 Once the brittle is cooled off, begin to crack the bars. They will randomly crack in their own way. I like small bite size pieces, but they don't always break that way. Store in sealed bags or containers until you are ready to give them as gifts or enjoy yourself!


 


 Thank you so much for joining me today! If you have any questions or concerns about this recipe, please leave me a message in the comments and I will answer you promptly!

Thank you to Christie from  A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures for hosting today's gift giving challenge!


Scroll down to see what yummy goodies #SundaySupper members have been creating!

Baked Goods

Candy

Chocolate

Jams, Syrups, Drinks

Mixes and Spices

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board. Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.
    print recipe

    A Trio of Brittle

    prep time: 30 MINScook time: 1 hour and 15 MINStotal time: 1 hours and 45 mins

    INGREDIENTS:

    Cashew Brittle
    • 2 cups Sugar
    • 1 cup Light Corn Syrup
    • 1/2 cup Water
    • 3 cups Cashew
    • 1 teaspoon Salt
    • 2 teaspoons Butter
    • 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
    Turtle Brittle
    • 2 cups Sugar
    • 1 cup Light Corn Syrup
    • 1/2 cup Water
    • 2 cups Pecans
    • 1/2 cup Caramel Bits
    • 4 ounce Chocolate Chunks
    • 1 teaspoon Salt
    • 2 teaspoons Butter
    • 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
    Hot and Spicy Peanut Brittle
    • 2 cups Sugar
    • 1 cup Light Corn Syrup
    • 1/2 cup Water
    • 25 ounces Hot and Spicy Peanuts
    • 1 teaspoon Salt
    • 2 teaspoons Butter
    • 2 teaspoons Baking Soda

    INSTRUCTIONS:

    Cashew Brittle
    1. Combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook slowly until the sugar dissolves. The temperature needs to reach 275 degrees in about 40-45 minutes. I always use 2 thermometers when making candies. Just in case!
    2. Add the cashew pieces. Cook until the temperature reaches 295 degrees, about 15 or 20 minutes longer. While the mix is coming up to temperature, spray the baking sheet with a light coating of pan spray, and set aside.
    3. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Add salt and baking soda. The mix will start to change color and rise in the pan. Stir quickly.
    4. Quickly pour it onto the baking sheet, spreading it out as evenly as you can. Set aside to cool completely.
    5. Once the brittle is cooled off, begin to crack the bars. They will randomly crack in their own way. I like small bite size pieces, but they don't always break that way. Store in sealed bags or containers until you are ready to give them as gifts or enjoy yourself!
    Turtle Brittle
    1. Let's make the Turtle Brittle by boiling the sugar, corn syrup and water together until the temperature reaches 275 degrees.
    2. Add only 2 cups of pecans and continue cooking until the mix reaches 295 degrees. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter. Add salt and baking soda and stir. Pour mixture onto baking sheet. Spread mix as evenly as possible.
    3. Begin dropping the caramel bits and the chopped chocolate onto the mix. As it sits on the brittle, it will begin to melt into the mix. If you want to push the caramel bits down into the mix more, use a flat spatula. The mix is still very hot. Set aside to cool completely.
    4. Once the brittle is cooled off, begin to crack the bars. They will randomly crack in their own way. I like small bite size pieces, but they don't always break that way. Store in sealed bags or containers until you are ready to give them as gifts or enjoy yourself!
    Spicy Peanut Brittle
    1. For the Spicy Peanut Brittle, once again let the first three ingredients cook until they reach 275 degrees.
    2. Add the spicy peanuts until the temperature reaches 295 degrees, Remove from heat Add butter and stir. Add salt and baking soda and stir immediately.
    3. Quickly pour onto baking sheet and evenly spread. Let cool.
    4. Once the brittle is cooled off, begin to crack the bars. They will randomly crack in their own way. I like small bite size pieces, but they don't always break that way. Store in sealed bags or containers until you are ready to give them as gifts or enjoy yourself!
    http://www.thefreshmancook.com/2016/11/a-trio-of-brittle-sundaysupper.html
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Posted by at 9:37 PM 0 comments
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