Valentine Sugar Cookies

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 It is almost Valentine's Day, and because I am always working to improve my cookie decorating skills, I thought some red and pink decorated sugar cookies would be perfect to celebrate! I love giving friends and neighbors little valentine gifts, like these cookies. It's something they don't expect, and it's something they wouldn't make for themselves. The recipe I used is an old "go to" favorite and so is the frosting.

No Fail Sugar Cookies

2 cups Butter

2 cups Sugar

2 Eggs

2 teaspoon Almond Extract

5 cups Flour

3 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs and almond extract, and mix well.

Mix dry ingredients a little at a time to butter mixture.

Mix until flour is incorporated and the dough comes together.

The dough needs to be chilled. On the Kitchen Gifts web site

they recommend this great idea so you can start cutting out

your cookies sooner than later. Take a spatula full 

of dough, and put it in the middle of  a piece of

 parchment paper. Cover the dough with the same size

parchment paper. Roll out the dough to 1/4" thickness.

Place the dough on a baking sheet, cover with plastic, 

and let it chill in the refrigerator. Repeat the process

 until all the dough is used, and all the sheets of 

parchment are in the fridge. By the time you are done,

the first sheet you put in should be done. If not, wait about

1/2 hour. They should be done by then. 

Take out the first batch, cut out, and start baking at

350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

The best thing is that you are not adding any additional 

 flour to your cookies.

If covered properly with the plastic, these can stay in

the fridge overnight. Many times I have made the recipe

before I go to bed, and then I cut them out and 

bake them in the morning.

 Here is the frosting recipe I use:
Antonia 74 Royal Icing
  6 ounces Warm Water
5 tablespoons Meringue
1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
2.25 pounds Confectioner's Sugar
In a mixing bowl, pour in the warm water and the meringue powder.
Whisk together for 30 seconds.
Add the Cream of Tartar.
Whisk together for 30 seconds more.
Place all the icing sugar in the bowl and mix on low for a full
10 minutes. The icing fill get thick and creamy.
Keep bowl covered with a damp tea towel to prevent crusting.
Tint with food colorings and water to obtain desired
color and consistency.

I started by outlining the cookie with a Wilton #2 tip.

 Then I filled it in.

I outlined and filled in the pink one, put in on top of a dry red cookie
I added the white edible pearls to the red cookie before it dried.

For the small pink cookie with the hearts,
 I outlined and filled in with pink, using a #2 tip.

Then I placed 2 small dots, both the same size, right next to
each other on the cookie, while the pink icing was wet.

Then, I pulled each dot down to a center point to
make a heart.

You can see that on the large pink heart, I squiggled
lines and dots, making it pink on pink, and attached a small red heart.

Although I love my cookies to look perfect in my eyes, I am not there yet.
But, everyone loves a decorated sugar cookie, and the smile on a
friends face when they eat these, really is the best gift to me.
Have fun with these!

Thanks for joining me at The Freshman Cook.

Candy Conversation Hearts!

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Everyone seems to have a "Love 'em or Hate 'em" attitude when it comes to the traditional candy conversation hearts. I know I do. I love them because they are a tradition. They have been a part of every Valentine's Day I can remember, but I am not crazy for the chalky taste or the fact that they are hard on my teeth. I found this recipe in last years February issue of Food Network Magazine, and I was intrigued.

What I discovered after making this recipe, is that these are so much better than the original they were trying to copy. These taste fresh and they are easy to eat. I think you will like these!

Candy Conversation Hearts!

1/4 ounce packet Unflavored Gelatin Powder

1 tablespoon Light Corn Syrup

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Salt

1/2 cup Boiling Water

2 pounds Confectioner's Sugar

Extra Confectioner's Sugar for kneading

Your choice of food color 

Your choice of extract

Cooking Spray

Food Decorating Pens

Whisk the gelatin, corn syrup, vanilla, salt, and 

boiling water in a stand mixer until the gelatin dissolves.

Beat in the confectioners' sugar, on medium, one cup at a time

until you have a stiff, sticky dough.

Move the dough to a clean work surface and knead.

You will have to add a little more confectioners' sugar

to make it workable. Add just a little at a time.
You shouldn't add more than a cup.

The dough should become soft and pliable, but still a little sticky.

Divide your dough into 4 pieces. Wrap the other pieces

so they don't become dry. On the piece you are working on

put some of the color you want this piece to be. I chose pink for this one.
 Also, drop a few drops of your extract. I used Almond.

I put 3 drops of pink color and 3 drops of almond. I used an 

eyedropper to add the extract. I added the color first, 

and then so the extract wouldn't go all over, I pulled the

 dough into a cup  form and added the extract.

 Knead the dough until the color is evenly distributed
through out.  As you can see, I also made green. :)

Take a large piece of parchment paper and spray it with
pan spray. Roll out your dough between 1/8" and 1/4".
I used 1/8" on the pink hearts and 1/4" on the others. The
1/8" was a little thin, but that is just my preference.

Start cutting out the hearts using a 1" cookie cutter.

As you peel away the dough,.....

you will have all these scraps left. Just reroll until you
have none left.

Transfer your cut hearts to parchment paper for drying.
Now do the steps again for each of the three left
over balls of dough. You can choose a different color for
each one. I used pink, green, yellow, and blue. I used almond for each
color, but you could certainly switch them up. Let the hearts sit out, uncovered
for 24 hours, but flip them over at 12 hours.

Once the hearts are dry, you can write on them with a food writer pen.
Here are a few that I wrote on. I wasn't happy with
my penmanship, so I haven't written on most of them, but I did
write a few updated ones like these and these...

just for kicks!

This recipe was time consuming, so after I made the dough,
I wrapped it tightly in plastic and did the rest the next day.
When they were done drying, I placed them in a plastic
container to keep them fresh.

So, that's it. A copycat version  of Conversation Hearts,
that I know you will love! Have fun, and thanks
for joining The Freshman Cook today!

Cranberry Orange Cookies

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While I was cleaning and organizing my pantry the other day, I came across a can of sweetened condensed milk that was due to expire at the end of February. I set in on the counter, thinking I would figure out what to do with it, because I would be reminded of it each time I passed by, throughout the day. Well, that really didn't work out that great, but as I was inspecting the can, (looking for inspiration, I'm sure :)) I saw this recipe for Cranberry Orange cookies on the back of the can. It just so happened that I had everything I needed in the pantry, and so here they are. I made these in the evening, and they need to sit overnight after baking. That allows time for the flavors to meld together, and they are definitely worth the wait!

Cranberry Orange Cookies

(essentialeveryday.com)

2 cups Quick Oats

1 cup Dried Cranberries

1/2 cup Flour

2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

Pinch of Salt

1-14 ounce can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 cup White Chocolate Chips

1 tablespoon Orange Zest

1 tablespoon Orange Juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

There is no need for an electric mixer when you

 make these cookies. It's so easy to mix by hand, and

you won't break up your ingredients. Add the oats, cranberries, flour, 

cinnamon and salt to a bowl.

Mix everything really well. so all your ingredients 

are well distibuted.

Add your sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips,

orange zest, and orange juice. Mix well.

Use a cookie scoop to place the cookies on a greased

or parchment cover cookie sheet. Once your cookies

are on the sheet, go through and flatten them just a little.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned.

 Mine took 11 minutes every time.

Let cookies sit on the baking sheet for a minute,

 then place on a cooling rack to cool.

After they are cooled, cover to keep fresh, but try to 

wait a few hours or overnight to eat them.

Enjoy!

Thanks for joining The Freshman Cook today!

If you like these cookies, you might also enjoy these:

Oatmeal Caramel Cookies

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

We are sharing at these parties:
Mouthwatering Mondays
Made By You Monday 

                   

Touchdown Shooters

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I know there are a gazillion different types of sandwiches, dips, desserts, and treats for the Super Bowl~and I love all of them! But, I was looking to make something a little different, a "guy treat" if there is such a thing. So, I created these Touchdown Shooters, and I tested them on the 2 guys I live with, my son and my husband.  And they liked them a lot. These shooters are full of peanut butter, chocolate, and salty pretzels! That's guy food, right? Let me know what you think!

Touchdown Shooters

2 cups Creamy Jif Peanut Butter

2 tablespoons Butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

1/2 to 1 cup Confectioners Sugar
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 cup Milk Chocolate Chips
3-4 tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
Snyders Old Fashioned Dipping Sticks
Whipped Cream
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 cup Confectioners Sugar

Mix your peanut butter, butter, and vanilla together.
Add Your confectioners sugar, and mix well.

The mix may be a bit stiff at this point, so add a little
bit of the heavy whipping cream at a time until it
has a smooth consistency. You need it smooth, but not runny.

Start melting your chocolate chips in a double boiler.

When your chips are almost melted, turn the heat off
of your chocolate. Take your 4 tablespoons of cream and
heat them up. The microwave is perfect for this.
You don't want it hot, just lukewarm. If you add the
cream when it is cold the chocolate may seize up,
or become very thick. Add your warmed heavy whipping
cream to your chocolate, a tablespoon at a time.

You want it to look smooth and.......

drizzle off of a spoon.

Put a handful of pretzel sticks in a plastic bag,
and roll over them with a rolling pin to crush them.

Take your crushed pretzels and place some in each
 of your shooter glasses. Use just enough to cover the bottom
of the glass. Take a couple tablespoons and set them aside.
You will use them to top the whipped cream.

Take the rest of your crushed pretzels, and mix them
into the peanut butter mixture. I found the best
way to really mix it together is with your hands.

Take a small scoop, or use a spoon, and form the
peanut butter mix into a ball. Place it in the bottom of
the shooter glass. Drizzle the chocolate over the
peanut butter to cover.

Do it again with another ball of peanut butter and....

top with chocolate again.

Place your whipping cream in the mixer.
Whip about 3-4 minutes, then add the sugar,
and whip on high until the cream becomes whipped cream.

Pipe the whipped cream onto the top of the chocolate.
I used a Wilton M1 tip.

Sprinkle a few pieces of pretzels pieces on the top
of the whipped cream.

Add your dipping stick pretzel to
 the side of the whipped cream.

Enjoy!
The dipping stick does work to eat the shooters.
Of course, so does a spoon!
I tried several ways of refrigerating these, and I found
that it is best not to. You can, but then you have to wait
until they softened to enjoy them. Make sure to add the whipped
cream right before serving, and have fun with these
Touchdown Shooters!