snowman faces

These cookies I made last year for the first time after seeing something similar on a blog.  I used sugar cookies cut into circles and decorated them with royal icing.

cookies ready to decorate

outlining the faces with white royal icing

flooding the outlined areas with thinned icing

the icing is drying

Outlining and flooding the stocking cap with blue royal icing

adding a cuff to the cap with a star tip and white

adding a face with edible marker

painting on a carrot with food coloring and brush

snowman faces cookies

1 recipe vanilla-almond sugar cookies 

1 recipe royal icing (divided)

6 Tbsp meringue powder

scant 3/4 cup water

1 1/2 pounds confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp corn syrup

few drops clear extract

Combine the meringue powder and water in bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment and mix until foamy.  Add the sifted confectioners sugar, extract and corn syrup and mix until stiff peaks form.  Do not over beat.  Cover until ready to use so it doesn't dry out.  Use as is in decorating bag for outlining and thin with small amounts of water at time to make flood icing for filling in the outlined areas.

When decorating these cookies I used part of the icing in a decorator bag with a round tip to outline the white faces and allowed that to dry. 

I then thinned some of the white with small amounts of water to make flood icing and I used a squeeze bottle to fill in the faces and allowed that to dry.

Next I colored some of the icing with blue food coloring and put some of the blue in a decorating bag with a round tip and outlined the hats which then were left to dry.

The remainder of the blue icing  was thinned to flood the hats and allowed to dry.

Once the hats and faces were dry I used the original white icing with a star tip and piped a cuff on the hats.  I think you could also use the blue for a cuff. 

I used an edible marker to dot on the eyes and smiles.  Some of my cookies were further along in the drying process and the marker made a small dot on top of the cookie surface.  Some of the other cookies were slightly less dry and the marker made a colored depression on the cookie surface. 

Next I mixed a drop of red liquid food color with two drops of yellow to form an orange color and used a small artist brush to add a carrot to the faces.

on a cookie tray

Source for royal icing (recipe and tutorial) here,

snowman cookies

I have to admit that someone more creative than I came up with these cute cookies  (I found them on a blog last year) but they were just too cute not to copy.

I started out by mixing up a favorite sugar cookie recipe and rolling it out and cutting into squares.  Once the cookies were baked and cooled it was time to decorate them.  For the background I used a confectioners sugar icing made with milk and confectioners sugar with a teaspoon of corn syrup and vanilla added.  This will dry hard and allow the tree and snowman to be added over the top.  I started by using white icing to do the snowy ground.  Using a squeeze bottle with a fairly large opening I outlined a rectangle on one edge of the cookie and filled it in. This will be the snow on the ground.

After doing all of the cookies they are set aside to dry.

Then I outlined and filled in the sky portion of the cookie.

 While the icing was still wet I sprinkled it with white sprinkles.

I used white royal icing in a pastry bag to pipe three dots to represent a snowman.  I used pale green icing in a pastry bag to add a Christmas tree. This uses such a tiny bit of royal icing that I decorated these cookies when I was doing other cookies with royal icing.

 

On the cookie tray you can see the finished cookies.  I decided the tree was a little too pastel so I painted a little green food coloring over parts of the tree with an artist's brush.  I used a edible food marker to paint a little black hat above the snowman's head.

snowman cookies

1/2 recipe vanilla-almond sugar cookies

confectioners sugar icing for background

mix together
confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp corn syrup
few drops clear extract
milk, enough to make thin enough glaze to pour and will level

royal icing for snowman and tree

6 Tbsp meringue powder
scant 3/4 cup water
1 1/2 pounds confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp corn syrup
few drops clear extract

Combine the meringue powder and water in bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment and mix until foamy.  Add the sifted confectioners sugar, extract and corn syrup and mix until stiff peaks form.  Do not over beat.  Cover until ready to use so it doesn't dry out.  Use as is in decorating bag for outlining and thin with small amounts of water at time to make flood icing for filling in the outlined areas.

Source for royal icing (tutorial) here

whole wheat bread

Recently another blogger posted her recipe for whole wheat bread and I gave it a try.  I am kind of a novice baker and I thought this recipe was pretty uncomplicated.  It didn't require a lot of time to raise.  I mixed it up in the stand mixer and let the dough hook do all the kneading.  It makes two loaves.  I thought that it had great flavor and texture.  And it is great toasted.

Whole wheat bread

2 3/4 cups hot water

4 Tbsp oil

4 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp salt

6 cups whole wheat flour, divided

2 tbsp active dry yeast

Mix the hot water, oil, honey and salt in the bowl of the stand mixer.  Add 2 cups of the flour and mix.  Then add the yeast and mix again.  Lastly add the remaining flour and knead with the dough hook until all the flour is incorporated and you have a slightly tacky dough.  I let the dough rest covered in the bowl of the stand mixer.  I removed the bowl from the stand and took out the dough hook and covered the bowl with a dish towel and placed it under my undercounter lights where it is a little bit warmer for 40 minutes.  After 40 minutes the dough will be larger in size but does not have to be doubled.  Put the bowl back on the mixer and reinsert the dough hook and use the mixer to punch down the dough.  Remove the dough from the mixer and place it on a floured surface.  Divide the dough into two parts and shape each part into a loaf.  Place each loaf into a greased pan and cover with dish towel and let it rise again for another 40 minutes.  While the bread is raising preheat the oven to 350 .   Bake the loaves for 36 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool completely.  Do not refrigerate.

source: adapted from here

lefse

Once or twice a winter our family gathers to make lefse.  This year it was the second generation (my parents) and the third generation (Lisa and I and friend Perry) and the fourth generation (Kaylee and Chase).  Nikole (fourth generation) makes lefse at her home and is carrying on the tradition.  She has promised to do a post with her recipe. 

Last year Ruth,  a friend of Mom and Dad, shared with them her recipe and it has become our new favorite.  Where our previous favorite recipe used chilled mashed potatoes this recipe calls for cooking a few  potatoes at a time and rolling them out while still warm. 

Here are a few action shots followed by the recipe.

two lefse rolling pins one with the stockinette on

Lisa at work rolling out the lefsea

one lefse on the board and one on the grill

We use two grills,a stick is used to turn

once cooked the folded  lefses are tucked in a dish towel

a growing pile of lefses

 

Ruth's lefse

Cook five medium potatoes at a time.  Rice them and measure out 2 cups.  While rolling and grilling the first batch another five potatoes are cooking for the second batch.  We used the same potato water, adding more as it cooked away.  

To the 2 cups of riced potatoes add

3 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup cream 

Mix well and then add 

1 1/2 cup flour.  

Divide the lefse dough into ten roughly equal pieces and shape into balls.  We dipped each of the balls into flour and then rolled them out very thinly adding additional flour as needed to keep them from sticking. We use a lefse turning stick to transfer the lefse rounds to the grill.  When the bottom is cooked the stick is used to turn the lefse  over to cook the top side.  When the second side is cooked the turning stick is used to lift the lefse from the grill and  they are placed, folded in quarters, in a pile and covered by a dish towel.  The towel keeps the heat and moisture in and the lefses are  kind of steamed.   Once the pile has cooled we  package them in  ziplock bags and freeze them for Christmas or eat them fresh.  We usually apply a thin layer of butter and a sprinkle of sugar before rolling them up.  We used ten pounds of potatoes (russets) which made 6 or maybe 7 batches.

holly and berry cookies

This cookie recipe was originally in a Christmas baking magazine published many years ago.  The original cookie was a sandwich cookie with a filling and a decorated top.  I cannot recall what the filling was--possibly an uncommon berry--but I remember that the cookie was a sugar cookie type with cinnamon added so I adapted my favorite sugar cookie recipe to add a little cinnamon and decorated the tops in a similar fashion.

The cookies are rolled thin and cut out with a round cookie cutter.  They are frosted with a confectioner's sugar glaze and while the glaze is still wet three red hots or imperials are set in place and the cookies are allowed to dry for several hours.  I often do this step on one day and finish them the next allowing them to dry overnight.

a dab in the center of the cookie

spreading the frosting

I use the tip of a spoon to drop three candies into the wet icing.

five trays of cookies drying

 The next day I paint the holly outlines on each cookie using a tiny paintbrush and liquid green food coloring and let them dry again. I am not very artistic so this is what works best for me:

tiny artist's brush and pinch bowl with 4 drops of food coloring

the stem

one side of the leaf

finished cookie

I paint the curved stem first and then make first one side of the leaf with resembles a cursive u and then make the other side of the leave in the mirror image. 

Holly and berry cookies

1/2 recipe lollie's roll out sugar cookies with 1 tsp cinnamon added with the flour

Confectioners icing

2 cups confectioners sugar

1 tsp corn syrup

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

small amount of milk

candy imperials

liquid green food coloring

Once your  cookies are baked and cooled mix up your confectioners icing using just enough milk to make an icing that will spread easily on the cookie and level itself without running off the edge of the cookie.  I never measure when making this icing so the listed amounts are an approximation.  It might take some experimenting but you can add more liquid or more confectioners sugar until you get a consistency that works.   I have tried using a spoon to drop a bit of icing into the center of the cookie and then used an offset spatula or a butter spreader  to spread the icing to about 1/4 of an inch from  the edges and I have used a squeeze bottle to apply the icing and both work well.

While the icing is still wet place three red hot candies in a little group close to one edge of the cookie.  I usually frost 5 or 6 cookies at a time and then add the candies to those before going on to do more.  I put the cookies on parchment lined baking sheets or trays  and allow them to sit undisturbed to dry.

Once the cookies have dried the glaze should be hard and the candies imbedded.  I put a few drops of green food coloring in a small bowl and use a small artist brush to paint the holly.  I bought a new brush and have used it only for cookies.  Now that they made edible markers I would think that those could be used as well.

vanilla-almond sugar cookies

I found this recipe on a blog called bake at 350 and it is a cookie that works especially well for decorating with royal icing.  The cookie is a cut out that is rolled a little thicker so as to be more sturdy.  It makes a dough that rolls and cuts easily. 

Vanilla-Almond sugar cookies

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup sugar (can be sugar that has had vanilla beans stored in it)

2 sticks butter

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

Combine the flour and baking powder and set aside.  Cream the sugar and butter.  Add the egg and extracts and mix.  Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Roll on a floured surface and cut into shapes.  Place on parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.  Let sit a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a cooling rack.

ready for decorating

Source for recipe here.

snowflake cookies

These are a favorite cookie of mine each year at Christmas.  They are fun in a cookie assortment and add a little sparkle to a cookie tray.

I use lollie's roll out sugar cookie but any cut out sugar cookie recipe would work.  Once the cookies are baked and cooled I frost them with a dab of confectioners sugar icing and while the icing is wet sprinkle them with edible glitter and let them sit until the icing has set.

Here are my cooled cookies on parchment in case some of the icing drips off the cookie.  I use a confectioners sugar icing and I put it in a squeeze bottle for frosting.  Make sure the icing is thin enough to squeeze out of the bottle and thick enough to stay on the cookie.  I used about a cup of confectioners sugar a tsp or so of corn syrup, a few drops of vanilla and maybe a Tbsp of milk.  I mixed it in a bowl and then put it in the bottle.  I have a fairly large opening cut on the tip of the bottle top.  After the first couple of cookies i decided that my icing was too thin so I added a little more confectioners sugar to the bottle and stirred it with the handle of a wooden spoon.

cookies cooling on the rack

This year I tried frosting a few with a six legged cross

icing

and glitter

but decided I liked the look of my old  way better.

a dab in the center

spread to the edges with an offset spatula

and sprinkled with glitter.

The edible glitter that I use is made by Wilton and I have found it with their other decorating supplies.  It comes in a little plastic jar and some jars have a shaker type top.

finished tray of cookies waiting to dry