Entries Tagged as 'cookies'

Superbowl XLVI

February 6th, 2012 · 2 Comments

Yesterday Jen and Chad hosted a superbowl party. I went, but Dallas is in Las Vegas, so he missed out. Or, I’m sure he’d say we missed out on his fun in Vegas. There was a ton of great food. Everyone brought something. I brought these cute (if I do say so myself) cookies.

I am not a huge fan of sugar cookies, so I made these chocolate roll-out cookies that I found on Smitten Kitchen. I decorated with both royal icing and chocolate royal icing using the outline and flood method. The Giants and the Patriots were playing so I took their quarterbacks numbers to use on the jerseys. Eli Manning is #10 and Tom Brady is #12.

The cookies were pretty good, but I think I’m still not a huge, huge fan of roll-out cookies with royal icing. There were plenty of kids at the party, though, and they all seemed to love the cookies. I don’t know if their parents loved how red and blue their mouths became after a cookie or two, but, oh well!

I didn’t really favor either team, but since the Giants beat the Packers and pushed them out of the race, I sort of wanted them to win. And they did.

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Hermit Cooky From Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book

January 18th, 2012 · 2 Comments


View Larger: Front Cover, Back Cover

I’ve had Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book for several years, since I gave it away at the first cookie party back in 2007. The book was first published in 1963 and I love to look through it at the recipes that were popular back then. Also, the photography and design of the book is a real sign of the times.


View Larger: Left, Right

It wasn’t until recently that I noticed that in the back of the book there is a section of Betty Crocker’s Best Cookies. These are described as so: “Fashions in cookies – like fashions in women’s dress – have changed down through the years. Here is a nostalgic peek at the pace-setting cookies of seven decades from Betty Crocker’s Kitchens. Most of them, having once attained popularity, have continued to fill America’s cooky jars as favorites of each succeeding generation.”

The first recipe in this section is for hermit cookies, which apparently were popular from 1880 – 1890, when spices from the Indies became available. They say that hermits were originated in Cape Cod where they were made and then packaged to go out to sea. To put things in perspective, this decade is when the Brooklyn Bridge opened and the Statue of Liberty was dedicated.

I decided to make hermit cookies for Limey’s going away lunch at the Village Tap.

I’d read some blog posts online and one person commented that a lot of the recipes from Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book did not make a lot of cookies. I wasn’t sure how many people would be at the lunch, so I made the cookies a mini size by using my smallest cookie scoop. Little did I know that the recipe then made 126 cookies! That’s 10.5 dozen! Oh well.

One other note: Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book uses shortening in every recipe. I think the 60s were the time when everyone thought butter was so bad. I have made a couple recipes from this book and either used all butter or used half shortening, half butter, and they have turned out fine.

It seemed like most of the adults liked the spicey, nutty, fruity hermits, but the kids weren’t crazy about them. The cookies are not too sweet and they have no chocolate or frosting or peanut butter or other things kids love! Maybe if I’d iced them the little ones would have been more interested. So, word to the wise, this batch is big (especially if you make them mini) and you want to bring them to an adult party.

Also interesting -

- A baker who made every recipe in Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book. Here is her hermit cooky.
- Someone else trying to bake every recipe in Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book

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5th Annual Cookie and Tree Trimming Party

December 6th, 2011 · 13 Comments


Amy, Raiden, Loden, Joanna, Kate, Abby, Jill, Kristin, Rachelle, Marlena, Stephanie, Jessica, Jen, Sara, Mom, Suzy

On Saturday I hosted my annual cookie and tree trimming party. As was the case for several of the past years, the Roundarch holiday party was the night before. Luckily, this time I really watched myself at that party to make sure I didn’t drink too much and to make sure I got some sleep. There was one disaster year, for sure, when I didn’t do these things and then hosted 20+ people the next day. Not easy!


Dallas with friends he has seen: Jen & Kristin

Dallas was not so smart and this year he didn’t make it out of the house before everyone arrived. Which, actually, was good because he got to visit with some of the ladies that he hadn’t seen for a while. Before he left, we had him take the photo of everyone. The only ones missing are Jessica, Ashley and Lisa.


Christmas decorations


Ashley & Loden


Lisa, Rachelle, Kate, Sara

This year there were several cookie party newbs, so that was fun. The people who’d been to my party several years in a row helped them along, though. Put out your cookies, label them, EAT! Also, this year only one baby: Raiden. He’s so cute!


Raiden

To counterbalance all of the sweets, I also served dill dip with vegetables, beer dip with pretzels, olives and pickles. I’ll share the beer dip recipe later. If you’re interested in the dill dip, it’s here. As always, we also had hot apple cider (spiked or not) which Stephanie made and kept stocked. Don’t you love it when they’re old enough to assign tasks? I’m still using Julene’s Chicagoist recipe for the cider!


Stephanie


Do we look taller? Older?

These were all the tasty treats we sampled:

Creme de Menthe Brownies (Jen)
Carousel Cookies with Strawberry or Apricot Preserve (Jill)
Chocolate Waffles (Stephanie & Jessica)
Chocolate “Crackers” (Abby)
Gingerbread with Brie & Cranberry (Joanna)
Fudge Mallows (Rachelle)
Apple Pie Bars (Jessica)
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (Kate)
Raspberry Jam Bars (Kristin)
Cake Batter Truffles (Loden)
Dulce de Leche, Bacon, Coconut & Chocolate Magic Bars (Rachelle)
Poppy Raspberry Kolaches (Ashley)
Ritzy Rounds (Sara)
Drunken Balls with cocoa & Bailey’s or coconut & rum (Marlena)
Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies with chocolate kisses or chocolate caramel kisses (Amy)
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies (Mom)
Almond Bars (Suzy)
Sugared Cranberries (Suzy)

Everything was so delicious! And a new thing this year: Several cookies had savory elements – bacon? brie? ritz crackers? Yes, please. These are right up my ally.


Cookie Party!

Sometimes the cookie parties can get crazy if there are a lot of people, but most times I get a chance to relax and realize the time. For some reason this time the party just flew by! Before I knew it, someone told me they had to leave in 15 minutes, so I better get the show on the road… meaning, it had been a few hours and we needed to do the vote. So, I handed out the voting cards.. new and improved this year. Instead of ripped up pieces of construction paper, I actually designed cards, printed, and cut them out ahead of time (see here).


Loden, Cookie Victor

And how did it all come out? Unlike some years, this year every cookie was written down at least once, which was pretty amazing and showed how people’s tastes can vary so much. Everyone likes something different and everyone brings something different, which is so great. But there were four clear winners. In fourth place were Joanna’s Gingerbread with Brie & Cranberry Cookies. Placing third was Jess’s Apple Pie Bars. The runner up was my Dulce de Leche, Bacon, Coconut & Chocolate Magic Bars. This was the highest I ever placed! Actually, I think it was the first time I ever placed. Nice! And the winner is……… Loden’s Cake Batter Truffles! Congratulations, Loden. Breaking from tradition (the last 3 years I gave away Martha Stewart’s Cookie book), Loden won Rose’s Christmas Cookies. This book got great reviews online and when I bought a copy for myself I really liked it. Hope you like it, Loden!


Jessica

Oh, also, Amanda couldn’t make it to the party this year (bummer!!), but she was the big winner last year. She won the Martha book and Jess and Steph made their chocolate waffles from that book for this year. Maybe a new tradition? Person who wins has to bring something from the book they win the following year?


Taking cookies to go! Sara, Marlena, Amy

I’m declaring the party a success again this year! I’ll post the recipes for the cookies soon!


Me & Mom

Oh, and P.S. one final note: My mom didn’t think she’d be able to make it to the cookie party for the first time ever. The weather forecast was terrible for Saturday and her car was getting repaired (she hit a deer). But on Friday, she got her car back and the weather was perfect, so she drove to my brother’s house that day and then drove down to Chicago on Saturday. The weather down here was not so bad. Some rain, that’s about it. I’m so glad that she was able to make it, since she’s such a big help at the parties! Handing out parking permits and getting everyone situated, not to mention leading the cleaning crew (of me and my nieces). She deserves a big shout out for making the the party a success every year!


Jessica


Text much, Steph?

And I was so glad that even though Amanda had to work (bummer!!), my mom was still able to bring my nieces, Jessica and Stephanie, because it wouldn’t be the same without them! And who would decorate my Christmas tree if Jess wasn’t there?


Mom & Steph, and the decorated Christmas tree

Totally worth the sugar crash at the end of the day. Meanwhile, Jess was filling my camera with photos like this:


EXTREME CLOSEUP

That kid has a lot of energy.

4th Annual Cookie and Tree Trimming Party
3rd Annual Cookie and Tree Trimming Party
2nd Annual Cookie and Tree Trimming Party
1st Annual Cookie and Tree Trimming Party

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Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting

November 24th, 2011 · No Comments

Awesome autumn cookie. These turned out great, everyone seemed to enjoy them. I made the pumpkin cookies with browned butter frosting for two events. 1. Limey’s pub crawl and 2. Midwest wine tasting.

At the pub crawl someone went ahead and brought them to Guthrie’s, the last bar on the crawl, so they were waiting for us there when we arrived. As I gave them out to our friends, random tables of people were asking if they could please have one! At the wine tasting I remember one guest telling another, “you might as well go and take two right away, you’re going to eat at least that many anwyay!” Sounds like a crowd-pleasing cookie to me!

I loved the spicy pumpkin contrasting with the sweet frosting. The browned butter adds a touch of nuttiness. So delicious. And, light and fluffy. I’d definitely make these again.

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
From: Martha Stewart Living, October 2004

These pillowy spice cookies transform pumpkin pie flavors into portable treats. Makes about 6 dozen.

For The Cookies:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin (14 ounces)
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For The Icing:
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon evaporated milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Make cookies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside.

Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low. Add pumpkin, evaporated milk, and vanilla; mix until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add flour mixture; mix until combined.

Transfer 1 1/2 cups batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (such as Ateco #806). Pipe 1 1/2-inch rounds onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until tops spring back, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.

Make icing: Put confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl; set aside. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Immediately add butter to confectioners’ sugar, scraping any browned bits from sides and bottom of pan. Add evaporated milk and vanilla; stir until smooth. Spread about 1 teaspoon icing onto each cookie. If icing stiffens, stir in more evaporated milk, a little at a time.

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Outrageous Chocolate Mint Cookies

September 2nd, 2011 · No Comments

I had these Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips and I didn’t know what to do with them, so I used my recipe Martha Stewart’s recipe for Outrageous Chocolate Cookies and made Outrageous Chocolate Mint Cookies. These were for John’s going away party and they turned out delicious! I also made them for our Cubs vs. Brewers tailgate and everyone loved them.

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