1. I promise to at least blog once a week, if not more
2. I promise to take pictures of the food I prepare or order before I eat it (this ended up being a BIG issue, but the food was so tasty)
3. I will find my blog voice this year (I have no idea what that means right now, but its important)
So there you go...3 New Year's resolutions and its not even Friday yet.
Well, since the holidays are almost over, I hope everyone had an outstanding holiday season. It turned out to be a good December for myself, with some stress, but not as bad as years past.
A few victories this season...sugar cookies. Yes those elusive, pain in the butt, hard to deal with little pieces of holiday cheer. Well, I found it...the recipe to end all recipes, with a few modifications, ala me. The recipe comes from FoodNetwork's Alton Brown, who is a GENIUS (at least I think so, you have love a nerdy chef).
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Sugar Cookies – Alton Brown
3 c all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp nutmeg (this is my secret ingredient)*
1 c salted butter, softened (it calls for unsalted, but salted taste better in this cookie)*
1 c sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp milk
Powdered Sugar for strategic dusting purposes (I didn't use it, but you can if you find the dough unruly)
Sift together flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours** (I actually didn't do this step, I went straight to baking after my oven was done preheating...I found that not refrigerating dough for cookies actually makes a flakier cookie in the end).
¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp nutmeg (this is my secret ingredient)*
1 c salted butter, softened (it calls for unsalted, but salted taste better in this cookie)*
1 c sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp milk
Powdered Sugar for strategic dusting purposes (I didn't use it, but you can if you find the dough unruly)
Sift together flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours** (I actually didn't do this step, I went straight to baking after my oven was done preheating...I found that not refrigerating dough for cookies actually makes a flakier cookie in the end).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar** (I didn't do this either, the dough never stuck, but I do have colder hands than your average person). Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired.
Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.
*************************************I also had success in making homemade marshmallows this year, again Alton's recipe. It would have to be one of the easier things I have made this year and oh so good.
Now you may be asking yourself, "Where are the pictures for these awesome tasty treats?" Well, again that's the problem, they were all destroyed by ravenous humans. So, I will make some more at some point and post the pics then
Next post, I will tell you what I got for my birthday (with pictures), because it is AWESOME and food related.
Enjoy the foods of your labor...cook on my friends.
