Christmas Cookies

The recipe I finally found success with was by Wilton.  The original recipe calls for almond extract.  While this is a gorgeous nutty flavor, some may not care for it and when making it for nut-sensitive friends I modify the recipe.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter , softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

I also don't put salt in my cookies.  Some will say that this effects the rise on the cookies, but I have found that it isn't necessary.  Preheat your oven to 400F.  Gather un-greased cookie sheets.

Begin with room temperature butter.  Cream the butter and sugar together until they are just barely mixed.   I have found that if you over stir this step you add too much air to your batter and the cookies spread.  Mix in the egg and vanilla, again just stirring enough to incorporate.  Then add in the flour in small amounts.  Just before the mix comes together put your spoon aside and press the dough together with your hands.  This will help give the cookie a flaky consistency (like shortbread cookies).  Separate into two balls, this makes it more manageable once rolled out, you will need to use all the dough - it does not refrigerate well.  On a well floured surface and with a well floured rolling pin, roll out the dough until 1/4" thick.  Flour your shaped cutter of choice and cut dough.  Press together scraps and re-roll.  Bake cookies for 5 minutes.  Cool cookies.

Be sure to cool your cookies completely.  If they are even the least bit warm your icing will run off and make a huge mess.

Blissfully Domestic provided me with the most successful recipe for icing the cookies.  When making the "flooding" icing (the icing that covers the entire cookie) be sure to add VERY small amounts of water.   The icing should barely run off your spoon to flood.  I found that to coat the cookie but be thick and opaque you'll need to place some icing on the cookie and gently encourage the icing around the cookie with your spoon to fill it.  When I made the icing runny enough to "flow" on the cookie it was much too thin, and soaked into the cookie.  If you find that your icing is too runny using your sifter, sift in small spoonfuls of powdered sugar until it is back to the right consistency.  

For my Christmas cookies I lined in the same color as the fill using a thicker icing.  After flooding the cookies I left them to dry completely (about 20-30min).   

Snowmen:

  Black (thick: hat, eyes, mouth and buttons; thin:flood hat)

  Red (thick: scarf & holly berries

  Green (thick: scarf & holly leaves)

  Orange (VERY SMALL AMOUNT - thick, nose)

  White (thick: lining; thin: flooding)

  Snowflake candies

Snowflakes:

  White (thick: line out shape & accents; thin: flooding)

  Pale Blue (thick: accents)

  Blue sugar

  Snowflake candies

  Candy balls

Christmas Trees:

   Green (thick: line and accent; thin: flooding)

   Red (thick: garland & ornaments)

   White (thick: accents)

   Yellow (VERY SMALL AMOUNT - star tip for star)

   Red sugar 

   Candy balls

   Snowflake candies

   Assorted sprinkles

Candy Canes:

   Red (thick: accents)

   White (thick: line shape & accents; thin:flooding)

   Red sugar

   Crushed candy cane

Left to set (again about 20 min) and then boxed for storage.  Once the icing is set you can gently stack the cookies without having the icing transfer.  

Have fun, be creative and Merry Christmas!

Road Trip with Kids

We are planning our big trip out to Michigan to see my husband's family.  It's 17 hours of driving for just a quick adult trip.  Many more hours with kids who need frequent breaks and time out of the car.

I've gathered several ideas through Pinterest and put them all together here.

My first idea came from The Road Trip Traveling Game.  This blogger made a ticket exchange for your youngster.  Giving them colored tickets to exchange for toys.

After finding some great printables for the license plate game, truck graphing, and some other scavenger hunt check sheets and coloring pages I bought clipboards for each kid.

To start the trip each kid will get a clipboard with scavenger hunt sheets, coloring sheets, their tickets for the first day and a snack bag.

I visited The Dating Divas "Road Trip Date".  Here is where I combined ideas.  For our road trip I used The Divas printable countdown as my tickets for the Road Trip Traveling Game.  Since my kids are too small to reach a clothesline and take down the markers as we travel, but big enough to read signs and look forward to the next marker, I have rewards for each mile-marker.  Each mile-marker is placed on colored cardstock.  The reward/surprise is wrapped in the same color as the ticket.

As we drive along they can exchange their colored ticket for a colored prize.  I have new books, new coloring sheets, word finds, scavenger hunts, new movies, and snack-packs pre-made and ready to go.

I even made snack bags for my husband (the constant snacker) using The Diva's snack bag printout.

It took a few hours to gather all the materials at the store, wrap the gifts, make the tickets and organize the mile-markers but my hope is that I won't hear a single "ARE WE THERE YET?!?!" because they have the answer in their hands...waiting for each mile-marker ticket and as their pile gets less and less, they'll know we are getting closer and closer!

Orange-Cranberry Scones

Moist light scones with a wonderful crusty outside, fresh from the oven!  

Preheat oven to 400F  place rack in the center of the oven.

For 12 medium fruit scones -

In a large bowl whisk together:
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
(reduce to 2 c if using butter)
1/4 c sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

Grated orange peel.  I look for the darkest naval orange in the grocery store.  Using the finest grate on my kitchen grater I take off the deep color on the entire orange.  Don't grate too deep or you'll get the bitter part of the rind.

Whisk together in a separate bowl:
1 large egg
1 cup vanilla soy milk (or buttermilk or milk)
3 TBS vegetable oil (3.5 TBS melted butter -- reduce flour to 2 cups)
1 c dried cranberries

Pour wet ingredients over the dry ingredients.  Using a rubber spatula gently fold the ingredients slowly until moistened.  Don't over stir, press or fold.  Stir until BARELY incorporated.  This will keep the scones light and fluffy.  Over-stirring can result in hockey pucks with fruit.

Using a soup spoon place batter mounds 1" apart on a greased baking sheet.  Sprinkle tops with sugar.  Bake for 13-15 minutes.

Remove from pan and cool on rack.  Serve warm or cool completely before storing.