Sunday, April 6, 2008

Long Overdue Update! Decorator's Dream Cookies


I just realized today that it's been OVER a month since I last updated this blog....all for a good reason, I promise!

Quick recap:
You see, marriage + starting a new job + house hunting + the love of baking = not enough time in the day multiplied by a few (or more) extra pounds on the tush. Not good. So i'm proud to say that I have just completed my 2nd full week of "Core" and i'm feeling great! However, this does mean no more baking for a while or until the next family function rolls around. Not to worry though, I do still have lots of photos and recipes to blog about from the past. So here's one that I managed to pull up.

I made these cookies for a bridal shower for a very close friend of mine. It was actually my first attempt at roll-out cookies...not bad right? I just need to work on my royal icing piping skills! This recipe comes from a The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion cookbook given to me by my lovely sister for Christmas along with the awesomist cookbook holder EVER!

Decorator's Dream Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia
1 large egg
3 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, corn syrup, salt, and flavoring until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add the flour, and beat until smooth. Divide the dough in half, wrap it well, and refrigerate for 1 hour.Take the dough out of the refrigerator, and flour your work surface and the dough. Roll it out very thinly (about 1/8-inch thick), using flour to keep it from sticking to the table or rolling pin. Cut out shapes, transfer to ungreased cookie sheets, and bake them in a preheated 350°F oven until just slightly brown on the edges, or until they feel firm, about 8 to 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for several minutes, or until they're set. Transfer them to a rack to cool completely.Cookies may be iced after baking, or sprinkled with sugar before baking. Or sandwich them together, using jam or frosting, to make linzer cookies.

Yield: about 4 dozen 2-inch cookies, or 1 1/2 dozen larger decorated cookies.