Cookie party 2012

I haven't posted in a while but I have been busy!

We just had our cookie party Saturday and it was a hit! This year we made gingerbread houses. we made up the dough and Anja cut out templates for the house parts. we collected lots of candy and edible decorations for the houses.

this was the gingerbread recipe

Heat to boiling point:
2/3 c brown sugar, packed
2/3 c molasses
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves

remove from heat, and add:
2 1/4 tsp baking soda

Pour this over 2/3 c margarine in a bowl. Stir until margarine melts.

Add and blend thoroughly:
1 egg
4 1/2 c sifted flour (approximate)

Knead lightly (10-15 strokes on floured board)
Divide into 4 pieces and form into flattened balls. Wrap in plastic and let cool a bit.
Roll out about 1/4-3/8” thick and cut out each set twice (dorky’s note, this is the house pieces). Note: Do not make the dough too thick.
Bake at 350; on greased baking sheet or parchment for 15 minutes.

*note - it originally called to let chill a couple hours but when I did that I couldn't roll it out for nothing and had to add water and butter my hands to stop it from crumbling. So we ended up mostly just cutting it straight after kneading.

For the Royal Icing I use the Wilton recipe that uses meringue powder. it's really easy to make. Just be sure not to over beat it. Also allow the walls to harden and set before "gluing" on the roof. Royal icing get's rock hard and is a very effective (and tasty) glue

the decorations we used:
pull and peel twizlers
mini and regular m&m's
pretzel sticks
mini candy canes
mini Nilla wafers
cashews
holiday "drops"
jelly beans
sprinkles
gummy bears
fruity twizlers
Jolly ranchers
peppermints
powdered sugar for snow

we melted the jolly ranchers in a low, 250ºF oven in silicone ice cube trays (the type that have sort of a gem shape to the bottom) to make gems. Lots of the people used them to make windows. We also melted the jolly ranchers on silicone pan liners so that they would spread out flat which is what you see as the roof tiles on one house and "stepping stones" in front. We melted the peppermints as well on the silicone liners. the silicone kind of grabs the bottom of the mit and it melted in really neat ways as the candy ran.

Christmas cookie party

So this year I invited friends and family over again for cookie decorating. But instead of regular Christmas cookies I made a cookie tree for each family to decorate. This ment I had to make 7 trees! I have a cookie cutter set that is 10 star cutters in stepped sizes and you make 2 of each and stack them into a tree.

Now I will suggest if anyone is thinking of making these trees. Start with making the smallest stars 1st. that way if you run out of dough or energy you can stop and have a smaller tree but still in proportion. I made the bottoms and than tops so was committed to making all the cookies in between. And it took me 6 batches of dough to make 7 trees

before we got started

DD's b-day cakewiches!

So we are having DD's party today and we just finished the cakewiches. one is ham & cheese on "rye" and the other is yet another pb&j. The ham & cheese one is butter creme frosting for the "mayo" and marshmallow fondant for the ham and cheese it is a yummy fondant recipe! easy to follow and make. for the ham I used brown Wilton frosting coloring and a touch of orange. the cheese is just orange. I colored the ham frosting before putting it on so it would be more marbled but the cheese was done as it was being made to make it more uniform. The fondant frosting is a marshmallow fondant which is really quite good and easy to follow.

I"m going to dust the white spots w/cocoa powder to help hide them.

Cakewich

So Anja's b-day is coming up soon (and I will soon be the parent of an official teenager). She has my since of humor and we saw this cake pan made by Fred & Friends. I bought my pan from Amazon.

I figured that since I have not made it before I would do a test run to see if there are any changes needed. the box comes with recipes for a pound cake and peanut butter frosting. It's really quite good. The cake is not large but being a pound cake you don't need large slices. I will be making 2 for her party. The directions say to cool it for an hour in the pan and then remove. But I think next time I'll cool it for less time as it cracked while unmolding it. But here is my 1st cakewich. I used strawberry preserves along w/the peanut butter frosting.

Painting sugar cookies

So we painted sugar cookies on Christmas eve. This is a fun thing for the kids (and adults)! It takes more time than other methods of decorating cookies but it's quite fun. You start with your favoriate rolled sugar cookie recipe and make a bunch of cookies! And for the "paint" I don't really have a recipe exactly but I take a medium bowl and fill it with powdered sugar. Add about 1-2 tsp vanilla extract and I like it to be a bit buttery so I add 1-2 tsp Whilton imitation butter flavoring. Gradually add milk and whisk to the desired consistency (paint). divide into small bowls and color the icing. get some cheap plastic craft paint brushes and let everyone have fun!

Here is the sugar cookie recipe I used:

Rolled sugar cookies

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Cookies Deserts
Holiday recipes

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/2 cups butter -- softened
2 cups sugar
4 whole eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1. In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in
eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and
chill dough for at least one hour (or over night).

2. Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4
to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter.

3. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 6-8
minutes. Cool completely.

(click on any image to enlarge it)

Maple nut sticky buns

A great recipe for breakfast. Make these the night before and let them rise in the refrigerator over night and take them out while the oven is preheating then just pop them in! This will be our yummy treat come Christmas morn.... and good any other time of year to!

Maple Nut Sticky Buns

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads Breakfast

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 cup nuts -- coarsely chopped
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 package yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water -- warm
6 tablespoons butter -- softened
1 whole egg -- room temp
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Grease 13 x 9 inch baking pan and spread nuts and syrup evenly over the bottom.

2. Combine 2 cups flour, granulated sugar, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Stir in water, 2 tbs. butter and egg. Beat until smooth; gradually stir in remaining flour until soft dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

3. On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 15 x 12 inch rectangle. Spread with remaining butter. Mix brown sugar with Cinnamon; sprinkle over surface. Starting with a 12" end, roll up tightly.

4. Cut into 12 slices; place cut side down, evenly spaced in prepared pan (they will rise to fill the gaps). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until buns double. 30-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375º F. Uncover buns. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Cool for 1 minute. Loosen edges;
invert onto serving plate. Serve warm.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 280 Calories; 7g Fat (23.5%
calories from fat); 6g Protein; 49g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 18mg
Cholesterol; 191mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1
Fat; 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : You can place yeast doughs in a slightly warm oven to provide a dry, warm place to rise. To easily cut dough, use string by wrapping it around the dough and pulling it through.

Mix 'n' Match
For cinnamon rolls, omit syrup and nuts; glaze with a mixture of 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, 2-3 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

It is best to judge rising by size and not be concerned by the time it takes.