Snowflake Sugar Cookies

     This was a fun one.  I wanted to make cookies, but I didn't have an occasion, so I searched around my cookie [cutter] jar (a gift from my sister!), and I found a great snowflake-shaped cookie cutter than I have had yet to try!  I whipped up sugar cookie dough like a pro... found a great recipe online http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-rolled-sugar-cookies/.  I rolled out the dough, and as soon as I started to use the cookie cutter, I realized right away that I would have a new challenge.

     The snowflake was so intricate that it would be hard to get the cut dough from the wax paper onto the tray!  After cutting 5 snowflakes, I carefully picked up the entire piece of wax paper and flipped it as fast as I could onto the tray.  Then I realized that there was no way I could maneuver it so that all the cookies would wind up sitting perfectly.  I decided to do 2 snowflakes at a time (having to re-roll pieces of the dough for each 2 cookies). This took a while, but it was worth it.  All of my snowflakes were intact!  I cooked each tray for 5 1/2 minutes (30 seconds less than the recommended 6-8 minutes).  


     The next day, it was time to tackle my biggest challenge yet... whipping up a sugar cookie frosting that would be easy to decorate with.  I found the following recipe online:

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• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons milk
• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• assorted food coloring
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•      This recipe got 4 1/2 out of 5 stars (with almost 2,000 reviews).  Seemed like a winner.  I bought the ingredients.. (An aside:  A lady at the supermarket stopped me to ask me what I was making with the Caro Light Corn Syrup.  She had apparently worked for the company and that was one of their "least popular" products.  How random).  Anyway, I bought the ingredients, blended them together by hand, and wound up with yet another clumpy mess.  I must have made it wrong, I thought.  I made 2 more servings- this time blending in my mixer.  Same problem.  I reread some of the reviews, looking for some guidance.  Most said the frosting was "perfect as is," but someone did say they had to play around with the amounts to get the right consistency.  And another person said they doubled the milk and corn syrup.  So I thought to myself, I can fix this!  I combined the servings to make 3, and I added dashes of milk and corn syrup until the consistency looked right.  At this point, it actually looked great!  I split the frosting into 2 bowls to make dark blue and a light blue frosting.  The consistency of this frosting actually came out perfect for decorating my snowflakes.  I wish I can remember exactly how much I put of everything!  That's a task for next time I suppose.
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•     As for the taste, the sugar cookie itself it quite delicious, and I'm not sure I want to change a thing.  For the frosting, the jury is still out on using almond extract.  I think next time I make that frosting, I will use vanilla extract and try to compare.  I need some more taste testers before I can make a final decision.        
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•     As for the decoration, I will let the picture speak for itself!
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Eleni's New York

I took a walk with my hubby and pup (Justin and Topanga) this weekend, and I came across an unexpected surprise.  We passed an adorable bakery called Eleni's New York.  I went inside (bought a coffee so I didn't like a weird stalker girl staring at everything), and fell in love.  The style, the pink and white colors, the hundreds of sugar cookies in the window... exactly the kind of bakery I would love to have.  

     Although they sell cookies, cupcakes, and coffees, the primary focus of the bakery is sugar cookies, decorated in a hundred different ways.  They had pre-made boxes with themes... (10 cookies that had to do with ballet, 20 cookies for a birthday etc.) packaged perfectly with a clear top and a ribbon.

Here is a picture I took of the store's main counter.

     After leaving the bakery and chatting with Justin, I came to a revelation, and a new direction for this blog.  For now, I'm going to focus on sugar cookies, and sugar cookies alone.  I'm going to perfect the recipe for taste (cookie and icing too), and perfect the style and technique for the decorating.  Once they are perfect, I'll start with variations.  From now on, even though I haven't yet tasted their cookies, Eleni's New York will be my inspiration.

   

Peanut Butter Follow Up

Here's the finished product of the peanut butter cookies.  Still a bit dry, but the chocolate frosting definitely helped the taste!  One of my friends even called them "addicting" :)