Baby Cookies

A Baby Bouquet of Cookies

I love decorating cookies. I don't have any artistic talents like drawing, painting or sculpting. Decorating cookies is my version of being an artist. Most of my ideas are variations on pictures I've seen on the Internet( there is an amazing world of cookie decorating out there) and slowly but surely I am developing my own style.

I shown my wares at work and people are now making requests for gift bouquets for baby showers, birthdays etc. It's fun to do and a little extra money on the side to buy more supplies.
This time I was asked for a bouquet of cookies for a newborn baby girl. Ah, how I love pink!

Just out of the oven


my kitchen is a disaster area when I decorate!

I really should be more organized and neat- but what would be the fun in that?!

bottles, rattles and onesies

baby buggies and balloons

the bouquet

I made 10 cookies- 2 baby buggies, 2 balloons, 2 rattles, 2 bottles and 2 onesies. ( I love decorating those!)



I have tried umpteen roll out cookie recipes, and finally decided on the one that works best for me. This one is from the book Cookie Craft by Valerie Peterson and Janice Fryer.


I have added the measures in weight as well since I bake by weight , instead of volume.
Rolled Sugar Cookies
Cookie Craft
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour (420 g)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (200 g)
1 cup sugar (200 g)
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla or 1 tsp. vanilla plus zest of 1 lemon ( I have also tried orange zest and other extracts for a variety of flavors)

1. Whisk the flour and salt in a bowl and put aside.
2. In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla ( or any extract you are using) and the zest , if you are using and mix until well blended.
3. On low speed, add the flour mixture until the two are blended, but do not overwork the dough.
4. Divide the dough into 2-3 sections . At this point I like to roll each piece out between two sheets of parchment paper and then chill. It saves a step and makes life easier.
5. Preheat oven to 350 F ( 180C).
6. Use cookie cutters to make the desired shapes and bake in middle rack 12-16 minutes or just until the edges start becoming a golden color.
7. Cool the cookies on a rack before icing or decorating.
I use both royal icing and fondant for my decorations- it just depends on my mood and what effect I want on the cookies. On these cookies I used a combination of both.


Until the next bouquet..........

Hamantashen

Tomorrow is the Jewish holiday of Purim. "Pur" in Hebrew, means "lots" or "lottery". The holiday celebrates the bravery of Queen Esther and how she saved the Jewish people from the evil Haman (an advisor to the king) in Persia in the city of Shushan. He decided to do away with the Jews and drew "lots" to decide which day would be their doomsday. Queen Esther found out about his plan and basically ratted on him to the king(who up until that time didn't even know she was Jewish). Long, complicated story, but in short, she saved the day. The date that was originally chosen for the Jews to be destrpyed , now became a day of celebration. It is a joyful, fun holiday , especially for children, who dress in costumes and parade around the city . The story of Queen Esther is read in synagogues throughout the world. It is a tradition that every time the name of Haman is mentioned, children and adults alike, shake noisemakers in the air, yell and shout, so as to drown out his evil name.

What is left of the evil Haman today is actually something very sweet and yummy. In Yiddish they are called "hamentashen" and in Hebrew , "ozney Haman" ( which is sort of strange since the translation for that is Haman's ears(!)and the three cornered cookies resemble his hat!)

So today, I made ozney haman with my 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. I made the dough at home and brought it to school since the class wasn't long enough to make and chill the dough.

I brought in rolling pins and round cookie cutters and had stations around the room so that everyone would be occupied while the others were making their cookies. Fillings were varied and ranged from strawberry and raspberry jam, to halva or date filling. The kids had a great time and the dough was delicious. I got the recipe from Carine Goren, an Israeli pastry chef, and it really is a winner. Below is the recipe I printed out for my students to take home and try with their families. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did today in class! Happy Purim- Hag Purim Sameach!

Ozney Haman for Purim

( Carine Goren)
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F)
Ingredients:

200 grams cold butter cut into cubes
2 cups (300 grams) flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
1/4- 1/3 cup of milk
Filling:
Prepared poppy seed filling, chocolate spread, jam, date spread or any other filling you like.

How to make them:

1. In a food processor, mix all ingredients except milk until it becomes crumb-like.
2. Slowly add a bit of milk and mix until the dough forms a ball. If the mixture seems dry, add a bit more milk but be careful not to add too much. You don’t want wet dough.
3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
4. Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and cut circles with a glass or cookie cutter.
5. Place a teaspoon of filling in the middle and pinch closed to form a triangle.
6. Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 180 C. (350 F) for 12-15 minutes. The edges should be a golden color but the cookies should not turn brown.
7. Cool and ENJOY!

On My Own

Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the pace of all the things in our lives. I thought I was keeping up , more or less, with the recipes for the weekly "Tuesdays With Dorie" group, but apparently, not keeping up enough. I love baking so much, but I don't want to be pressured into making things that don't appeal to me or make them on a specific day of the week. The idea is great to have a baking club, but if missing a week or two disqualifies me, I guess this particular club isn't for me. I am officially out of Tuesday's With Dorie, but unofficially, I am still baking along with them, when it suits me and when the recipe appeals to me. I commend those who initiated the group and are able to keep up with the pace. I am there in spirit and baking some of the recipes along with you all and will also report on my own findings.
Now that I am more familiar with this blogging thing, it is time I branch out more on my own. If nothing else, it is a place for me to record my thoughts , feelings and baking adventures.
More to come soon.......

TWD Caramel Crunch Bars- Candy or Cookie?

I love these kinds of bars- or are they cookies- or are they candy? Probably a combination of all three. One thing I do know is that they are sooo yummy! I had to get them out of the house beofre I ate the whole batch, so I decided to take them to my students and let them be the judges. Now, just to bring them in for no reason and let them eat away; well I suppose I could have done that, but I thought it would be better to put it under the guise of a "prize" for a Quiz Bowl type of activity. They were given a group of questions, divided into groups and told that the first group to finish with the most correct answers would get the prize. OK, so I knew in advance that everyone was going to get them , but I didn't let them on to my plan.

Towards the end of class when everyone finished, I announced that not one team had won, but all of them. (Did they really think I was capable of handing out goodies to one and not the others?!) I explained to the class that I am a member of an online baking club and from now on they will be my "taste testers". ( Yeah, they were real upset about that news!) Great way to get my baking done and not leave it in the house, since my waistline is definitely suffering the consequences of my efforts.

The verdict was happily very clear this time. It was an overwhelming thumbs up! They just about finished the whole box ( I think they were all just a bit shy about being the one to take the last one or two!)

As far as the actual making of the bars, the base was very easy and Dorie's description of the bubbling in the oven was perfect. I found that pressing the dough down in the pan was a bit sticky and messy but nothing major that couldn't be dealt with. I don't get Heath Bar Bits or even Heath Bars themselves ( this country doesn't know what it is missing!!), so I had been looking for an alternative. Luckily I found some Heath Bars in a specialty store that brings a lot of imported foods, so I just crushed two candy bars and sprinkled them over the top. Worked super!!

Devil's Food White Out Cake

I opted out of last week's recipe, Floating Islands- just not my thing and even though I am willing to try anything, in these times, preparing food that I know I have no customers for would be wasteful. I did enjoy reading other peoples comments on the recipe and seeing pics of the results. Maybe sometime the opportunity will arise for me to try this recipe.

On to this week's choice. I actually made this a few weeks ago for my husbands birthday ( I even remembered to take pictures of it- that's my weak area, the picture taking). I found the cake to be quite easy to make ,but I was a bit disappointed (with myself) at the appearance of the final product. I know I could have done it better and next time I will leave the top center portion of the cake white and just make a ring around the outer edge in chocolate crumbs. The cake itself was chocolatey and moist and the frosting was sooo yummy! I had two cakes that evening- also made a cheesecake with a tropical twist ( mango nectar inside) and a passionfruit topping. That way I could satisfy both the die hard chocolate lovers and the cheesecake/fruit lovers. Personally, I can handle both with absolutely no problem ( or maybe that IS my problem!). Both cakes were a success- definitely do agains.