I’m Not a Scrooge

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• 7 days left--check
• Christmas cards sent--check
• Wrapped the last present—check
• Got ideas for a table setup—check
• Finished the holiday grocery list—check
• Finishing bagging up holiday goodies—check
• Found a good fudge recipe to make for my dad—check
• Made my first homemade sugar cookies with royal icing—er, check

Glad to hear most everyone is trying to keep the stress out of the holiday equation this year—I think it’s great that we can acknowledge what pushes our buttons such as mom’s perfectionist flare, pushy mother-in-laws or your obnoxious uncle…all it takes is a few deep breaths and a bite of your grandma’s famous pumpkin pie to calm your Christmas!

So today I decided to continue my baking extravaganza(glad you are enjoying all the cookies!!)and wanted to make sugar cookies from scratch. When I was younger, we’d always buy either the refrigerated Pillsbury logs of premade dough or the Betty Crocker mix in a pouch. So I could never say I have made them from scratch, but since I am a fan of making everything else from scratch, I figured why not? Then came the challenge of deciding on which recipe to make. Ohh the sugar cookies out there—they all looked delicious, but I finally settled with this one.

Annie’s Eat’s Sugar Cookies

Here’s what lured me into these:

• Powdered sugar replaces granulated sugar which makes for a fluffier and melt-in-your mouth result.
• The pairing of almond extract and vanilla extract combine for a perfect sugar cookie taste!!

So I rolled and I cut with numerous holiday cookie cutters..

So far, so good..

Then I baked and let em’ cool..

Lovely!

Then I nibbled a bit..

Outstanding—much better than store bought obviously!

And then, all of the beautiful pictures of sugar cookies with perfect royal icing started calling my name.

I have never worked with royal icing (recipe I used here)but I figured why not hit two birds with one stone.

So again I mixed, measured, and colored…

Couldn’t seem to get the exact consistency, but I figured what the heck, just keep going!

Grabbed the paintbrush and began the decorating.

Did about half and they turned out semi-ok.

I lost patience and figured I’d rather eat some more then mess around—at least they tasted delicious!

Me losing patience in the kitchen?!

Yes, it’s still me don’t worry—but I can officially say I’ve met something that can kick my butt in the kitchen. I can push some Hershey’s kisses in cookies, add a billion things, but to sit and precisely decorate—I think I will have to pull a scrooge folks!!

Still try these cookies plain though, they’re great!

What turns you into a scrooge when it comes to being in the kitchen?

Christmas Cookie Countdown [Day 7]

I cannot believe it is the "eve" of Christmas Eve already! Every year December seems to go by even faster. It's sad because I love the holiday season, but also good to get through another winter month, which means summer is closer! Now the days will start getting longer again, minute by minute, but it's better than losing a minute. For the past 7 days, it seems as if each day has been the same. A blur of baking, playing our new Wii(which is SO fun), and then finishing the night off by working on a 750 piece puzzle. I got our whole family to pitch in because I am hoping to glue it and frame it for my grandma's xmas present. It's of a moose and she absolutely loves them. But, I think we might have to give her a "rain check" because it is coming together slower than expected due to the maze of colors that is making it extremely difficult!

But now to the recipe, which is what you came for I am sure! It's the first bar recipe I have featured on my blog, which actually surprised me because I have many great bar recipes that I want to share. The reason for all the cookies was of course because they freeze well. But this bar recipe is one that does freeze well, if they even make it to the freezer because they're so delicious! It's a bar made from a cookie mix, but they are called cake bars. Kind of strange. The recipe came out of a Betty Crocker Holiday cookbook I got. If you don't like cherries, than this recipe is probably not for you, but you maybe could add a different fruit to your liking. =)

Festive Cake Bars

Adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

1 bag of Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix

1 10 oz jar of maraschino cherries(stems removed,drained,and finely chopped)

1/4 C butter, melted

1/4 C milk

2 eggs

1/2 Tsp almond extract

1 tub(12oz)whipped white fluffy frosting

2 Tbsp red decorating sugar

Directions:

1)Heat oven to 350 F. Spray 13x9 inch pan with baking spray with flour. In medium bowl, beat cookie mix, butter, milk, and eggs with electric mixer on medium until well mixed. Stir in chopped cherries and almond extract. Spread in pan.

2)Bake 20-25 minutes or until top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in to center comes out clean. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 45 minutes. Frost with frosting. Cut in 6 rows by 4 rows.

3)Measure red sugar into bowl. Press 2-inch cookie cutter lightly into frosting of bar to make an imprint of design, then remove the cutter. Dip cutter into the sugar; place imprint in frosting to make design.

Christmas Cookie Countdown [Day 2]

Well, today looks like another full day of baking for me! Not only is it -12 below out, I just found out some bad news on the weather channel last night. More snow is on the way, and supposedly this storm is supposed to be worst then the last. (The last we got about a foot of snow) My California trip at the beginning of January is looking better every day, even though it won't be hot there, it'll be about 70 degrees warmer than here! I will take that any day. But there is something about winter; the hot cocoa, the pretty trees laced with glistening snow, the feeling of being with your family crammed in the house sitting by the warm fireplace--it all makes the season. So even though the cold weather can put a damper on things, I just don't know if my year would feel complete without these things. But that does not mean that moving to a southern state is not in the cards after college. I'm sure after a few more winters of scraping my car, letting it run for a half hour to warm up, and how my skin gets extremely dry in the winter, I will be headed to a place where I will be decorating palm trees for Christmas. =]

So todays cookie is a fun holiday pinwheel cookie that starts with a tube of store bought sugar cookie dough. I actually picked this up about a month ago when they had a really good sale, and figured I could make something out of it eventually. When I came across this recipe, I knew I could put it to use!

Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

Ingredients:

1 (32 oz/the family size) tube of sugar cookie dough (I used Pillsbury)

1/2 C all purpose flour

6 Tbsp granulated sugar, divided

Red and green food coloring

Directions:

1)Take your granulated sugar and divide it in half.(3 Tbsp and 3 Tbsp) Place a few drops of red food coloring in one pile of sugar, and green in the other. Like this:

2)Divide cookie dough out into four pieces and sprinkle flour onto work space. Roll out one piece at a time into a 12x7 rectangle. On two of the rectangles, you will be spreading the green sugar on, on the remaining two you'll do red. Make sure you get all the way to the edges, and don't be afraid to put a lot, otherwise it might not show up good once they bake!

3)Starting with the shortest side, you are going to roll up the rectangles like a jelly-roll. (You will be a pro if you make homemade cinnamon rolls often) Then roll them in wax paper and refrigerate for about 1 hour to make it easier to handle. This is what you should have so far:

4)Next preheat your oven to 350 F. Then take the logs out and unwrap them. Cut each roll into about fourteen slices and place on a ungreased cookie sheet.(or if you're like me, use tinfoil on your pan for easier cleanup) If it gets a little hard to slice the cookies, spray your knife with cooking spray, or pop em' back in the refrigerator to harden up a bit. Here's what they look like before you put them in the oven:

5)Bake 7-9 minutes, or until edges are slightly brown. Cool 1 minute, and remove from pan to cooling rack. This recipe makes about 50 cookies, give or take a few depending. They are soo pretty once they're done; a perfect addition to my cookie platters!