Christmas cookies for recital

Well... they were supposed to be for the recital. The look a little... sketchy. I love them, of course, but am not sure how they'll be received. But still, we made them together! The only thing I didn't get (next time!) was royal icing. I didn't want to use raw eggs, so I'll try to pick up some powdered egg white or merangue. Anyway, Maggie really wanted to pipe icing, so we put confectioner's sugar icing in bags. A bit runny, but it was fun!



We used Mark's recipe, with one variation. (It was IN the book! Dan always accuses me of making unsanctioned changes.) :-)



Refrigerated (Rolled) Cookies

(from How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman)



2 sticks unsalted butter

1 C sugar

1 egg

pinch salt

3 C flour

1 t powdered sugar

1 T orange zest

1 t orange extract

1 T milk


Cream sugar & butter. Add eggs. Mix dry (and zest) together, add in batches. Add extract and milk a little at a time, until it's the right consistency.

Shape dough into a disk (or a log, if you want to make cut cookies--much easier for the lazy bakers!) and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or as long as 2 days (or wrap well and freeze indefinitely).

Preheat oven to 400F. Cut disk in half. Lightly flour work surface and rolling pin and roll until about 1/8" thick, adding flour as necessary and turning the dough to prevent sticking. Cut with cookie cutter. (Or slice from log.)

Bake on lightly greased cookie sheets or parchment paper (or a sil-pat, if you're lucky enough to own one) until edges are lightly brown and center set, 6-10 min. Let rest, then cool. Blah blah.

We made frosting out of confectioner's sugar and egg nog. One batch had orange juice instead. Maggie mixed the colors. She really wanted to pipe them, so we put them in zip-bags and piped away. They did alright and eventually hardened. We also used some gel icing, but it never did harden.

The best parts about these cookies are that they last a long time and stay yummy (all that butter keeps them crunchy) AND that they are so fun to make together. Labor-intensive, but M enjoyed it a lot.

PS They were devoured at the recital! Good thing we kept a few at home for later! :-)

It Began With An Idear

So, I thought about writing down all of the recipes that Maggie and I make together. It would be sweet in a little hard-bound book, but it's more likely to happen if it's easier to update. Maybe one day I'll publish this "for real." Blogs don't feel as permanent as books to me. (I'm so old-fashioned!)