Valentine Sugar Cookies

I'm going to share the best sugar cookie recipe I've ever used; granted I'm not the type to try a lot of different recipes - when I find a good one I stick with it until someone recommends a better one.

My sister got this recipe from the back of a butter box (if my memory is correct) and thought she'd give it a try. The results were super soft and almost fluffy sugar cookies. My favorite!

             For about 3 dozen cookies:
      1 cup butter, softened
      1 cup sugar
      1 egg
      2 1/2 cups flour
      2 Tbsp orange juice
      1 Tbsp vanilla
      1 tsp baking powder

Combine butter, sugar, and egg and beat at medium speed until creamy. Add remaining ingredients. Beat at low speed until well mixed. Place plastic wrap directly over cookie dough and refrigerate until firm (2 hrs or more).

Once the dough is chilled and ready - Preheat oven to 400°F. 
Roll and cut as normal for sugar cookies. 
Bake on an un-greased cookie sheet for 6-10 minutes (or more on stoneware).

Who knew orange juice was the secret ingredient to amazing sugar cookies?!
Make sure to roll out the dough about a 1/4" thick for softer cookies, but not too thick, or they fall apart when you go to frost them. 

Frosting:
   1/3 cup butter, softened
   1 tsp vanilla
   3 cups powdered sugar
   2-3 Tbsp milk

Beat butter on low speed until fluffy; mix in vanilla. Continue to mix, adding powdered sugar by the cup and gradually adding milk until desired consistency.

Be sure to let the cookies cool completely before frosting. 
I have used this recipe to make Christmas cookies with my boyfriend's nephews the past couple years and they love it too! They ask to make cookies throughout the year now and I wish I had more time to do just that. 
These heart cookies I made on my own; relaxing as I drew each fun design. I really do think cookie and cake decorating is relaxing if I'm not pressed for time!

Do you have a favorite sugar cookie recipe that you think I should try? Leave a comment; let me know!

Happy Heart Day!

Thanksgiving Treats

Happy Thanksgiving!

Above are some adorable turkey sugar cookies that I made for a Thanksgiving treat using an egg-shaped cookie cutter and a glass. The different flavored candy corn make perfect "feathers," but last year I used Reese's Pieces and thought they were just as fun.
Making sugar cookies during the holidays is one of my favorite things; and I wanted to share some of my other favorite  holiday recipes with you for this season. (Note: the following three recipes can be found at wegmans.com, but here they are slightly altered in the way that I make them.)

Cider-Glazed Carrots

Oh yumminess! This is an easy fall favorite - and doesn't that roasting turkey just make your mouth water? If you like apple cider and carrots, you'll love this recipe!

Ingredients

   2 lbs Baby Carrots
   2 Tbsp Wegmans Basting Oil
   2 cups Apple Cider
   1 Tbsp Clover Honey
   1 Tbsp Wegmans Lemon-Dill
          Finishing Butter
   Salt and pepper to taste
Yields 4 cups.
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Cut baby carrots in half on a bias. Toss with basting oil in large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Place (in a single layer) on baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, or longer until desired tenderness.
Glaze
While the carrots are roasting, add cider and honey to large skillet on MEDIUM-HIGH, stirring to blend. Bring to a boil. Cook, stirring about 10 minutes, until liquid is a syrupy consistency and mixture has reduced by about half. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon-dill butter until melted.
Mix with carrots until evenly coated.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Everything is better with bacon, right? As delicious as the potatoes on the left look, that's not what I'm talking about; you can find that recipe here. I also think fresh shredded parm sprinkled on top of veggies makes a world of difference in taste.

Ingredients
   6 slices Applewood Smoked Bacon, cut in 1-inch pieces 
   2 lbs Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered 
   3 Tbsp Wegmans Basting Oil Salt and pepper to taste
Yields 8 servings.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Toss Brussels sprouts with basting oil and season with salt and pepper. Place (in a single layer) on baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes.
While Brussels sprouts are roasting, cook bacon.
Add bacon to the Brussels sprouts and roast another 10 minutes.
Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese, as desired.

Yam Gratin with Gruyere

I don't have my own picture for this recipe, but here is Wegmans': 

I recommend using at least 1 cup of cheese for this recipe, but I have definitely used more than that before and even mixed cheeses. Gruyere with fresh Parm. is perfect if you're like me and don't like too much "swiss" flavor.

Ingredients

   3 lbs yams, peeled
   2 cups (16 fl oz) Heavy Cream
   1 cup Shredded Gruyere
   1 tsp salt
Yields 6 cups.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Stir together heavy cream and salt in large bowl. Using a mandoline, slice yams into large bowl, coating slices with cream mixture.
Spray 9x9 baking dish with nonstick spray and place on a cookie sheet to catch overflow during baking.
Layer yams and cheese in baking dish. Pour any remaining yam-cream mixture over top.
Bake, uncovered, on center rack of oven for approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes or until desired tenderness. About every 30 minutes press spatula against top layer to allow liquid to flow over "crust." Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes.


That's all for today! I want to get over to my dad's and see what he's got cooking. If you want to see some of my other favorite 'side' dishes, check out my pinterest board 'veggipes.'

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!

October Cookie Party

In the last few years, I have been trying to have cookie parties throughout the holidays. I think that baking and decorating cookies with friends and family is a great way to get together, plus everyone else can take home cookies and I'm not left with too many when I just want a few!
I have fond childhood memories of making Christmas sugar cookie cutouts with my Mom and siblings; and family friends occasionally. My Mom loved to make cookies and deliver plates to our neighbors and friends. I remember making so many at a time that we would freeze them to make them last longer!
A few years ago, I spent a year working in a Wegmans Bakery learning (among other things) a professional way to decorate cutout cookies. Since I had so much fun as a kid with sugar cookies, this part of the job never seemed like work. I quickly realized there are so many more occasions that one can make cutouts for and started buying cookie cutters after the season, when they were marked down - hearts for Valentine's Day; eggs for Easter; a pumpkin or apple and a leaf for fall; and did you know you could use an egg shape to make turkeys?

     

After my younger sister moved back to the area last year, I decided to have a girls' night cookie party with my sisters and some friends. It was just after Halloween, so we did all the fall cutouts I had, some chocolate chip cookies, and a first attempt at coconut macaroons - yum! Later that night, I found out that I was going to be an Auntie!

   Now my precious nephew is four months old. And this past Sunday I invited my family over to have another cookie party. Since we're still in October, my sister brought her ribbon cookie cutter so we could decorate pink ribbons in honor of breast cancer research.

jack-o-lanterns and spiderwebs for Halloween

We were more ambitious than we had time for...
We made sugar cookies, oatmeal cranberry white chocolate chip cookies, and the dough for chocolate chip cookies. If you've never made the oatmeal cookies, you have to try them!

(Click the picture for the Ocean Spray recipe.)

        

There were no big announcements at the end of this night; and, after we got the kitchen cleaned up, I took out my Grandma's old cookie jar and filled it with the oatmeal cookies. 

Each 'house' got to take home cookies in little paper Halloween bags; and I put my sugar cookies on little Halloween plates.

I can't wait to share more cookie pictures and recipes with you for Thanksgiving and Christmas!