Lemon Surprise Cookies

 

I tried a new cookie recipe yesterday and am very glad to share this success with others.  It's a chewy, sweet but tart, light cookie that's perfect for summer (or the tail end of summer, as everyone is feeling heading up to labor day).  It reminds me a bit of my chocolate peanut butter surprise cookies as far as technique goes, so I made a batch of those as well for my lucky coworkers.
The recipe comes courtesy of SewLicious Home Decor.  I've only made a few edits to make the instructions a bit easier for me to follow.  Enjoy!

Lemon Surprise Cookies
Yields approx. 2 dozen cookies
Prep time: 1-2 hours (filling needs to freeze before baking)
Bake time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

Cookie

• 1 box supreme white cake mix (just using the powder mix; you do not prepare it as directed on the box)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (not butter)
• 3.4-oz box lemon Jello instant pudding mix

Cheesecake Filling

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Prepare cheesecake filling, mixing together all ingredients until creamy.  Spoon teaspoon-size dollops onto prepared baking sheet.  Place in freezer 1 hour or more until set.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the cookie ingredients (cake mix, eggs, oil, and pudding mix).  Turn dough out onto saran wrap and refrigerate until cheesecake filling is set.
4. When filling is firm, preheat oven to 350° and assemble cookies.  Scoop 1-2 tablespoons of cookie dough and flatten into a circle in your palm.  Place a frozen dollop of cheesecake filling into center, and roll cookie dough around the filling, being careful to close up all seams.  Roll into a ball.
5. Place balls of dough with filling centers on baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
6. Bake 8-12 minutes or until set.  The tops won't brown, but the bottoms will.
7. Remove from oven and gently press down each cookie with a spatula or the bottom of a cup to flatten slightly.  Let sit on baking sheet 2 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.
8. Serve warm, or cool completely before storing.

Aaa!  They just look so summery and yummy!  I wish I could give you smell-o-vision, too.

Mmm- delicious filling.

Fall Pinterest Party Roundup

Today was the latest Pinterest party, and I put those hours to good use!  I made my chubby hubby cookies as my food offering to the crafting Gods, and set out to make 2 frames and a mummy onesie.  I didn't progress to the ghost yard decoration for Halloween, but there's still plenty of time to get around to that.  :)

I have little write ups below, with links to full posts on each craft to walk you through it step by step.

First up was the versatile photo frame.  Painted a frame with some interesting detail, put scrapbook paper on the frame backing, and hot glued a bull dog clip.  I plan to have this at my desk at work, where I can swap out pictures easily and have something colorful in the office.  Lord knows that is necessary.

Next up was the bunny silhouette for the nursery.  I painted one of those cheap laser cut frames from Michaels, added burlap backing, cut out a bunny silhouette, and glued on a little bow for good measure.  SUPER easy and I absolutely love it.  I plan to decorate this bunny throughout the year.  Maybe he'll get a little mask for Halloween and a Santa hat at Christmas.

And lastly, the mummy onesie!  I sewed on some gauze and googly eyes, and we were in business.

Here's my lovely daughter showing her enthusiasm for this cute getup!

Kahlua-espresso chocolate chip cookies

This awesome cookie comes courtesy of a new cookbook I got for Christmas- The Recipe Girl Cookbook.  Lori also has the recipe on her website if you want to take a look.  The flavors work so well, and the cinnamon is a nice mix in with the chocolate and coffee flavors.  YUM.

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon Kahlua or other coffee liqueur*
• 1/2 tablespoon espresso powder (found in the coffee aisle)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled slightly
• 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine the Kahlua and espresso powder.  Stir until the espresso powder is dissolved.
4. Melt the 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips in a small bowl by microwaving at 50% power, stirring at 30-second intervals until just melted.  My chips are usually melted after 1 1/2 minutes.  Set aside.
5. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until creamy (~2 minutes).  Add the Kahlua mixture, eggs, and vanilla, and beat until thoroughly combined.  Add the melted chocolate and continue to beat until mixed in.  Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Mix until flour is just incorporated.  Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Drop the the cookie dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.  Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown and no longer gooey in the middle.  Let cool on cookie sheets for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

*Note: If you don't want to use the Kahlua, just increase the vanilla extract to 1 tablespoon and dissolve the espresso powder in the vanilla instead.

Mom's Snickerdoodles

These snickerdoodles have been a staple in my mom's Christmas cookie rotation since I was a little kid, and probably for years before I was born.  I wasn't feeling well last week, and had a random craving for these super soft, fluffy cookies.  I included them in the mega cookie gift basket I made last Christmas, but didn't write out the recipe at the time.  Here you go- the long overdue secret family recipe.  ;)

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Cinnamon sugar topping (1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon, blended)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, use a wire whisk to gently mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix butter, sugar, and eggs at medium speed.
3. Turn speed to low and beat in sour cream and vanilla until smooth.  Gradually add flour mixture until well combined.
4. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 375° and spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray.
6. Drop chilled dough by rounded tablespoons about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet.  Sprinkle unbaked cookies with cinnamon sugar topping.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until just golden along bottom edges.
7. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely.

Chubby Hubby Cookies

I've mentioned before that How Sweet It Is is taking over my cooking world, and I should point out my baking as well.  This amazing recipe is thanks to her, and I'll be more than happy to work it into my cookie rotation.

Ingredients

• 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, melted and cooled (really!)
• 1 cup loosely packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups pretzel sticks, crushed (seriously- make sure they're crushed or you get a big pretzel javelin like the one you see in my top cookie!)
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
3. In a stand mixer, mix the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until combined.  Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until combined.  Gradually add flour mixture until dough forms (it will be crumbly at first, but will come together).  Fold in the crushed pretzels and chocolate chips.  
4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
5. Bake 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden and set.  Let sit for 2 minutes, and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

 Om nom nom nom.

Coconut Macaroon Bird Nests

This sweet little treat has the best simplicity to wow factor ratio.  Minimal effort yields amazed smiles from your family, friends, coworkers, etc.  Can you tell I've been doing school work?  When do I ever say "yields" otherwise?!?  Anyhoo...  Adorable spring cookies await.  I can thank Pinterest for the nest idea, and Martha Stewart for my macaroon recipe, which I've already posted here.

I love how some of the eggs are speckled and adorable.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• Nutella (about 1/4 jar)
• Cadbury mini eggs or other egg candy (M&Ms are good, too)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine ingredients.  Mix well.
3. Dampen tablespoon with cold water.  Scoop a generous tablespoon (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) of coconut mixture and lightly tap onto the cookie sheet for mound to drop out.  Place cookies about 1 inch apart.  Moisten measuring spoon periodically so that coconut will continue to slide off of spoon instead of sticking.
4. Using the bottom of a wooden spoon (or your finger), press down in the center of each macaroon to make a nest shape.
5. Bake until macaroons are golden brown, 16-17 minutes, rotating halfway through.  Remove from oven, and press down in the center of each nest again (this is where the wooden spoon method is better than your fingers- hot!).
6. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of nutella into the center of each macaroon.  Top with Cadbury mini eggs or other egg candy.  Let cool, and then store in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Seriously- so cute, and amazingly yum.  ESPECIALLY yum when still warm from the oven.

Nutella-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oooooohmygoodnes, are you ready for cookie insanity?  Because you've hit the jackpot here.  I'm not kidding.  I've only made this recipe once and already there's a gleam in my coworkers' eyes when the cookies are mentioned.  A fiendish gleam.  The cookies became renowned in just a matter of days.  I have my new Associate Editor to thank/blame for sharing this recipe with me.
Now before you start throwing things into a stand mixer, let me prep you a bit.  Everything about this recipe is wrong.  You *melt* the butter.  What?!?  You use 1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar.  Get out!  THREE kinds of chocolate chips.  There's greek yogurt involved.  Now before you stick out your tongue and try to tell me you're not doing that to your cookies, well, believe me when I say that all these wrong things make something so very right.  And if you try to cheat or change them, the Cookie Gods will know and they will smite you with subpar cookies.  So behave.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 jar Nutella, chilled in refrigerator
• Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Directions

(Pictures follow)

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  The butter will begin to foam.  Make sure you whisk consistently during this process.  After a few minutes (mine took 5-10), the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan.  If you are iffy on whether or not it's brown, then it's not brown.  Continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma.  Immediately transfer the butter to a mixing bowl to prevent burning.  Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
3. With a stand or electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended.  Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined.  Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low speed until just combined.  Gently fold in all of the chocolate chips.
4. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill 2 hours in the refrigerator.  If you cheat and just put the mixing bowl in the fridge, your dough will be very hard to scoop out of the chilled bowl.  You will have to be tenacious to get that dough out of there.  Nobody wants that if it can be avoided.  Lesson learned for me.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°.  Once dough is chilled, measure about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball.  Flatten the dough ball very thinly in the palm of your hand or against your cookie sheet, then lift gingerly so it isn't stuck to your hand or the sheet.  Place 1 teaspoon of chilled Nutella in the middle and fold the dough around it. Gently roll into a ball.  Make sure that the Nutella isn't seeping out anywhere.  Add more dough to creases if needed.  Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart, and flatten gently with your hand. Nudge the dough ball so it isn't stuck in place to the sheet.
6. Bake the cookies 9-11 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.  They may look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven.  
7. Sprinkle with a little coarse sea salt, and let rest on the cookie sheet at least 2 minutes.  Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheet and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 2. Butter is foaming...

Still step 2.  We have bubbles...

End of step 2- browned butter transferred to mixing bowl. See the brownness?

Fresh from the oven, sprinkled with salt and allowed to sit.

Look at this deliciosity!

Raspberry Coconut Macaroons

Well, this one isn't a terribly big leap from my regular coconut macaroons, but it is a VERY tasty one!  I got the idea from Smitten Kitten, but much prefer my recipe with the shredded coconut.  When I've used flaky in the past, I really didn't care for it.  I also didn't need to make an army of macaroons- her recipe made 50!  So I just tossed in some berries to mine, used a stand mixer, and success.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 pint container of raspberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a stand mixer (or large bowl with hand mixer), combine ingredients until raspberries are thoroughly broken down and all ingredients are incorporated.
3. Dampen tablespoon with cold water.  Scoop a generous tablespoon (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) of coconut mixture and lightly tap onto the cookie sheet for mound to drop out.  Place cookies about 1 inch apart.  Moisten measuring spoon periodically so that coconut will continue to slide off of spoon instead of sticking.
4. Bake until macaroons are golden brown, 16-17 minutes, rotating halfway through.  Let sit on cookie sheet 2 minutes to firm, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.  The berries do make the cookies very soft, so if you want to cook longer to make them harder, just a few more minutes should do it.

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Isn't it fun when you get to bake with such pretty ingredients?!?

Ready to get all golden and done.  Mmm.  Must resist raw macaroons.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

A friend introduced me to these bits of deliciousness.  They smelled like Mrs. Fields when they came out of the oven- amazing.  My son and I gobbled down 6 in no time flat when they were still cooling.  I like a couple things that are a bit different in this recipe, such as the increased portion of vanilla, mix of brown sugars, and mini chocolate chips to have more chocolate per bite.  You do need to refrigerate the dough overnight, though.  So prepare yourself mentally for that.  ;-) Enjoy them!

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 12 ounce bag of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Cream together butter and sugars in a stand mixer for about 2 minutes on medium speed, until light and fluffy.  
2. Mix in eggs and vanilla until incorporated.
3. Turn mixer to low and add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix until flour is just incorporated.
4. Stir in chocolate chips until evenly mixed.
5. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, up to 48 hours.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°.
7. Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. Bake 9-12 minutes until edges are golden brown.  Remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheets another 2 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before storing in an air-tight container.

Most Awesome M&M Cookies of All Time

I have never tasted M&M cookies this delicious before.  I'm sad that I've given all but a few of them away.  Must make more ASAP.  Thanks to How Sweet Eats for this one!

Ingredients

• 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) salted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup mini M&Ms

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°.  Mix the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.  In another bowl, mix the butter and sugars until they are combined.  Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until mixed.  Gradually add flour mixture until dough forms.  It will look crumbly at first, but it will come together.  Fold in the M&Ms.
2. Shape dough into tablespoon-sized balls and tear each ball in half.  Stack the halves on top of each other (first half flat side down, second half round side down) so they look like this.  Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
3. Bake 8-12 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown.  The centers should be soft and puffy.  Do not over bake.  Let sit on cookie sheet 2 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

Cookie Gift Basket

Ahh, my cookie madness has reached its endgame.  We had the silent auction at work today, and after lots and LOTS of bids, the basket ended up going for $64!  Hooray. :)

I've broken down the basket into individual pictures of each container to share ideas for packaging.  It looked great all put together, but any one of these cookie sets on its own would make for a sweet hostess gift, stocking stuffer, or tag along to a gift.  I hope you enjoy!

Mountain of cookies before sorting into containers.  Over 14 dozen in all!

First up: M&M cookies.  I didn't post the recipe for these when I made them, but I will next time I whip up a batch (UPDATE: Here 'tis!).  They are SUPER nummy.  I bought a set of 3 plain white treat boxes from Michael's for just a few dollars.  Tied up with ribbon I already had, and a little label I made up and printed taped front and center.

Love these chocolate cookies with peanut butter filling.  A cupcake treat box from Michael's: less than $5 for a pack of 3!

Using the mason jar for the chocolate gingerbread cookies was a great approach.  They're delicious but with such a strong scent, could easily have made the entire basket smell like gingerbread spices.  This kept them sealed away and adorable.  I definitely will keep the mason jar cookie gift idea in mind in the future!  For just a few dollars each, this is a great way to have a really special-looking gift.

I loooove my mom's snickerdoodle recipe.  Even after freezing and thawing, these still tasted perfectly soft and chewy and smelled amazing.  I need to write up this recipe, too.

Macaroons are so small!  My batch of a dozen only took up half a cookie box, so I filled the other half with the small stamped cookies that were the few success stories from my failed attempts at stamped sugar cookies.  See- all worked out in the end!

Ommmm nom nom nom love these bad boys.  That's why they got an awesome special ribbon.

I adored these treat bags from Michael's (just a few dollars for the set of 3).  I printed up the labels myself to compliment these packages in particular.  This one looks great with the simple red bow.  Which really helps to show off those awesome looking cookies through the window!

...but that doesn't mean we can't use a fun bow on the next one!  Note the stain on the left side of the box from buttery goodness seeping through from the pecan tarts, hahaha.  I accidentally doubled the butter in the dough for these when I made this batch.  WHOOPS.  Delicious mistake = super delicate and delectable tarts.  I'll take it.

Ahh, these tricky buggers definitely needed to be showcased appropriately.

Another unique packaging idea: kitchen canister!  I found this one at TJ Maxx with the sugar and flour canisters in the kitchen area: $3!  Another great way to seal in unique cookie scents.  The guy who won the auction on the gift basket was amazed at the idea of these nutella chocolate chip cookies and was asking for all the recipe details.

Final assembly.  I found the basket on sale at Michael's for $7 the day after Thanksgiving.  Score!  What's funny is that I had it all nicely put together, then realized that I'd left out the decorated cut out cookies.  Crud!  Time to play tetris all over again.  But all's well that ends well.

Closeup #1.  Look at all those bows.  Thank you Crabtree & Evelyn for schooling me well back in the day.

The scent of sugary buttery goodness followed me all day.

Warm holiday fuzzies all around!

Coconut Cream Cheese Pinwheels

Well well well- we've gotten to the home stretch in my cookie decathlon.  For the final batch, these tricky little monsters that are oh so delicious and oh so devilish to make.  I got the recipe from my Martha Stewart Cookies book, which is different from the one on her website.  Wonder why.  Anyway,  If you find any tricks to working with sticky cookie dough, please share!

Just look at those stealthy ninja star temptresses!

Ingredients
For the dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the filling

• 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I get mine at Whole Foods)
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

For the glaze

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling (I just used granulated sugar)
• 1/3 cup strawberry jam

Directions

1. Make dough by whisking together flour, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl.  Set aside.  Mix butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, set to medium-high speed for about 2 minutes or until butter mixture is fluffy.  Mix in egg and vanilla.  Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined.  Divide dough in half, and pat into disks.  Wrap each piece in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until dough is firm, 1-2 hours.  Maybe overnight would help with the sticky factor.
2. Preheat oven to 350°.  Line baking sheets with nonstick baking mats, such as Silpats.
3. Make filling by creaming together cream cheese and sugar in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, on medium speed, until fluffy.  Fold in coconut and chocolate chips.
4. Remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator.  Roll about 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface.  I tried rolling it out between pieces of wax paper, and had to be very careful with pulling the paper off my super thin dough.  I have no clue if I got it to 1/8 inch thickness, but it was as thin as I could go and still work with it.  
5. With a fluted cookie cutter or pastry wheel, cut into fifteen 2 1/2 inch squares.  I broke out the tape measure for that, I kid you not!  Transfer to prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
6. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut 1-inch slits diagonally from each corner toward the center (but don't cut all the way to the middle; leave a spot in the middle for the filling).  Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each square.  Fold over every other tip of the cut pastry to cover the filling, forming a pinwheel.  Press lightly to seal.  Use the tip of your finger to make a well in the top.
7. Make the glaze by using a pastry brush to lightly brush the tops of the pinwheels with the beaten egg.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Bake 6 minutes.  Remove and use the lightly floured handle of a wooden spoon to make the well a little deeper in each cookie.  Fill each well with about 1/2 teaspoon of jam.  Return to oven and bake, rotating halfway through, 6 more minutes.
8. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cool 5 minutes.  Transfer cookies to rack and let cool completely.  Roll out remaining dough and repeat.

Cut Out Cookies

As my husband pointed out today, I just loooove decorating cut out cookies.  It's my chance to feel artistic. :)  I used my sugar cookie recipe and Martha Stewart's fluffy vanilla frosting recipe.  Two notes from this year's decorating adventure: it makes a world of difference using icing bags and fun tips, and omg do I love making frosting with a stand mixer.  SO MUCH easier!  OK, that's enough. Time for some fun pictures!

Christmas cookie bounty.

As I've been saying in many previous cookie posts, I'm putting together a cookie gift basket for a silent auction at my company's holiday party.  Hence the "To: USP" gift tag.  :)  I collected a selection of the prettiest cookies for the basket, but the tin I'm using for them isn't very big.  I only fit about 10 cookies in there, so the rest are allllll for me and the family.  Excellent.

I'm very proud of that wreath, thank you very much.  Also happy with the stained glass ornament.  I did a stained glass tree last year to rave reviews, and nobody wanted to eat it!  Also, I'm kind of in love with the simple tree in the top right corner.  It looks like it belongs in A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Very proud of this year's cookie house.

Nom nom nomedy nom.