Day 96 - White Mango Cupcakes with Rosewater Buttercream

I went to a somewhat local baking supply shop today and fell in love -
with EVERYTHING in the store. 
I was very fortunate that I only walked out of there with two items - an apple corer to take the center out of the cupcakes and these cute little measuring spoons.  I just couldn't pass them up.

My expectations and my pursuit of perfectionism got the best of me again. 
It started this morning.
No, yesterday, as I decided what I would bake today.
A white cupcake with a mango filling topped with a vanilla buttercream frosting flavored with rosewater.  Sounds delicious and the picture was absolutely beautiful in my head. 
The only problem is, what I see in my head and what I create are two different things.

Today for the white cupcakes, I used Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, p. 169 ; author, Martha Stewart; publisher, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN0-307-23672-2.

I made the mango filling based on the lemon meringue pie filling I used on day 79.  I thought it would work, but it didn't, really.  It was ok, but not what I was hoping for.

And the buttercream frosting was from Wilton's, to which I added 3/4 teaspoon rosewater.

I'll give you the recipe for the cupcakes because they were truly delicious even if the rest of it wasn't.  This is a great white cupcake recipe!

White Cupcakes - makes 24

3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 sticks (1½ cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
2¼ cups sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup milk
8 large egg whites

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Line two standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.
Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and two cups sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat in the vanilla. 

With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until just combined.  Transfer mixture to a large bowl; set aside.

In the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the wire whisk attachment, beat egg whites on low speed until foamy.  With mixer running, gradually add remaining ¼ cup of the sugar; beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 4 minutes.  Do not overbeat. 

Gently fold a third of the egg-white mixture into the butter-flour mixture until combined.  Gently fold in the remaining whites.
Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each with a heaping ¼ cup batter.

Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the cupcakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.  Transfer pans to a wire rack.  Invert cupcakes onto the rack; then reinvert and let them cool completely, top sides up.

OVERFILLED!

Frost cupcakes with buttercream frosting.  They can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

A little too much pink added, I wanted a soft rose color.  Better to add with a toothpick as the directions suggest instead of dumping in a couple of globs.  Yeah, no.

The mango pureed.

The filling in the cupcake.

My vision did not turn into reality. 
First, I waaaayyyyyy overfilled the muffin cups, and I even had leftover batter.  Why it never occurred to me to only put in ¼ cup of batter as suggested and then make more, I will never know.  The thought never even crossed my mind. 
Weird.
Also, the flavor of the mango filling was...eh.  Nothing too spectacular.  It wasn't really a curd, and there was A LOT of it for just 12 cupcakes.   I didn't use it all either.  I didn't like the taste of it.
I really liked the frosting with the rosewater.  The family, on the other hand, didn't like it at all, and my son thought it tasted like dish soap.
Dish soap?
How 'bout a sachet?
14 year old boys don't know what sachets are or potpourri for that matter.
I thought it was a really neat experience tasting roses, something I'd never done before.
It definitely made me feel like this could be used as a frosting for a Mother's Day cake or cupcake which was what I was going for.  My recommendation would be to add ¼ teaspoon of rosewater, taste and then add accordingly.  It can become too strong very quickly and can ruin your palate.
I use a rating system based on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and we decided that as a whole, these cupcakes earned 2 rolling pins. Martha's white cupcakes without any mango filling in them and without rosewater buttercream frosting on top earned 4 rolling pins.  They were DELICIOUS by themselves!
Happy baking!

Day 75 - Another Birthday Cake

     Yes, I have two children who have birthdays within about a week of each other.  I had hoped when I was pregnant with our son (our third child) that he wouldn't be born on his sister's birthday so they wouldn't have to share one.  Fortunately, he held out.  None of my kids were early arrivals, so I really had nothing to worry about.
     I used Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook for the cake recipe, p. 149; author, Martha Stewart; publisher, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-307-23672-2.  The frosting recipe was from the instructions that came with a Wilton 'Winnie The Pooh' cake pan I used when the kids were little.  I was going to make Pooh for my son, but when I was browsing at Goodwill I completely scored - a cake pan in the form of a baseball player.  It was only $2.99 which is much less than what they go for new.  Besides, I'm probably never going to use the thing again anyway.  Anyway, the baseball player is so appropriate because he has decided that this school baseball season will more than likely be his last.  He would rather play boys' volleyball in high school and both sports are played in the spring here.  A tribute to my son and his fantastic baseball career.  He loved it.  Actually, the cake kind of looked like him, too.  It turned out better than I had hoped because I'm not a cake decorator, but of course, could have been improved.

     Yellow Butter Cake  -  makes one 9-inch layer cake using two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans (I used one Wilton shaped cake pan)

     2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
     1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
     1½ cups cake flour (not self-rising)
     1 tablespoon baking powder
     ½ teaspoon salt
     1 3/4 cups sugar
     4 large eggs
     2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
    1 ¼ cups milk

     Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Butter cake pan, dust with flour; set aside.  In a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

     In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (is this the only attachment she ever uses?), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined after each addition.

     Pour batter into prepared pan, and smooth with an offset spatula. 

Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-40 minutes. 

So cake sits level and to prevent cracking, while still in pan, carefully slice off raised center portion.  To unmold from pan, place cooling rack against cake and turn both cake rack and pan over.  Lift pan off carefully.  Coll at least 1 hour.  Brush loose crumbs off cake.  To transfer cake to a serving platter (I used a cake board for serving), hold a cake board against cake and turn both cake and rack over.  Lift off rack.  Hold another board against bottom of cake and turn cake over.  Be sure to hold cake, rack, and boards close together while turning to prevent cake from cracking.

     Wilton Buttercream Icing
     "The thick but creamy texture of this flavorful icing makes it ideal for decorating.  For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use.  It can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.  Rewhip before using.  YIELD: 3 cups.  I needed a double batch, but didn't use all of it.  The following is for a single.
     ½ cup solid vegetable shortening
     ½ cup butter or margarine
     1 teaspoon Wilton Clear Vanilla extract
     4 cups (1 lb.) sifted confectioners' sugar (remember, sift before measuring here)
     2 tablespoons milk

     Cream butter and shortening with electric mixer.  Add vanilla.  Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed.  Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often.  When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry.  Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.



It may not be the most beautiful cake, but it actually looks a little like him.  I think it's the curly hair. :-)

     Remember the other day how I told you that Martha likes to do things big?  Well, this cake batter was BIG and as I was pouring it into the pan, I was thinking there was too much.  And there was.  It started to overflow slightly in the oven.  Then the edges burned, but I cut them off and nobody knew the difference.  I was just concerned that because there was so much batter that the bottom would start to burn before the cake was even set, but everything was ok.      I have to tell you that instead of using butter and flour to coat the pan, I used the Wilton 'Bake-Easy' Non Stick Spray.  That stuff was AWESOME!  The cake came out without any hesitation and nothing was left stuck in the pan.  I'm sold on that stuff! 
     I also used the Wilton icing colors for the frosting as follows: 2 cups of icing with black for the jersey and helmet, 3/4 cup with brown for the bat; 1/3 cup with brown for the hair; 1¼ cup with brown for the skin; 2 tablespoons with blue for the eyes; 1 tablespoon with pink for the tongue.  Dip a toothpick into the coloring and swirl it into the frosting.  If more color is needed, gradually add more with a toothpick until desired color is achieved.  To decorate, I used the decorator bags with couplets and various tips.

     I brought the cake and some ice cream cups to the end of my son's baseball practice and needless to say, he was surprised.  He usually doesn't like surprises, but I think with this one, especially since I used this for one of my blog postings, he was honored.  It was wonderful that he could share it with his friends, too.  The re-lighting candles were also a plus.  The boys loved it - they devoured it like vultures as young teenage boys are known to do, and my husband loved the piece we were able to save for him as well.  I rate my bakes on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being magnificent and this cake with the frosting earned 4 rolling pins!
     I really enjoyed doing this even though it took me practically all day to finish.  Ok, I had some interruptions, but I was done measuring and NO, the interruptions weren't the Red Sox.  I now have a crink in my neck, so I'll have to see my chiropractor tomorrow.  And a cramp in my hand from holding the bags, but it was definitely worth every minute.  The birthday boy couldn't stop thanking me. 
     Happy baking!


    
   

Day 71 - Lemon Sugar Snaps

  
      I burnt myself for the third time today.  Not three times today, three times since I've started this blog.  I suppose if you're baking every day, the odds are that you're going to increase the chances of wounding yourself.  There are two almost identical burn marks on my left forearm from reaching into the oven and touching one of the racks, and now on my right thumb; I went to reach under the baking sheet to grab what, I don't know.  So, if my body ever needs to be identified,  remember to remind my family about the marks on my arm and that there will probably be flour under my fingernails, too.
     I found this recipe in the Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, p.93; author, Martha Stewart; publisher Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House; ISBN 0-307-23672-2.

     Lemon Sugar Snaps

     1 3/4 cups flour
     1 teaspoon baking soda
     1 teaspoon cream of tartar
     ½ teaspoon salt
     2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
     1 cup sugar, plus more for dusting
     1 large egg
     Freshly grated zest of 3 lemons
     1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

     In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt; set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add the egg and lemon zest and juice; beat until combined.  Add the flour mixture; beat until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Transfer dough to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

     Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.  Place sugar in a shallow bowl.  Shape leveled tablespoons of dough into 1-inch balls.  Roll balls in sugar to coat completely, and place about 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. 

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until the edges just begin to turn golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.  Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.  Cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

     Wow!  These were lemonylicious!  I refrigerated for 4 hours and the dough was manageable.  It did become a little sticky though when I was rolling it.  I only used one large baking sheet, so in between batches I put the remaining dough into the fridge, covered.  The first batch I put into the oven, 6 were rolled in granulated sugar and 6 were rolled in confectioners' sugar.  I was hoping with the powdered sugar to get the affect of those Sunshine Lemon Coolers I always ate as a kid.  Oh how I loved those! No go.  And they were too sweet. 
     Martha is so smart, she knows exactly what her cookies need.  However, she really likes things big!  Martha always does things big.  I love how Martha likes big, but I like smaller cookies .  She called for flattened tablespoonfuls and as you can see here, they were large cookies. 

The last batch I made I used a flattened teaspoonful and baked them for 4 minutes and then rotated the rack for another 4 minutes.  I like this size much better. 

BUT, eating more of them is tempting.  Maybe that's why they're supposed to be larger. 
     My rating system is based on a scale of 1-4 with 4 rocking the house.  Martha's Lemon Sugar Snaps earn a 3½ rolling pins!  These would be divine with your pinky up on a cup of afternoon tea!
     Happy baking!

Day 64 - Pignoli Cookies

     As I write this, my son is talking to himself in the shower.  He doesn't sing, he talks.  He's having this whole conversation with himself tonight because his undefeated baseball team lost to a team that was 3-3.  He didn't hit so well, but he played ok defensively.  They had been losing 7-1 and then came back to go ahead 8-7.  The other team had the last ups because we were playing at their field.  In the bottom of the last inning, combined with pent up frustration, he was involved in a collision at second when he was catching the ball and was slightly injured.  It's one of those things where he was legitimately hurt, but I think the frustration of the team not playing well and his not hitting increased the pain all the more.  Know what I mean?
     So, he does this.  He talks to himself, works it all out in his head and is then ok.  I really do love to listen to him.  He'll do it when he's in bed, too, and then is beyond embarrassed if he sees my shadow in the hall.  I can't help it.  I'm his mother, and I know my enjoying moments like these are limited.  So, I'm going to listen.   
     When we were living in Rhode Island, our friends, Mary and Eddy, would travel back to New York where they were originally from and bring back Italian goodies.  One time they came back with a PINK BOX!  Remember how I not only LOVE those pink boxes, but especially the things that are inside them?  Inside this box were some Pignoli cookies.  It was definitely one of my Oh My Goodness moments.  They were SO completely delicious - chewy on the outside and so soft and tender on the inside.  And then they melted in my mouth.  They were oh so good that I would ask, or rather beg Mary to bring some back whenever they went to New York.  They were one of those creations that was so good I was afraid to make it because I really and truly believed I wouldn't be able to duplicate it.  Yes, I was intimidated by a cookie.  Over 12 years I've put it off.  Today, I baked a cookie so close that I think even I could put it into a pink box!  So darned exciting!
   We can thank Martha Stewart for this one.  I found it in her Baking Handbook, p.93; author, Martha Stewart; publisher, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-307-23672-2.

     Pignoli Cookies
    
     7 ounces almond paste
     ½ cup granulated sugar
     ½ cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
     2 large egg whites
     ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
     3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
     1/8 teaspoon salt
     3/4 cup pine nuts

     Preheat oven to 350ºF, with racks in the center and lower third.  Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
     In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat almond paste and both sugars on medium speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 2 minutes.

Add egg whites and vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until a smooth paste forms, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add flour and salt; beat until combined, about 1 minute.  Dough will be very soft and tacky.

     Place pine nuts in a small bowl.  Scoop out a tablespoon of dough; using dampened fingers, drop dough into pine nuts, coating one side.  Transfer rounds, coated side up, to prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Fill in any bare spots on rounds with remaining pine nuts.

     Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges of cookies and pine nuts have turned golden brown, 13 to 15 minutes.  Transfer cookies on parchment to a wire rack to cool completely.  Using an offset spatula, carefully loosen from parchment paper.  Using a fine sieve, dust cookies with confectioners' sugar.  Cookies can be kept, stacked between layers of waxed or parchment paper, in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

     Yes, I forgot to dust with confectioners' sugar.  But they Didn't. Even. Need. It.  They were just so yummy delicious.  Yes, they were Oh. My. Goodness.   My husband was amazed at how good they were.  He says, to date, that they are the best thing I have made. 

I asked, "better then the créme brulée?". 

He thought and then replied, "yeah, even better than the créme brulée".

Now that's saying something 'cause he even said that was pretty darned good.  (I think I may be spoiling him.)

     Instead of dropping them into the pine nuts by tablespoonfuls (I also used a knife to scrape it out), next time I'll probably use a teaspoon and lessen the baking time.  I just think the final cookie was too big.  Also, the dough was so sticky that instead of taking them out of the pine nuts with my fingers, I used a larger table spoon.  Granted I grabbed a few extra pine nuts in the process, but they were transferring to the parchment a lot easier and they were more rounded as opposed to mishapen.  Then I just removed the extra pine nuts by hand.  Personally I would prefer to have two cookies to every larger one that I made.  In the end, I made about 23 and it says you'll finish with about 18.

     My rating system is based on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the absolute best.  I'm pretty sure you already know what the rating is on these:  4 rolling pins!  Yes, they were that good.  I would highly recommend that you put your Italian apron on and make these puppies.  I'm sure you won't regret it.

     Happy baking!

Day 57 - Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

     Ok, can someone please tell me why I'm doing this, baking every day for 365 days straight?  Did I start it because I thought it would be fun?  Because today or tonight rather, was NOT fun.  Whatever was I thinking??!!
     My husband had the day off, so he took me to lunch at elements restaurant - Sanctuary at Camelback Mountain.  OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!!  It was by far the best lunch that we have ever had and I cannot wait to go for dinner.  The view of the mountain and surrounding Paradise Valley was gorgeous, the service was as you would expect at an upscale restaurant - very attentive and friendly, but the food...  Oh, the food.  We went because I had heard great things about chef Beau Macmillan through the paper and through the Food Network.  BUT, whenever I saw him on Sunday's episode of Food Network's Chopped All-Stars (he's picture #10), AND he's a graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island (Woo Hoo!), I knew we had to go.  I have a friend, Dean, who also graduated from there and is a pastry chef.  Dean's always making gorgeous and delicious items, so I know only great chefs graduate from Johnson & Wales.  Ok, I'm partial.  What can I say?  Unfortunately, we weren't able to meet him or talk to him about good ol' Little Rhody because he was in a meeting.  I'll have to send him an e-mail and tell him how delicious everything was.  Oh, and he's probably a Red Sox fan because he's from Plymouth, MA!
  After a great lunch and still savoring all of the flavors, we walked into the house and my stomach turned.  About 2 hours before leaving for lunch, I seared some chuck roast and put that along with a couple of other things into the crockpot for an easy dinner tonight.  It was also a gluten free recipe I decided to try since we've started my daughter on that diet.  BLECH!  When I walked in the house, I couldn't stand the smell!  But I didn't want to make a big deal of it or say anything before we ate because I knew (as has happened before) that if I didn't like it before we ate then the kids were probably not even going to taste it.  Man!  And if we don't like it and don't want to eat it, it's not like I can whip up something quick because now it has to be gluten free or at least it does for one of us.  We sat down to dinner, and the family thought it was just ok.  I took my fourth bite and almost lost it - removed myself from the table, ran to the garbage can and confessed that I couldn't stand the smell earlier in the day.  I think it was the coconut milk.  I haven't had an aversion to a smell that badly since fish when I was pregnant with our son.  Eew.  I know I won't be making that recipe again!
      After dinner, I'm disgusted still about dinner and the lingering odor, so I begin making the cookies.  This, I decided tonight, is not a good thing - starting to bake at 7 pm.  I've been doing this lately and consequently I'm up til 11 or 12 because after baking I then need to blog.  I started thinking about how late it was and that I was already becoming tired.  Oh yeah, did I mention that the house is a MESS?  And dinner dishes are now strewn about all over my work space, so that needs to be cleaned up before I can really start.  The baking process begins and I'm doing my best to wash my hands and be ever so careful with what I touch because I'm knee-deep in gluten and don't want to cross-contaminate anything (here comes my OCD).  A short time later, I was pissed that the dough was sticking to the counter, and I mean, really sticking to the counter.  Like I didn't have enough flour all over my kitchen already, I needed to douse the counter with it now.  AND, I'm pissed that I'm using all these ingredients and for what?  Is anyone going to eat these things?  Is this really economical?  No!  NOT AT THIS POINT!
This is when I start thinking, "Why am I doing this?  I don't want to do this anymore." 
Hmmm...
I guess I thought it out loud because my husband responded, "if it's not fun, don't do it anymore." 
My daughter exclaimed, "What?! You're not going to do it?".
I don't know, maybe it's the fact that I'm pissed my house is such a mess and REALLY needs to be cleaned.  AGAIN!  And I feel as if I have 50 different projects going on that I've started and haven't finished which only contributes to the mess in the house.
Oh yeah, that and I'm PMS-ing.  Yay, me.
When I sat down later at the computer to start the blog, my sweet, sensitive 13 year old son came over and without even being asked, gave me a shoulder massage.
Then I log into my blog and see I have an additional Follower.  Thank you, new Follower, I really needed that today.

     Another book I checked out at the library yesterday was Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.  The recipe for these cookies is on page 110; author, Martha Stewart; publisher, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-307-23672-2.  Growing up, I remember my grandfather having his half of grapefruit for breakfast with his burnt toast, eggs, and his cup of coffee.  Grapefruit brings up warm, fuzzy memories.  That may be one of the reasons I like eating it, besides the fact that I really like the taste, especially the Ruby Red.  While browsing through this book I came across this recipe and thought what a cool kind of cookie flavor to make.  Yup.  That's all I'll say until after the recipe. 

     Grapefruit Sandwich Sandwich Cookies

     Grated zest of 1 ruby red grapefruit, plus ¼ cup freshly squeezed juice
     1 cup sugar
     1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
     3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
     1 teaspoon baking powder
     ½ teaspoon salt
     1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
     2 large egg yolks
     Grapefruit Cream filling (recipe follows)

     Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.  In a small bowl, combine the grapefruit zest with 1 tablespoon sugar; set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.  
     In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and remaining sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Add the egg yolks, and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat in the reserved zest-sugar mixture.  Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the juice, and beat to combine.

     Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, and shape into a 1-inch thick disk.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

     On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the disk to 1/8-inch thick.  Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds and place about 1 inch apart on the prepared sheet.

 Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, until the edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes.  Transfer sheet to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes.  Transfer parchment paper and cookies to rack to cool completely.
     Using an offset spatula, spread 1 tablespoon filling onto the flat sides of half of the cookies.  Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down.  Once filled, cookies can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

     Grapefruit Cream Filling
     1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
     2 cups confectioners' sugar
     1 tablespoon honey
     3 tablespoons freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice

     In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.  Beat in the honey.  Add juice, one tablespoon at a time, until filling holds together and is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.  Transfer to a small bowl, cover, and set aside until ready to use.

     If you like ruby red grapefruits, you may or may not like these cookies.  I really wasn't too nuts about them.  Again, being honest with you, it may have been because I taste tested too much of the batter.  I really think that zesting a whole grapefruit may have been too much and that doing a half would have been sufficient.  Also, I think my cookies were too thick and needed to be rolled a wee bit thinner.  I used that flower cookie cutter and ended up making 34 cookies, so there would be 17 sandwiches.  I made four, took pictures, tasted one, then solicited opinions and packed the rest of the cookies and cream up.  If anyone out in blogging land would like to try one or two or three, call me.  I know I won't be gaining weight from eating these.  Although that cream right from the bowl was pretty doggone good.
     My rating system is on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best.  Sorry, Martha.  I need to give these a 1½ rolling pins.  Two people thought they were rather good, gave them a 2½, and one took one bite, shook his head and said, "Uh-uh."
     Call me.  For cookies. 
     I will blog again tomorrow.  Happy baking!