Day 90 - Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

I saw these GORGEOUS cookies on Amanda's website, i am baker.  She does absolutely beautiful work and inspired me to decorate some today. My intention was to bake some cookies and decorate them in baseballs and with my son's school logo for today's playoff baseball game.  It could be their last or they could advance, who knows?  So, regardless of the outcome, my plan was to bring cookies.
Who doesn't like a good cookie, especially a nicely decorated one?
"Boys don't like cookies."
Was what I heard when my husband came home from work and asked what I was doing.
Really?
Hm.
What the heck does THAT mean?!  Boys don't like cookies?
Time was passing pretty quickly this afternoon and between some errands and going to the baseball game, I wasn't going to have time to decorate the cookies anyway - scratch the cookies for the game.  I come home from one errand and who's sitting in his recliner eating a cookie?
"What are you doing?"
In the best little boy voice he can muster, "I'm havin' a cookie," replies Mr. 365.
"How many have you had?"
Still using that voice, "I wasn't sure if they were gonna be good or not, so I picked a number and that's how many I got."
I'm over at the counter, "1, 2, 3...you had 5 cookies???!!" These are not small cookies.
"Yup, they're good!"
I'm sure.  For a "boy" who doesn't like cookies. Hmpf.
He later explained that, "guys don't want to eat cookies after a game.  What do you think Big Papi feels like having after he hits a walk-off home run, a cookie?  NAAHHHH!"  Ok, I get it.
But you could have expanded your answer the first time!
I finished frosting after we came home from the game. 

But can I tell you because I really do need to boast - just a little bit?
The team won their game and my son played the game of his life.  He's first in the line-up and for his first at bat, he hit an in the park home run.  I don't know if I've ever seen him run so fast around third base!  It was SO cool!  He's running, and I'm screaming, "Run. Run!!!"  Not that my yelling made him go any faster.
He made a great defensive play later and then was able to knock in the winning run. 
It was wonderful because he's struggled this year and has decided after many years of baseball that this season will be his last.  He's decided to play volleyball in high school and both sports are in the spring here.  So, this is kind of his last hurrah.  I was really very excited for him, and even Mr. Cookie told him he'd done a great job playing a perfect game and gave him a hug.  I love my life!
At dinner, even my son agreed that his teammates wouldn't have wanted cookies after the game.  Oh, well.

I adapted this from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, p. 612; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies - made 26 cookies

¼ pound butter (1 stick)
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cups flour, approximately (Note: only enough so that it can be rolled without being sticky. I used an additional 3 tablespoons after the 1 ½ cups)
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Cream the butter, then gradually add the sugar, beating until light.
Add the egg, vanilla, cinnamon, and milk and beat thoroughly.

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together, add to the first mixture, and blend well.

Roll ¼ inch thick and cut into 3-inch circles.

                                    

Bake on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for about 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Here's the link for the frosting recipe from i am baker.  I really enjoyed using it and it was a good consistency to work with.  I should have made it thicker though and used a different tip for writing the letters on the black cookies.  They didn't come out so hot. 
Next time.
To frost the tops, I used about 2 teaspoons of frosting for each cookie base and then finished the decoration.

I started with the ones on the top and finished with the two on the bottom.
They're supposed to be the initials D C.



Mr. Cookie said he preferred to eat them without the frosting.  With it, he thought they were just too sweet.  I liked them both ways.  The rating system I use everyday is on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these cookies earned 3 rolling pins.

Channel your inner baker!



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!