Valentine's Day Leftovers

The only thing better than eating all of the sweets on Earth on Valentine's Day, is discovering that you have extras left over for days and days afterwards. Forget the discounted chocolate (but don't actually because Lindt chocolate ain't cheap when it's just a regular Tuesday), the real edible magic after Valentine's Day are the baked goods. Cupcakes, cookies, brownies, and all heart-shaped. Is it me, or do things just taste better when they're heart-shaped? It's just me? Okay.

My generally sad lunch has an upgrade this week in the form of these sweet sugar cookie hearts.

I keep going back to Bon Appetit's Ultimate Sugar Cookie recipe because it's JUST THAT GOOD.

And don't forget the royal icing!

Happy Valentine's Day Leftovers Week!

I Heart Valentine's Day Cookies

I only really like Valentine's Day for the food, so let's get that out of the way now. This year, I decided to make a special surprise for my work chums, to show how much I love that they eat all the food I bring them. Super soft sugar cookies with a thick coating of buttercream frosting should do the trick!

I went to the store a few days ago to get the last of the ingredients for these cookies, and as I went to pick up some sprinkles, I stopped myself. I wanted these cookies to be 100% from scratch, which meant either making the sprinkles myself, or dying a second batch of buttercream, and frosting little designs. But when it came time to actually make the sprinkles, I realized that it might be a little too time-consuming for this go-around. But THEN I was left in a panic because Boston decided to have another snowstorm, and there was no way I was going to trudge in the snow to the market for one tiny package of red sprinkles. Luckily, I found not one, but TWO packages of sprinkles and Red Hots in the back of the cupboard, still good to eat. (I knew there was a reason that I save everything.) Thank goodness, because tan sugar cookies with boring white buttercream wouldn't exactly get everyone sprinting to the cookie tin.

There are a couple of things to note about these cookies. One, make sure you let that buttercream set for a while before you try to transfer these onto a plate, or into the travel carrier. Two, when baking, use your own discretion for the baking time. I have a gas oven, which cooks things much faster. For the first batch, I left them in for the suggested time of seven minutes, and the bottoms and edges were way too brown! I cut it down to five minutes, and even that was cutting it close. Also, make sure you roll out the dough as thin as you can, because these things puff up so much! They can't be tamed, these sugar cookies.

These Lofthouse style cookies are even better the next day, which is a relief, because I was worried that they would lose their pizazz. Although, nothing bad can ever really happen when there's buttercream frosting involved, am I right about it?

Super Soft Lofthouse Style Sugar Cookies

For the Cookies: 6 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 2 cups granulated sugar 3 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1½ cups sour cream

For the Buttercream Frosting: 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 cups powdered sugar Pinch of salt 6 tablespoons heavy cream

Food coloring, optional Sprinkles, optional

Directions:

1. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined.

3. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Dough will be a little sticky and that is ok. Divide dough into two sections. Flatten into rectangles about 1½ inches thick, then wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or for at least two hours.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats; set aside.

5. Lightly flour the countertop and the top of the dough. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to ¼-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7 minutes, until cookies are slightly golden around the edges. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Cook cookies completely before frosting.

6. To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vanilla extract. Slowly beat in powdered sugar and the pinch of salt. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat at medium-high speed for a minute or two until light and fluffy. Add food coloring, if desired, and beat until combined.

7. Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles, if desired. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container.

SOURCE: Two Peas in Their Pod

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Took a Cookie Break From Howling at the Moon (It's Almost Halloween!)

Last night I was scouring the hundreds of recipes that I have saved in the "bookmarks" section of my internet browser. It seems like the idea to bake  is always a prominent fixture in my mind, but the looming question is always, "Now WHAT am I going to make?" I also wanted to make something to take to work tomorrow. (I have this plan that I'm going to make friends with everyone in my office...one baked good at a time. So far, so good. )

Cookies are instant friend-makers.  Make no mistake about it, my friends.

I wanted to keep things relatively simple today. I didn't want to use a ton of dishes and utensils, I didn't want to have to go to the store in a desperate search for an obscure ingredient, and I DEFINITELY wasn't in the mood for a super complicated recipe. But just because I wanted to take it easy, doesn't mean that I wanted to make some run-of-the-mill cookie that you can just as easily make from a box. I wanted sugar cookies, but it just wouldn't be a product of my kitchen if there wasn't  a little something extra. Thus, I decided on the classic, simple, yet eye-catching Black and White Cookie.

And for the record, I used a ton of dishes and utensils. Eh, we can't win 'em all.

Baking is so relaxing, don't you think?

I am thoroughly enjoying owning a Silpat. What is parchment paper? I've forgotten. (Just kidding. My Silpat is a little bigger than my baking sheet, so I still keep a roll of parchment paper around just in case.)

I used my trusty ice cream scoop to evenly measure out my cookies. It's funny, I use that ice cream scoop for everything from cookie batter, to cupcakes, to pancakes, but never, ever for ice cream. Weird, right?

An hour later, I had thirteen of these babies. They're HUGE.

So, as I started making the glazes for these monster-sized cookies, I couldn't help feeling like I wasn't taking these cookies as far as they could go. And of course, I was also feeling a little festive. SO, to celebrate All Hallow's Eve (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT'S TOMORROW? I mean SERIOUSLY, where did October go??) I decided to dye the white glaze orange with food coloring!! I think I got a little too excited, but I just can't help it when that happens.

Making vanilla glaze is insanely simple, and it was my first time using corn syrup. Such a huge bottle, and all I needed was a tablespoon for the glaze. How will I ever use that entire bottle of light corn syrup? OH WELL, GUESS I HAVE TO MAKE A TON OF STUFF NOW WITH GLAZES AND THEN EAT THEM ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER. Life is so hard!

Isn't that the prettiest orange color you've ever seen? I love dying food! I can't believe I don't do it on a daily basis. What do you guys think of purple spaghetti? Okay, sorry. Too far.

I'm so incredibly proud of these cookies. AND I'm TOO EXCITED to bring them to work tomorrow. Despite my best efforts to get everyone in the office to dress up like Bumble Bees (Or an equally embarrassing group costume), I couldn't get anyone on board to celebrate Halloween with me. At least now we can acknowledge that tomorrow is one of the coolest holidays ever,

Next time, I'm using brown butter for these cookies. I can't wait.

What You'll Need:

For the Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large egg

For the Vanilla Glaze

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 Teaspoon light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Glaze

• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup

Check out the full recipe here!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, BOYS AND GHOULS!