Sugar Cookies - The Cookie Cutter Kind

 

It is honestly not the holidays in my house unless there are sugar cookies. Usually, I attempt to make the perfect light, thin, and crisp sugar cookies but those are nowhere near picture worthy. Instead I used the same dough and rolled them out to drop cookies and this is what resulted. Also, my family is torn between soft and chewy and thin and crispy sugar cookies. This year, I satisfied both parties! Which side do I prefer? Thin and crispy of course.

I'm still working on finding the perfect thin and crispy recipe that is easy to roll out and use cookies cutter with. I'm guessing I have to find a recipe that uses more flour so I'll let you know when I find it. These cookies are great for decorating but sometimes I like them just they way they are, plain.

I have used a recipe from Sunsets cookbook for years but in order to achieve the thin and crispy cookie, I had to modify the recipe to make the cookies airy and lighter. I ended up replacing all of the granulated sugar with powdered sugar and in the end, I achieved light and airy cookies but it was too soft to roll out and use cookie cutters. Either way, I prefer taste and flavor over appearance any day. I guess it doesn't hurt to have a pretty appearance either because I get pretty pictures like these!

Waffles

Growing up, I always made waffles from the box. I'd like to think at the time, my palette was not refined enough to know any better. I'd make waffles on the weekend all the time for my family and my mom  always complain about how she did not like the Bisquick mix but I had no problem with it. As time went by, I learned that my mom was right, aren't they always. Since then, I made a few waffles from scratch but nothing that satisfied my waffle hunger. I finally found a recipe worth blogging about. I did not realize until I made the waffles that there was no milk but I had buttermilk and almond milk. So...I used mainly buttermilk and a little of the almond milk but the buttermilk was too overpowering. Next time I will add half buttermilk and half milk. I just have to make sure I have milk at home! Other than the lingering aftertaste of tangy buttermilk, everything else was great! The texture and flavor was exactly what I was looking for in a waffle.

I did not realize how much of a difference whipping the egg whites does to the waffle. It makes a significant difference. It's a little time consuming but worth every minute. It is essential to fluffy waffles (in addition to the buttermilk). This is important step and this will make good waffles be great waffles.

Forward to 2011

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I failed at my 2010 To-Bake list but that is what New Year resolutions are for. I am intent on changing for 2011. I took the 2010 list and omitted/added things to the list. I hope I can follow the list so let's see how well I do this year!

2011 To-Bake List

1. seven layer bars

2. cinnamon rolls

3. cheesecake

4. flourless chocolate cake

5. coconut cake (or cupcakes)

6. English muffins

7. molten chocolate cake

8. revel bars

9. green tea sponge cake (see Matcha Cupcakes - practically the same thing)

10. the "ideal" brownie

11. popovers

12. lychee panna cotta

13. semifreddo

14. tiramisu

15. beer bread

16. Pot de creme
17. Tres leches cake/cupcakes

Things to remember but not necessary on my list of things to make:
- tortoni
- torte
- Amaretti cookies

[I'll probably edit the list a few times because I'm still looking for things I want to make]

Oatmeal Cookies

It's nice to be home for Christmas and the holidays because that means I get to bake as much as I want! While baking adds to the holiday pounds, at least I'm enjoying my time off. Speaking of holiday pounds, I do not think oatmeal cookies are as bad as other baking goods. I'd like to think because there is oatmeal, there is some nutritional value, right? Anyways, I like oatmeal and I like raisin but I never had the urge to make oatmeal raisin cookies. However, this recipe is a good recipe, especially if you want something different from the standard chocolate chip cookies. You can take this oatmeal cookie recipe and add in chocolate chips and voila, you have a completely different cookie.

I changed the proportion of brown sugar and white sugar and I liked how it turned out. It gave the cookie a richer butter flavor which I love considering the recipe does not have as much butter compared to other cookies.

These cookies are very versatile so try different add-ins when you want something a little different. I split my batch in half. I left half of the batch plain while I added raisins to the other half.