A Couple of Cut-outs

It's snowing again, folks! And it's so beautiful outside, I can almost forgive the snow's absence at Christmas. Unlike the weather, one thing that I could control at Christmas was the baking of sugar cookies!

Day 8 of The 12 Cookies of Christmas

The Classic Christmas Cut-out

What would a Christmas cookie tray be without some frosted cut-outs? With 8,000 reviews and 4.5 stars, I thought The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies from AllRecipes would be a trustworthy choice. Here's the recipe. For the decorations, I wanted them to be very festive. We had some rainbow sprinkles on hand, but the few pink and orange sprinkles in the assortment didn't quite say "Christmas." Here is where I admit, I'm kind of a nutcase when it comes to making things look a certain way. You have my permission to laugh when I tell you that I spent an hour hunched over a large plate of sprinkles, using a butter knife to flick them into piles of Christmas and non-Christmas colors. One incredible advantage from this insanity is that I now have Easter sprinkles (pink and orange) and some leftover Christmas sprinkles! 'Twas not all in vain!

To frost these, I made up a standard powdered sugar/milk glaze, just thick enough to spread with a frosting knife, but not so thin as to run off the cookies. I figured the frosting colors sequentially, so I wouldn't have to mix up a new frosting each time. White for stars, yellow for bells (add one drop of yellow food color), and green for trees (add one small drop of blue). All of the frosting completed from one bowl, huzzah!

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Day 9 of The 12 Cookies of Christmas

Honey Vanilla Sablé with Cardamom

When I go to the library or Barnes & Noble to do some research, I pick out a generous stack of cookbooks and magazines. Once in a while, I'll grab an issue of Bon Appétit. Even though it was first published in 1956, this magazine by no means stuck in the past. When you flip through its pages, you are not going to see the "same old, same old." Sometimes Bon Appétit's recipes can even be a bit radical with their flavors, but this particular Honey Vanilla Sablé proves that it's good to try new things. The hint of cardamom makes these more intriguing than your average cut-out cookie. One caution - cardamom is strong, so if you're second-guessing the amount of spice, err on the side of less. We want a hint, not a holler. :) Here is the recipe from Bon Appétit. I made these last spring (hence the tulips) and frosted them using Wilton Red Candy Melts.

'Til next time,

Eva