Creamsicle Cookies

As a child, my favorite treat in the world was a creamsicle.....orange sherbert wrapped around vanilla ice cream.  The thought of it still makes me giddy with delight. Unfortunately, I have not been able to eat ice cream for years, so I have to find alternative ways to enjoy my favorite flavor of summer.

3 variations on a theme:

#1 - Use my shortbread cookie recipe and bake it with only vanilla as the flavoring.  But instead of pure vanilla extract, I used vanilla bean paste.  Then, I used orange juice in the royal icing recipe along with a touch of orange food coloring to give it that "sunshine" look.  For serving the cookies the same day, I took a slice of mandarine orange and placed it in the royal icing as a juicy surprise.

#2 - Dice up candied orange rind and incorporate that into the cookie dough along with a few drops of orange extract and then make a vanilla royal icing with a piece of orange rind in the center for decoration.

#3 - Use the vanilla shortbread cookie base with candied orange rind and use a little orange food coloring in the dough to give it an more orange appearance, form it into 1 inch balls and bake.  Decorate with white royal icing and a green fondant or marzipan leaf.

These cookies are just too cute and work amazingly well for a ladies afternoon tea or a summer party.

From the heart of my purple kitchen to you,
Enjoy!!!
S.

White Chocolate and Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

A short time ago, I blogged about the cookies that my work makes.  They are a traditional Toll House cookie with white chocolate and dried cranberries.  I decided to not make them, but rather use my shortbread recipe to my advantage.  One of the things that I noticed with my original shortbread recipe was that the texture changed depending upon which flavors I added to the dough.  For example, when I use cocoa powder, the cookies were a little too dry, so I will now only use 2 cups of flour and 1/3 cup cocoa powder.

So, I took my recipe and changed it to accommodate the white chocolate and the cranberries.  Here is what I did:

You will need:
1/3 cup dried cranberries and 1/3 cup chopped white chocolate - pulse in a food processor until broken down into very small pieces - set aside.

Then take...
2 sticks of butter at room temperature (1 cup)
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.  Vanilla bean paste also works well.
1/2 teaspoon salt
...and beat these ingredients on medium until well incorporated.

Then add...
2 cups of flour and the cranberry & white chocolate to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated.

Preheat the oven to 350' F
Form pieces of dough into one inch balls and place on an un-greased cookie sheet
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes and remove from the oven and let cool.

At this point, you can use melted white chocolate and dried cranberries as a garnish, royal icing, powdered sugar or simply leave plain.

These came out fabulous!!!

From the heart of my purple kitchen to you, please enjoy!!!
S.

365 in 365 - #118 & #119 - Cranberry, Orange & Walnut Oatmeal Cookies AND White Chocolate, Dried Apricot & Macadamia Nut Cookies

It is getting to be my favorite time of year......Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.  Holidays are always a time for families to gather to celebrate, to start new family traditions and share old ones, to catch up on all the going's on in everyones lives and to eat with abandon and not feel guilty.  The cookies that I am sharing today are a step away from the standard holiday favorites, but with an enhanced flavor profile.

Use your favorite oatmeal cookie recipe, instead of the standard raisins and walnuts, add:

• 1 cup of chopped dried cranberries 
• 1 cup of  chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon of orange zest.  
• Drizzle with an icing made with a few tablespoons of orange juice and 2 cups of powdered sugar.

Use the same cookie recipe and add: 

• 1 cup of chopped, dried apricots 
• 1 cup of chopped white chocolate
• 1 cup of chopped macadamia nuts  
• Drizzle with melted white chocolate and enjoy.

I use a 3 ounce scoop to make the cookies, only 6 to a cookie sheet, and they come out amazing.  

If you are feeling particularly decadent, take a scoop of your favorite ice cream and make sandwiches with the cookies.  Wrap them individually in waxed paper and freeze until firm.  These make a wonderful treat for any occasion.

I know y'all will enjoy these cookies.

From the heart of my purple kitchen to you,

S. 

365 in 365 - #102 - Mini Lemon Drop Cookies

This is a cookie recipe that I found folded up and tucked in between a few other recipes that my mom had in her shoebox.   I remember these cookies as a cool summer treat on a hot day.  They are bright and lemony with a cool finish.

1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 stick butter
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
7 teaspoons lemon zest
1 cup minced nuts - optional

Beat the butter and sugar together, add the eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated, then beat in the lemon zest.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and nuts (if desired)
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated

Drop by 1/2 teaspoon on greased cookie sheet
Bake at 375" for 8 - 10 minutes
Let cool and glaze

Lemon Glaze
4 cups of confectioners sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice

Add the lemon juice by tablespoon to the powdered sugar and mix until desired consistency and frost the cookies with glaze.  Sprinkle with yellow sugar crystals, if desired.

From my purple kitchen to you!

Enjoy,
S.

365 in 365 - #80 - Fiesta Lime Cookies

Here is yet another variation for the shortbread cookie dough.

Use the basic dough and add the zest of 6 limes....yes, 6 of them.

I used the juice from the limes in the royal icing...it is so sweet and tart that it makes your mouth water.

These are definitely a lime flavored cookie, but still have that refreshingly citrus punch.

Jason has eaten about a dozen so far.

Enjoy!!!
S.

365 in 365 - #79 - Intensely Lemony Cookies

I'm having so much fun with this simple shortbread cookie dough......

First of all, let's talk about lemon juice.  Please don't tell me that any one of y'all uses that crap (pardon me) in the lemon shaped container in the grocery store.....PLEASE, say you don't!!!  There is nothing like fresh lemons....for desserts, for fish, for poultry, for garnish, for iced tea, as a decoration....they are so fresh and simply reek of summer.

One of the things that I like to do is to purchase a whole bunch of lemons when they are at their most inexpensive, zest and juice them all at once to use later for baking and whenever a recipe calls for lemon juice.  I store the zest in tightly sealed clear plastic wrapped little packages in the freezer (1 tablespoon per packet) and fill old-fashioned ice cube trays with the juice, let it freeze and then store the frozen juice cubes in a heavy weight plastic bag in the freezer.

For these intensely lemony cookies, make the basic shortbread cookie dough (butter, vanilla, powdered sugar and flour) and add 4 teaspoons of lemon zest and bake as usual.

For the royal icing, instead of water, substitute fresh lemon juice and cover the cookies with the icing.

The first batch of cookies is currently in the oven and the house is beginning to smell of warm lemons.

Jason is just about ready for dessert.

Have a fabulous evening!
S.

365 in 365 - # 77 - Sun Dried Tomato, Pine Nut and Basil Cookies

Y'all are gonna think I am nuts....but I am working on a very mature flavor profile for cookies.  The following works, and works VERY well.


Sun Dried Tomato, Pine Nut and Basil Shortbread Cookies

This recipe makes 36 cookies

For the cookies

1 cup of butter at room temperature

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts

1/2 cup of chopped sun dried tomatoes, the kind not packed in olive oil

Beat until completely mixed

Then, add 2 1/4 cups flour, a pinch of salt and beat until mixed

Preheat oven to 400' F.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and flatten into discs, about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick

Place 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden brown

I frosted my cookies with royal icing, but you can frost them with any plain icing that you like.

Basil Scented Royal Icing - These amounts have been adjusted for the recipe so that not very much is left over

2 teaspoons meringue powder

1 1/4 cups of confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup water mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/3 cup basil leaves, process in food processor until smooth

Add the water, basil and vanilla mixture to the powdered sugar and meringue powder by 1/8 cups to start with and beat on medium with a hand held mixer until mixed and thickened and fluffy.  You may or may not need all of the liquid that remains. 

Spread about 1 teaspoon of icing on each cookie and let the icing dry.  This icing will dry to a firm consistency, but will not be so hard that it will crack or crumble.  You can use a bit more if you like.  Also, using a pastry bag with a very small tip works well too.

Enjoy!!
Susan

365 in 365 - Who Wants Cookies??

OK....here we go.....I have decided to see how many of my dear family, friends and readers would buy shortbread cookies if I made them to sell.   I am not looking to be the next Martha Stewart or Paula Dean, but I am interested in putting a smile on your face and a cookie or 2 in your tummy.

The flavors that I have already developed are:

• White Chocolate, Apricot & Macadamia
• Chocolate & Chile
• Dark Chocolate, Cherry & Pistachio
• Lavender & Mint
• Basil & Ginger

I have had several requests and am very interested in exploring this, especially for the holidays.  I will most likely also sell our family Pumpkin Chiffon Cake during the holidays.

So....your thoughts, feed-back and flavor choices are requested.

Have a great evening!

S.

365 in 365 - #75 - Basil & Ginger Shortbread Cookies

This idea for a cookie came to me by way of a co-worker.  He had been talking about a gelato that he had at a restaurant somewhere and mentioned that the flavor was basil & ginger.  I thought that was very interesting, so on my way home, I stopped at the store and bought some fresh basil and some crystalized ginger.   I decided to go with the crystalized ginger because of the sweet heat that it provides and because of the texture......sort of like a raisin, but with an attitude.   Now, don't get me wrong, raisins have their place....in oatmeal cookies, in trail mix, etc., but not necessarily in my mouth.   They are not my favorite dried fruit.

When I got home, I took a small leaf of basil, wrapped it around a little piece of ginger and popped it in my mouth.  Can you hear the choirs of angels singing??  Well, I sure did.  The flavor was incredible.  That sweet, almost licorice note from the basil with the mild, sweet heat from the crystalized ginger made me sit up and sing.

So, I made the basic shortbread cookie dough, and kept the vanilla in the mix, but added 2 teaspoons of dried basil and 1/2 cup of minced crystalized ginger.  Baked them and before the cookies could cool off and have the royal icing applied to them, my husband at 7 of them, right off the cookie sheet.  He unhinged his jaw and they were G-O-N-E, gone!!!!

Now, the next time I make these, I will use fresh basil to see what happens with the favor and will let y'all know how that turns out.

But in the mean time.....these are pretty darn great.  Taste testers loved them.  One person was not that fussy about them, but she is not crazy about ginger.  Most importantly, I have several other flavor combinations up my sleeve for this simple cookie dough and as I work through the recipes and the amounts of ingredients, I will post them for you.

In the mean time, please try this flavor combination......they are phenomenal.  Here is the entire recipe for you:

This recipe makes 30 cookies

For the cookies

1 cup of butter at room temperature

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons of dried basil

1/2 cup of minced crystalized ginger

Beat until completely mixed

Then, add 2 1/4 cups flour, a pinch of salt and beat until mixed

Preheat oven to 400' F.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and flatten into discs, about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick

Place 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden brown

I frosted my cookies with royal icing, but you can frost them with any plain icing that you like.

Royal Icing - These amounts have been adjusted for the recipe so that not very much is left over

1 teaspoon meringue powder

1 - 1/4 cups of confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup water mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Mix the meringue powder into the powdered sugar, add 1/8 of the water and vanilla mixture to start with and beat on medium with a hand held mixer until mixed and thickened a bit fluffy.  You may or may not need a little bit more of the vanilla water that remains. 

Spread about 1 teaspoon of icing on each cookie and let the icing dry.  This icing will dry to a firm consistency, but will not be so hard that it will crack or crumble.  You can use a bit more if you like.  Also, using a pastry bag with a very small tip works well too.

From my purple kitchen to you!!!

S.

365 in 365 - #71 - Updated - Lavender and Mint Shortbread Cookies with Royal Icing

Updated the amounts of herbs and the recipe for royal icing on 5/30/2011

I was at the salon today for a mani and pedi.  When it came time for the massage, the lotion that Kim used was so completely fragrant and relaxing.  When I asked her what the scent was, she told me lavender and mint.  It was incredible....the smell actually made me want cookies.  So, I decided to try and add these herbs to a basic shortbread cookie and top them off with some royal icing.  The mint is the first thing that hits your nose when you bite into the cookie, then the subtle and slightly floral note from the lavender follows the mint and then the vanilla rounds out the lavender and mint very nicely.

These cookies came out COMPLETELY INCREDIBLE!!!!

This recipe makes 30 cookies

For the cookies
1 cup of butter at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons of chopped fresh spearmint leaves
2 tablespoon of chopped fresh lavender
Beat until completely mixed

Then, add 2 1/4 cups flour, a pinch of salt and beat until mixed

Preheat oven to 400' F.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and flatten into discs, about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick
Place 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden brown

I frosted my cookies with royal icing, but you can frost them with any plain icing that you like.

Royal Icing - These amounts have been adjusted for the recipe so that not very much is left over

1 teaspoon meringue powder

1 - 1/4 cups of confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup water mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Mix the meringue powder into the powdered sugar, add 1/8 of the water and vanilla mixture to start with and beat on medium with a hand held mixer until mixed and thickened a bit fluffy.  You may or may not need the little bit of water that remains. 

Spread about 1 teaspoon of icing on each cookie and let the icing dry.  This icing will dry to a firm consistency, but will not be so hard that it will crack or crumble.  You can use a bit more if you like.  Also, using a pastry bag with a very small tip works well too.

I really do hope that y'all try these....they really are quite good.

From my purple kitchen to you!!
S.