Big and Soft Sugar Cookies

There are so many different styles of sugar cookie.  Some are thin and crisp, some are fat and frosted, some are chewy and some are cakey.  These cookies are most like the type that you buy from the grocery store, that they always have frosted in the colors of whatever holiday is coming next, or if there isn't a holiday around the corner, they're usually pink with sprinkles on top.  They are big and soft and cakey and delicious. The frosting is to die for, especially when it's slathered on thick.  So for the next birthday, holiday, or random day, make these cookies.

Big and Soft Sugar Cookies
Recipe adapted from here

Cookies:
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Frosting:
1 1/2 cups butter
1 tsp vanilla
6 cups powdered sugar
2-3 T milk
food coloring, if desired

For the cookies:
Cream the butter and sugar together at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each egg.  Add vanilla, almond extract and sour cream and beat until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until combined.  Dough will be very sticky.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 425F.  Remove a quarter of the dough and place on a lightly floured surface.  Place remaining dough back in the refrigerator until ready to use.  Lightly flour the top of the dough before rolling dough to 1/4-inch thick.  Using a 2 1/2 or 3-inch biscuit cutter cut out circles and transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake for 7 minutes, then immediately transfer to a cooling rack.  Cookies should not be browned.

Continue to roll, cut, and bake cookies until all dough is used.  While cookies are cooling, make the frosting.

For the frosting:
In a large mixing bowl combine butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar.  Add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until it reaches a spreading consistency.  Add food coloring if desired and beat until well combined.

Once cookies are completely cooled, frost generously and add sprinkles or other toppings if desired.  Store at room temperature in an air-tight container.

Makes about 4-5 dozen cookies.

Quick and Tasty Tomato Soup

We've had a very strange Spring in Virginia this year.  It was a dry winter until March, when we suddenly had more snow than we'd had in the past two years combined.  That set Spring back a bit, and even at the end of April we had days that were 40 degrees.  It's mid-June and I'm still picking sugar snap peas from my garden.  Today is not that cool, but it is raining, as it did two days ago and as it will again tomorrow.  For lunch I wanted something cozy and comforting, and fell to that old favorite, Tomato Soup.

This recipe is great because it's easy, delicious, and quick as a flash!  If you serve it with some homemade bread or garlicky croutons, all the better.

Quick and Tasty Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup milk (you can use water but it won't have a creamy taste)
3 large leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped (or 1/4 tsp dried basil)
1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped (or a dash dried parsley)
A dash of granulated garlic
1 tsp Parmesan cheese

In a small saucepan combine tomato paste, milk, basil, parsley, and garlic.  Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until warm and aromatic, about five minutes.  If desired, puree in blender (though I don't think it's necessary unless you don't like to see your herbs).  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and serve.

Makes one serving, but is easily multiplied to feed more.

Glazed Doughnuts

In honor of National Doughnut Day, I thought I'd repost my favorite doughnut recipe!  Here it is!

Glazed Doughnuts

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
2 packets (2 T) yeast
3 cups flour
1/2 cup warm mashed potato (microwave a medium potato on high for 5 minutes, scoop out potato and mash with a fork)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 T oil
Vegetable or Canola oil to fry in
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Microwave 1 cup milk for 1 minute or until warm but not hot. Stir in yeast and let sit 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine flour, mashed potato, salt, and sugar. Mix well then add the milk/yeast mixture and oil. Mix until a soft dough forms. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and not too sticky. Roll into a circle that is 1/2" thick. Using a doughnut cutter or two biscuit cutters, cut into doughnuts. You can either keep the doughnut holes and fry them too (we do) or re-roll them into the dough to cut out more doughnuts. Repeat until dough is used up. Place cut doughnuts on a lightly floured surface to let rise for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze. Put powdered sugar in a small bowl. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until glaze is desired consistency. Add vanilla and mix well.

In an electric skillet or frying pan, pour enough oil so that it is 1/2" deep in your pan. Heat until 350F (medium to medium high on a stove). It should take about 5 minutes to heat up. Place doughnuts carefully in oil, cooking each side until browned. Remove to wire rack that has paper towels underneath to catch the oil. After doughnuts have cooled for about 3 minutes, drizzle with glaze.

Makes 12-15 doughnuts and holes.

Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

My husband LOVES sweet bread.  And really, what's not to like?  It's soft, tender, sweet, and pairs well with just about anything.  I found a recipe on pinterest the other day that was for a bread machine loaf of Hawaiian Sweet Bread, but I wanted to make rolls, and I don't have a bread machine, so I changed up the recipe to suit my needs.  This is what we ended up with!  We served these with BBQ Pulled Pork.  Delicious!

Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

Ingredients:
3/4 cup pineapple juice, at room temperature
2 T vegetable oil
2 1/2 T honey
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp (1 packet) yeast
2 T dry (powdered) milk
3 cups bread flour
1 egg

In a large mixing bowl combine pineapple juice, oil, honey, salt, and yeast.  Add powdered milk and 1 cup flour.  Mix until a gooey dough forms.  Add egg and mix well.  Add remaining 2 cups flour and mix until a soft dough forms and the dough leaves the sides of the bowl.  Place into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch dough down.  On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into nine equal portions.  Roll into balls and place in a greased 9" square baking dish.  Let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes - 1 hour.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F.  Bake risen rolls for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.  Remove from oven and brush tops of rolls with butter.  Let cool before serving.

Makes 9 rolls.

President's Day Activity: Food Faces

It's President's Day here in the US, celebrating the births of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. I decided to have a little dinnertime activity where we made faces of these presidents using our dinner.  We were eating mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and grilled chicken.  Here are the results:

Washington, using potatoes, corn, lima bean, and green bean

Lincoln, using potatoes, chicken, lima beans, and green bean

Washington, using mixed vegetables and chicken

We're not sure what this is.  My two-year-old didn't specify...

Lincoln, using potatoes, chicken, lima beans, peas, corn, and green beans

Washington, using chicken, potatoes, and mixed vegetables

Which do you like?  And what creative things do you do with your food?

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I originally posted this about three years ago, but I've changed the recipe since then, so I thought i'd update it!

When I was a kid and we would go to a Chinese restaurant, the only thing I would ever order was Sweet and Sour Chicken.  Years ago, when my brother and sister-in-law lived in Hawaii, they got me a Hawaiian cookbook.  I was delighted to find this recipe in it, which is a more Hawaiian version of sweet and sour chicken.  Their directions were terrible and their quantities and cooking times were also pretty off, so I revamped the recipe a few times, until I came up with this version. I love it!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken (breasts, tenders, thighs, whatever you prefer)
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 T oil
1 red or green bell pepper, sliced in 1/4"-thick rings
1 (10 oz) cans of pineapple in juice (rings or chunks), drained, reserving juice
OR 6-8 fresh pineapple rings

Sauce
3/4 cups pineapple juice
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 T corn starch
1 t ground ginger
1 cup sugar
1 cube of chicken bullion

Preheat the oven to 350F. Cut the chicken into 1" cubes.  Place flour, salt, and pepper in a large Ziplock bag.  Add chicken and toss to coat.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add floured chicken and cook about 5 minutes, turning once, or until very lightly browned.  Remove chicken from pan and place in a 9"x13" pan.  Arrange peppers and pineapple on top of chicken and put in oven for 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce.  Put all ingredients in medium saucepan.  Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil.  Boil for 2 minutes, still stirring, until sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from heat and pour over already-baking chicken.  Continue to cook chicken with sauce until fully cooked.

Serve over rice.

Serves 6.

Valentine's Day Heart-Shaped Cinnamon Rolls

I saw this idea floating around Pinterest and thought I'd try it.  They turned out nicely.  The buns do lose their shape a bit when baking, but a little frosting in the right shape helps you see the heart.  This is my favorite cinnamon roll dough! As a note on the recipe, you need a total of 9 Tbs of butter, 4 of which is melted.  I split it up in the recipe.

Heart-Shaped Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe adapted from Peter Reinhart

Ingredients:
6 1/2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbs butter
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp lemon extract (not lemon juice!) or lemon zest
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp yeast
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 Tbs butter, melted
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (7 Tbs sugar plus 2 Tbs cinnamon)
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbs milk
2 Tbs butter, melted
1/4 tsp lemon extract or vanilla extract

In a mixer, cream together sugar, salt, and 5 tbs butter on medium-high with the paddle attachment.  Whip in egg and lemon until smooth, then add flour, yeast, and buttermilk.  Mix on low speed until dough forms a ball.  Switch to the dough hook and increase speed to medium.  Machine knead for approximately 10 minutes or knead by hand for about 15 minutes, until dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky.  You may need to add a little extra flour to achieve the right texture, but don't add more than 1/2 cup.

Place kneaded dough in a lightly oiled bowl.  Spray the top with oil and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise for about 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size. If you put the dough in a warm (90-120F) oven, it will rise faster.

Punch the dough down. Spray the countertop with cooking spray and transfer the dough to the counter.  Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until you have a rectangle about 2/3" thick and 14" wide by 12" long.  Don't roll too thin or the rolls will be tough instead of tender.

Spread or brush the 2 Tbs melted butter over the surface of the dough.  Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the dough all the way to the edges.  Roll up the dough, beginning with the bottom long side, up to the center.  Roll the top of the dough down to meet the other roll.  It will look like a scroll.  Using a sharp knife, bench scraper, or some dental floss, cut the scroll into 12 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches thick.  Place each roll, cut-side down, 1/2" apart on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Pinch the bottoms out so they look like hearts.  Mist the dough with cooking spray and cover loosely with plastic wrap. 

Let rise for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, or until large and puffy and almost touching. 

Preheat oven to 350F.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.  Let cool slightly while you prepare the icing.

In a small pan combine powdered sugar, 2 Tbs melted butter, lemon or vanilla, and 1 Tbs milk. If the glaze is too thick, add more milk, a teaspoon at a time, until a thick but pourable glaze is created.  Put the icing into a pastry bag or a ziplock-type bag with the corner cut off.  Pipe the icing onto the buns in a heart shape, following the swirls in the dough as a guide.

Makes 12 heart-shaped buns.