Sugar Cookies!

Christmas time in my family means one very important thing: Sugar Cookies!  Not just any sugar cookies, but Ethel's Sugar Cookies found in the Betty Crocker's Cooky Book; and while it might not be a family recipe per se, it definitely has become synonymous with my mom's baking.

This past October, I did some seasonal work as a decorator with Nadler's Bakery in San Antonio, who are known for their Deco Cookies, and it occurred to me that we didn't have to be a "Sugar Cookie Only During Christmas" family, but we could have them year round!

A few days ago, I decided that it was time to put that idea into motion!  Below is the recipe for my mom's (aka Ethel's) sugar cookies.

Ethel's Sugar Cookies

Makes about 4 doz. cookies. 

Ingredients:

 

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Directions:

Mix shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla thoroughly.  

Measure flour by dipping method or by sifting.  Stir flour, baking powder, and salt together, blend in.  

Chill at least 1 hr. (We usually leave it in overnight.  It can also be held for a few days.)

Heat oven to 400.  Roll dough 1/4" thick on a flour piece of parchment paper roughly the same size as a cookie sheet.  

Cut with your choice of cookie cutter.  

Drag onto your baking sheet.  

Bake 6 to 8 min., or until cookies are a delicate golden color.  Place on cooling rack until completely cooled.

To Decorate:

I choose to decorate shamrocks in honor of St. Patrick's Day!

For the Icing:

Take powdered sugar & add just enough milk to thin it out.  Add whatever food coloring you'd like.  I choose green.  Let it dry completely.

To Make the Royal Icing:

Take powdered sugar and add just enough eye whites to thin it out, but still make it thick enough to pipe.  Add whatever food coloring you'd like.  Once again I choose green, but these time a little darker green so it would stand out against the icing.

Here the cookies are with another St. Patty's Day project: Chocolate Chip Shamrock Bars.

St. Patrick's Day 2012: "Irish Car Bomb" Cupcakes

I have been so busy the last few weeks, that this is my first post in awhile.  Recently, I've quit my job, found another job, got ready for my booth at Castroville Market Days (only to have it rained out), and have been packing up all our stuff because this Saturday we are moving into a new loft!  We are extremely excited about this; the only problem is that Saturday also happens to be St. Patrick's Day.  Which brings me to my post. 

In honor of St. Patty's Day, I made "Irish Car Bomb" Cupcakes.  I've seen these little guys all over Pinterest and other websites and I have wanted to make them for awhile, so I thought what the heck!  Not only do I love the drink for which they are modeled after, but I also really really liked the cupcakes!  While they definitely have an alcohol flavor to them (mostly in the frosting) the rest of the cupcake is well balanced and really delicious.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes 
Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

1 cup Guinness stout
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temp

¾ cup cocoa powder
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1½ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

For the Ganache:

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp butter, at room temp
2 tsp Irish whiskey

For the Frosting:

2 cups unsalted butter, at room temp
5 cups powdered sugar
6 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream

To Make the Cupcakes:

Set oven to 350.  Line cupcake pans.  In a medium saucepan, bring the Guinness and the butter to a simmer.  Add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.  Let cool slightly.

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.  Beat the eggs and sour cream together.  Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat until combined.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients; folding with a spatula to combine completely.

Divide batter among the liners.  Bake until done, about 18 minutes.  Cool completely.

Next make the Ganache Filling:

Pour the chocolate chips into a metal bowl.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan until just simmering and pour over the chips.  Let sit for a minute and the stir until smooth, starting in the center and working your way outward.  Add the butter and whisky; stir until combined.  Let cool until thick enough to be transferred to a piping bag.

To fill the cupcakes:

Take a large piping tip and insert it into the middle of each cupcake; twist and remove, thus cutting out a small hole.  Take the ganache and fill each cake to the top. Make sure you let the ganache thicken up or else it will spill everywhere!

**If you are going to freeze these; this is the step you would stop on!

Make the Frosting:

Using an electric mixer, whip the butter for about 5 minutes; scraping the bowl occasionally.  Reduce the speed and add the powdered sugar slowly.  Add the Baileys and whip until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Finally:

Decorate however you choose!

**Quick note: If you haven't tried the drink yet (and you are over 21, of course), you should make that a must try this St. Patrick's Day!

Irish Car Bomb (The Drink)

1/2 oz Bailey's Irish Cream
1/2 pint Guinnes Stout
1/2 oz Irish Whiskey

Pour the Guiness (chilled) into a beer mug and let it settle.  Take the whiskey and put it in a shot glass, add the Bailey's on top.  Drop the shot into the beera and chug immediatley.  If you don't drink it quick enough, the drink will start to curddle and it's pretty gross!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

National Pi(e) Day

Today, March 14 (3.14) is National Pie Day according to the American Pie Council.  The American Pie Council, or APC, states that they are "the only organization committed to preserving America's pie heritage and promoting American's love affair with pies." They are "designed to raise awareness, enjoyment and consumption of pies..."

In honor of such an important baking day, I decided to bake one of my favorite pies: Key Lime.  The recipe I chose to adapt was actually the 1999 APC's National Pie Championship's first place winner.

Recipe for Easy Key Lime Pie

Ingredients:

5 egg yolks, beaten

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup key lime juice

Graham Cracker crumbs

Sugar

Melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Make the crust.  I used the recipe on the back of the Keebler box.

Combine the yolks, the condensed milk, lime zest and lime juice. 

I had some pretty dry limes, so I popped them in the microwave for a few seconds.

Mix well and pour into the graham cracker shell. 

Bake for about 15 minutes.  Allow to cool.

Top with whipped cream. 



Yum!

Happy 3.14 Day Everyone!

For more information on National Pie Day or the APC check out their website: http://www.piecouncil.org/

Flavored Teas: Lemony Spiked Sweet Tea

Despite the fact that it is currently in the low-60's, rainy and windy; just a few days ago the temperature almost reached 90 and the sun was out and shinning.  It was starting to feel like spring, which in Texas does not get to stick around very long.  Usually we go from winter, to a month of so of spring, and then to about six months of summer.  Needless to say, when spring starts to arrive, everyone looks forward to it.

After the one spring-like day last week, the temperature has gone back to being cold, at least for Texans it cold... but during that one warm day, while I wore a short sleeve shirt (no jacket) and a pair of flats (no socks having to keep my toes warm), I started to daydream about warmer weather.

One of my favorite things about spring and summer are the drinks that people only seem to make when the weather is warm; and being from the South, that drink is usually sweet tea.  While I love sweet tea just as much as the next Texas girl, I thought that the first "spring" day of the year deserved something a little more interesting.

I adapted this recipe from Martha Stewart's 60 Days of Summer.

Lemony Spiked Sweet Iced Tea

Ingredients

7 cups water

6 orange and spice tea bags

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/3 cups lemon juice

1 cup Bacardi rum

Fresh mint sprigs, optional

Directions

Bring 4 cups of the water to a boil in a medium saucepan and add the tea bags. Remove the pan from the heat, cover it, and allow the tea bags to steep for 5 minutes.

Remove and discard the tea bags. Add the sugar to the saucepan and stir until dissolved. Add the remaining 3 cups water and stir to combine.

Transfer the mixture to a pitcher... (make sure you use a funnel and do this over the sink or something, because as you can see, it can make a pretty big mess)

...and add the lemon juice and rum.

In a glass: add ice cubes, a few mint leaves and then pour or ladle the tea over top.

Cheers!  Here's to spring!

**Note: if you are not a fan of orange, you can always substitute other fruity flavors that go good with lemon, such as raspberry or strawberry tea!

Fat Tuesday

Even though I have only been to New Orleans once, and that was just this past December, I have always loved the city, the culture and of course, the cuisine, Mardis Gras has always been a fascination of mine & despite the fact that my husband half grew up in Louisiana, we have yet to go to Mardis Gras together!!

Every year though, I like to go all out for Fat Tuesday!  While traditionally Fat Tuesday symbolizes the last days before lent begins, I am not Catholic (although my husband sometimes is!), so I use the day as an excuse for making as many Cajun foods as possible!  It doesn't hurt that Cajun food is one of my favorites, or that my dad has been making it for as long as I can remember...

This year, I decided to make Gumbo using an Instant Roux mix we bought at the Winn Dixie in Destrehan.

While I would normally make my own roux (butter and flour), I was really excited to try out this new item!  

Quick Review on Tony Chachere's Creole Instant Roux Mix:

I thought it made a really nice, dark roux; darker normally than I use, so if you like thinner gumbo, I would use more water or less of everything all together...  The downside to the mix was that just for one pot of gumbo, I had to use almost half of the canister; so really the mix cost me about $4 and I used $2 for one meal.  Cost wise, it would be much cheaper to just use butter and flour, but the mix is quick and if you aren't comfortable with making a roux, the mix is definitely a good choice for you!  Another downside is that except for that Winn Dixie, I have never seen the Mix in any other stores.

Chicken, Sausage & Okra Gumbo

Ingredients:

1/2 green bell pepper, sliced

1/2 white onion, sliced

10 cups cool water

1 cup Ton Chachere's Instant Roux

1 roterrise chicken (original)

1 lb smoked sausage

1 Tbsp garlic powder

Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning

Directions:

Saute bell peppers and onions until tender.

Make the roux: Whisk together 1 cup mix and 2 cups water.  Bring to boil.

Chop up the chicken and the sausage (our grocery store didn't have andouille, so I had to use a-not-as-good kind of sausage; this really does make a difference!)

Add the remaining 8 cups of water, the chicken, sausage and the okra.

 

 Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning (aka the best seasonings ever!)

Serve with steamed white rice.

For dessert, I did a take on a New Orleans classic, Bananas Foster (a personal favorite).

Sauteed Bananas in a Brown Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 stick of butter

1 cup of sugar

4 bananas

Vanilla Ice Cream

Directions:

Brown the butter.  Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.  Add the sliced bananas to the butter and sugar mixture.

Spoon the hot mixture over a few scoops of vanilla ice cream!  So delicious!

When we were in New Orleans a few months back, we picked up some cheap Mardi Gras decorations, so we put them up!