Christmas Sugar Cookies

Since I didn't work this year for Christmas break, apart from babysitting, I had a lot of free time on my hands. So, of course, I decided to spend as many hours as possible baking and decorating cookies. I am so annoyed with myself though because I bought new food coloring, plastic piping bags and tips and cookie cutters when I had some in the closet at my moms house the entire time. It's ok, because I would have had to buy red anyway (but still annoying regardless) Thats a lot of $dough$ even with the killer Michaels discounts. And I also have all of my goods at Elon, so that was annoying too. But I actually use them there, so at least they weren't just sitting in another state for no reason.

Decorating these things is addicting. I'm ready for round 3….

Christmas Sugar Cookies 
I got the recipe here and followed the advice from the comments

Ingredients

1 ½ cups butter, room temperature

3 cups of sugar

4 eggs

5 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 tsps vanilla

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large together, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs and vanilla.

In 3 increments, add the flour mixture to the large bowl, using a spatula (not the mixer).

Either cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or over night. You can also separate the dough into two balls or disks and wrap in plastic wrap. (It was hard digging out the hard dough from the bowl, so I prefer doing it this way and breaking off pieces at a time)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly flour your work space and rolling pin and roll out the dough to about ¼ to ½ inch thickness. Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter and place on a silpat or tin foil (I rotate between the two because I only have one silpat)

If your oven maintains a consistent temperature, bake for 6 to 8 minutes – making sure the edges don’t get too brown. A faint brown edge is ok, but maintaining a light tan color is preferable.  Cool completely.

For my decorating icing I use this recipe from Sweetopia, but I add a teaspoon or so of almond extract to tone down the strong flavor of the confectioners sugar. 

The bite sized ones might be my favorite, although they are a little too easy to eat...

Soft and Chewy Ginger Snap Cookies

Sunday morning my mom and step-dad, Jon, drove to Houston for Jon's upcoming surgery. We were all pretty shaken up about the whole situation, so to wish them well I decided to make them ginger snap cookies. I thought these would be perfect because for one, they would still taste great after a few days at the hospital and two, my mom and Jon are actually obsessed with all things ginger: candied ginger, gingerbread, ginger rice, ginger cookies, ginger beer (I could go on and on). I have trouble with scary/emotional stuff like this, so baking for people is the only way I really know how to express how I feel. Its basically the only thing that really feels right. Because what do you say really? All I can think of is "it will all be fine. have a cookie."

But regardless of why you are baking cookies, this recipe is definitely a keeper and perfect for the holiday season. I can't wait to make more when I go back home. I would make them at school but molasses isn't an ingredient one generally keeps in a college kitchen cabinet....

(and the crazy part of it all is, I really don't like ginger. at all! but I love these cookies) 

Lemon Almond Cookies

This past week I was diagnosed with strep, an infection and for a while mono and some type of liver syndrome. Fortunately I didn't have mono or the syndrome, but either way, last week was actually hell. So 3 prescriptions, 4 visits to the health center, getting my blood drawn (hate this hate this hate this) and 4 shots in my lower back later, and I am finally feeling better. Unlike I did  in high school, I never go to the health center anymore unless I'm actually dying. Last year I thought I would never have another nurse like the ones at The Hill. That place was like my home away from home. They really took care of me, even when I didn't really need to be taken care of. But I was truly proven wrong after this week. It may not be the Hill School Health Center, what with their oh-so-sweet demeanor, chocolate pudding, and actually perfect bagels, but its definitely a close second. So to say thank you to the one nurse in particular that really really took care of me everyday, I baked her some lemon almond sugar cookies and dropped them off to hopefully brighten her day.

My Cookie Instagram (love this app. I feel so artsy!)

According to Beverly, the amazing nurse that took care of me, so many college students (AND parents, actually especially parents) forget to simply say thank you. That made me so unbelievable disappointed considering how much these women really do for the sick students and people that filter out of there every day. So to the probably 5 people that read this blog, remember to just be appreciative! You have no idea how big of a difference a simple thank you can be.

These cookies are actually delicious though

Ingredients 

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Zest of 2 large lemons
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions: 
Rather than pretend like this recipe is my own, just follow this link and the real creator will tell you how its done. The only thing I did differently was that I only rolled the cookies in sugar rather than sugar and more lemon zest. I thought they were zesty enough.
PS these cookies are MUCH better the day after or when they have become room temperature. Don't even bother tasting them right out of the oven because they aren't that great.

Chewy Sugar Cookies

So last year I fell in love with the sugar cookies at the Colonnades Dining Hall at Elon. I actually couldn't leave without taking at least two, maybe three of them every time they caught my eye. Looks like they changed their recipe or something (which could also be due to the fact that Courtney and I don't eat dinner there every night like we used too as a result of the influx of freshman, new colonnades residents and don't forget, new kitchen) but they don't have them anymore! Imagine my heartbreak. I did my research though (actually not really, allrecipes.com is genuinely pretty reliable. especially if a particular recipe has been reviewed 490 times). These cookies are like slice-n-bake combined with colonnades good. I put them spranks on there (not usually my style) to make them look just like the ones I used to eat from nades. Deliciously chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside. AND they taste better the next day. Not all cookies are as multi-talented....