Giant Sugar Cookie

My Mimi turned 90 years old yesterday and to celebrate with her friends and family we decided to make a giant decorated cookie. We thought it would be less messy than a cake, and we did not know how many would be attending her party because formal invitations were not sent out. The party went very well and my Mimi had a happy day.
This recipe is actually the base for a cookie pizza. You know the ones with the cream cheese frosting or dip with the fruit arranged in a circle on top. The cookie was crisp and buttery rather than soft and chewy. The recipe was very easy and a lot of fun to make something giant. I simply made a quick buttercream frosting and added hot pink food coloring for my icing. I lined my pan with a buttered parchment circle cut smaller than the pan for easy transfer. When the cookie came out of the oven I used a plastic knife to cut the edge off for a neat appearance. Final step was just some standard piping on top to finish. Not bad for a lefty with poor handwriting.

Giant Sugar Cookie
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
In mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugars, eggs, oil and extract. Blend together. In separate large bowl, add flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Add to creamed mixture and blend together. Spread dough into a greased pizza pan (16 inch). Bake at 375 degrees for about 17 minutes. (Ovens will vary; keep a close eye on it after 12 minutes.) Cool cookie and decorate as desired.

Cinnamon Shortbread

This morning’s recipe was rather awful which always sets a tone for my day. Who wants to start their day being a failure? Note to self, “Swiss Chocolate” cake mix will not work if the recipe calls for “Devil’s Food” cake mix.” Ah, live and learn.
This afternoon I quickly looked through an old church cookbook and I found a recipe for shortbread. I enjoy shortbread from time to time when I’m tired of chocolate. This was very easy to make and had a good flavor. Keep in mind that shortbread is not very sweet. It is a lot like the inside of those Snowball Cookies, Wedding Cookies, Mexican Wedding Cookies, whatever you like to call them. The cinnamon and sugar top gave it a bit of a sweet crunch. I do not think I baked mine long enough because there was a little hint of dough, but still good. Traditional shortbread can be complicated. There are a lot of rules in mixing it up and using 10x sifted superfine sugar. You must then dock the dough a certain way with a fork in a complete circle in the center of the pan and make a certain number of marks coming out from the circle. Really, come on, who cares? Cut it with a knife and move on. You know I say this now, but some rainy day in October I will have a post titled, “Traditional Shortbread” with all the docking and the circles.

Cinnamon Shortbread
2 c flour
½ c confectioner’s sugar
1 c butter, softened
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking powder
2 tab sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together flour, confectioner’s sugar, butter, salt and baking powder in medium bowl. Beat at medium speed until well mixed. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch square pan. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cut into bars while still warm.

Decorated Butter Cookies

I have wanted to try decorating cookies lately with some new recipes. This week is cookie week on Martha so I became inspired. Plus, today is BabyGirl’s, “1 month til she is 2” birthday. Since we learned in an earlier post that powdered eggs give me the hebe gebes I don’t really like a traditional Royal Icing on my cookies. I looked far and wide for a smooth glossy icing that did not include egg whites or meringue powder. The cookie recipe is a basic butter cookie from Wilton. However, the icing recipe came from Allrecipes which over 550 gave it a good review so I thought it must be good.
The cookie by itself was very tasty. A cross between a sugar cookie and shortbread. It baked up very nicely and the dough was easy to work with. It goes without saying that I was so excited to see that the dough did not need to be chilled. Yea.
The icing was a little hard to mix, but it does spread on the cookie very well. Do not think that I mistakenly put teaspoon when it should say tablespoon. The measurements are correct. You will see.

Wilton’s Butter Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix flour and baking powder; add 1 cup at time to butter mixture, mixing after each addition. The dough will be very stiff, so blend last flour in by hand (if dough becomes too stiff, add water, a teaspoon at a time). Do not chill dough.
Divide dough into two balls on a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Dip cookie cutter into flour before each use. Bake cookies on a cookie sheet on middle rack of oven for 6-7 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned. Let cookies cool before decorating.
YIELD: Makes 2-3 dozen cookies.

Cookie Icing
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup (Karo)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla extract (your choice)

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk. Beat in corn syrup and extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Decorate by dipping cookies, putting icing in a plastic bag with the corner cut off, or paint them with a brush.

Pressed Sugar Cookies

Warning-these cookies are addictive. The first time I had them I ate six, and that’s not really like me. My sister-in-law gave me this recipe a little while ago, and it is one that has been in her family for years. I was just sad that I have known her for all these years and I had not had this cookie experience until 2 months ago.
The dough is fairly simple to make, but you do have to chill it. We know how I don’t like to wait for dough to chill. Too impatient. It does make a lot of cookies-8 dozen! I decided to cut the recipe in half. However, as addictive as they are I should have made all 8 if I’m planning on giving any away.
The cookie is so light and delicate. I mean delicate. I jokingly commented the first time I had them that each one needs to be wrapped in bubble wrap to protect them. I’m not sure if it is all the butter fat in them that makes them so flaky or the powdered sugar. I think the light-as-air quality makes you want more.

Pressed Sugar Cookies
1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup oil
1 cup butter + 2 T flour
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
4 ½ cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp cream of tarter

Cream sugars, oil, butter and vanilla. Add eggs and dry ingredients. Chill 4-5 hours or overnight. Roll in balls and press flat with glass or cookie press dipped in sugar. Sprinkle with colored sugar if desired. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes.
Makes 8 dozen.