Steam driven cookies

There is a subset to the science fiction genre called Steampunk and the Underground Art Show chose it as their theme this year. Basically this fantasy sub-culture is what technology produced without electricity in the Victorian-era using steam driven engines would look like. Think Wild Wild West and you've pretty much got it or Willy Wonka, or the recent Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey, Jr.

Gear driven machines are at the heart of it all so my submission for the dessert table is all decked out appropriately. This post is more of a product review than anything else because these are just plain, rollout and iced sugar cookies. I knew what I wanted to do and talked to PBE's resident chef Teri, she had the solution, Wilton's Color Mist, a spray on editable color. I made my own stencils out of heavy cardstock and iced the cookies with royal icing to give a smooth base. Then laying the stencil over the cookie and gently spraying gave me the look I was going for. I played with different layers of color. Of course you can use this spray on any dessert and a quick spray would dress up plain white cake or cupcakes.

Things to know:

• Practice spraying first on something you can wash off
• Give yourself lots of space because there will be overspray
• Shake often, really shake a lot
• Spray in a sweeping motion so as not to "puddle" the color
• Let dry at least an hour before stacking or adding another color

I do like this product and for about $4 a can it wasn't too pricey.

And, if you lived in the Victorian-era and played guitar, this might be what an electric one looked like. Google for more creative examples of this fantasy world "Steampunk".

lemon, lemon, lemon

I like lemon just about everything, well with the exception of lemon Jello not so much!!

The following recipe was delivered to my facebook page. We have a birthday celebration function in a couple a days and the celebrant loves lemon, so these will be perfect I'm hoping. And this is easy cause you use prepared mixes. I know for all you bakers you are just shuddering, but sometimes ya just have to cut corners to save time.
Lemon filled sugar cookies
1 pouch of Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup whole almonds, peeled
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 jar of lemon curd (surprise I have a jar I made )
2/3 cup canned whipped fluffy white frosting (yes canned)
1/2 cup cool whip type stuff
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon sliced almonds

• Heat oven to 375* Spray 36 mini muffin cups with a light cooking spray
• In a large bowl stir cookie mix, ground almonds, butter and cream cheese until a soft dough forms.
• Shape dough into 36 ( 1 1/4 inch) balls. Press each ball in the bottom and up the side of the muffin up. Careful because the dough does puff up some.
  
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Keep an eye on these cause they do brown easily. Cool completely in pan, about 30 minutes.
• Remove cookies cups from pan, fill each cup with about 1 1/2 teaspoon of the lemon curd.
• In a small bowl mix frosting and whipped topping until blended well. Spoon a teaspoon of the frosting mixture on top of the cookie cup. Top each with lemon peel and sliced almond. Store covered in refrigerator.

No change for high altitude cooking.

Plain but perfect

There are as many sugar cookie recipes as there are families. For roll out cookies I'd made the same recipe over and over until I found Sylvie's on Soul Fusion Kitchen. Perfect for cookie cutters but growing up I remember a plain sugar cookie with the tops dusted with sugar. As luck would have it I found a recipe to satisfy that old memory.

While celebrating Christmas at Mary's, my step-mother, I found some cookies she'd baked but didn't have out. She said they were a little stale. They were exactly what I was looking for, well not the stale part, but I asked her to send the recipe and now I make these regularly. I only make a half recipe because my darling and I would sit down and eat them all and four to five dozen is way too many.

They are dusted cinnamon and sugar and are made with butter and oil and couldn't be easier to throw together. I hope you enjoy them.

Sugar Cookies
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup margarine (I used unsalted butter)
1 cup cooking oil

Cream together – beat until fluffy.

Beat in 2 eggs

4 cups plus 4 tablespoons
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. In a small bowl, combine some sugar and cinnamon. Using the bottom of a drinking glass, spread with margarine, dip it into the sugar and cinnamon mixture, and press on top of each cookie. Cook for about 10-15 minutes.

Sending our love

She liked Valentine's Day almost as much as Christmas. When lil bird was old enough to stand on a kitchen chair mom would have her over to make cookies for that special day. I know when she went off to college lil bird got a package of hearts from her beloved grandma.

So in honor of our mother/grandmother I made some sugar hearts. When I looked for the meringue powder to make Royal Icing I remembered I'd run out around the holidays. Yikes. I recalled a recipe in an old cooky cookbook and what did I have to lose. It turned out fine so on Wednesday I'm off to deliver these hearts to a special person. I did save some for the Gypsy Caravan* that is arriving tomorrow afternoon.

Here is the recipe. Using the meringue is much easier but this works in a pinch.

Royal Icing

2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla ( or other flavoring)
food coloring

Using a stand mixer, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff. Gradually beat in 1 cup of sugar. Beat five minutes. Beat in secon cup of sugar; beat 10 minutes. During last few minutes of beating, add vanilla and food color for the desired color.

I made one mistake on this. I thinned some of the icing to flow on easier and it didn't dry as well. I have no idea how to thin this recipe. It turns out the unthinned iced cookies looked just as good.

*Editor's note: For those new to this blog. Sister doodles and her beloved are the Gypsy Caravan. They've sold everything, packed up their trailer, and are off on an extended adventure. You can read about them at her blog, Tombstone Tumbleweed.