Day 35: Butter Cookie Jam Tots

mmmm....butter. This recipe boasts it is The WORLD's Best Butter Cookie. Okay, I won't argue, especially since I think it is the only butter cookie recipe I have tried. Honestly I just wanted a rolled cookie I hadn't made yet that would go well with Apricot Jam. This worked.

As usual, sadly, it is mostly about the appearance for me. The cookie has to look good. I think these look good. Oh yeah, and they taste really good too. Such a pretty cookie and so easy to do. Use any rolled dough you would like, roll out into any shape (being sure to pop something in the middle for the jam to show through), spread with any jam or jelly you would like and dust with powdered sugar. I love to do these at Valentine's Day with raspberry jam and a heart shaped cookie cutter.
This was not all I did today however, no indeed. Friday my son took some cookies to school for his Secret Santa gift. When he came home he told me how his whole class loved the cookies and raved about them. He then asked me if I could just whip up a plate of decorated cookies to take to the class. "Yeah right, I'll get right on that!" Did I mention I have a nasty cold/mild flu?? But eventually my vanity coupled with a stressfull week at work got the better of me. Yes, I spent the entire day making cookies, decorating cookies, scrubbing my hands alternated with laying on the couch until the dizziness subsided. At the end of the day,which I suppose is right now, these cookies made me very happy.

More Christmas Cookies! Hooray! And a few more tips

Decorating cakes and cookies is my favorite part of baking. But before I can even begin to think about decorating cookies for any occasion, I need inspiration. I look at dozens of pictures of decorated cookies just to get ideas and see things I never even thought to do. Here are some of the cookies I have made so far and a few more tips for decorating cookies.

our dogs, of course

in no particular order...

1. If your plan is to bond with your children over holiday baking, be realistic. Most kids, like me, could really care less about the whole baking process. Do them and yourself a huge favor and have the cookies made and ready . Cover your entire house in plastic.

2. Keep a bowl of hot water in your sink for pastry dips, small bowl, spoons, etc. Trust me on this one, just do it.

3. Think outside of the Snowman. Any cookie cutter or shape can be a Christmas cookie. Slap some green and red in there somewhere and voila!

4. Small dots and sanding sugar (colored sugars too) can cover up almost any mistake. Big mistakes, add a lot of candy.

5. Go for a cookie and icing that actually taste good. The color flow I mentioned in a previous post...not so much. Otherwise you might as well be using salt dough and paint.

6. When rolling out your dough don't be afraid of thickness. The are supposed to be Christmas Cookies, not Christmas Crackers.

7. Go 3D! My mom used to push cookie dough through a garlic press and make "hair" for the gingerbread people.

8. Sometimes less is more. I know, I know, you are on a roll and having fun and have lots of great ideas. But you have to know when to put the cookie down and say "done".

9. See above...there is a fine line between polka dots and diseased, know when to say when.

Day 25:Decorated Cookies...Finally

This is my favorite part of making cookies...decorating them!! Over the past years I have to admit I have made some beautiful cookies. The challenge is always finding an icing recipe that looks good but still tastes good. Royal Icing is always the "go to" and great for gingerbread houses, but not so great for actually eating the cookies. Buttercream tastes great but doesn't set spread evenly or give a nice sheen and smoothness.

Last year I used a delicious cookie glaze made with powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and corn syrup. It sets up great, spreads well and best of all, it tastes really good. Unfortunately, you can't get a lot of detail with it and it's not great when you want multiple colors on one cookie. Tonight was my first time using Color Flow. Easy to make, easy to use. We'll have to just wait to see how it tastes.