Tuesday, October 11, 2011

sugar cookies

good morning! i should start off with a warning that i'm on day two of a three-day juice cleanse, and i'm feeling a little loopy. starting every morning with a shot of chlorophyll (easily the most foul thing i have ever tasted) is in no way a stand-in for a nice, hot cup of coffee. i'm not doing this to try to drop weight or anything - just to be clear - but, rather, because i've been drinking beer like a sorority girl on spring break in europe.

all that said, i'm going to torture myself a bit and post some cookies i made over the weekend. a friend just got engaged (congratulations sharon!) and asked me to make cookies for her engagement party. each one got wrapped up with a little note that said, "will you be my bridesmaid?" (or groomsman, depending.) i had a lot of fun decorating them, each a little differently.

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i had a moment of panic when i woke up to make them, realizing that i have tons of sugar cookie recipes and wasn't sure which would be best for this kind of decorating; i decided to go with betty crocker, always reliable, and sure enough the dough was perfect. here's the (slightly modified) recipe:

1 stick unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 t raspberry flavor
a couple pinches ground vanilla beans
pinch of salt
1 egg
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 t cream of tartar
1 t baking soda

a friend of sam's owns a company that makes and bottles natural flavorings, and when she heard i was a pastry chef she very generously bestowed me with a basket full of many of her offerings. i've been waiting for a chance to try them out - this summer seemed way too busy (and hot) for baking - so i subbed in raspberry flavor and ground vanilla beans. the flavor was so good that i used them in some macarons later that day, too - subtle, and REALLY raspberry, not some weird fake-tasting concoction. it can be so hard to find good, unusual flavors, and her shop has tons of them, and at super affordable prices. /end shill.

start the butter, sugar and flavor in your mixer; beat them together until nice and fluffy and white. add egg (preferably at room temperature) and mix just until combined, then add the flour, tartar and baking soda all at once until it comes together in a dough (mix as little as possible.) refrigerate for at least an hour, until the dough is nice and firm.

preheat oven to 37roll it out until the dough is about 1/4 inch thick - they'll puff up a little when they bake. i then decorated mine with fondant i dyed and some royal icing i made. voila!

hope everyone had a great weekend!

xo audrey

15 comments:

  1. Those are gorgeous!!! I'm gonna pretend that the 'Rachael' one was meant for me.
    If you're looking for me, I'll be at my mailbox, drooling in anticipation....
    But seriously, that's so sweet of you to do. Do you have to say 'no' to people a lot? When people find out I do photography, it's like, "Oh! I know what'd make you happy! On your free time (what free time?!??) I bet you'd love to spend 12 hours snapping the photosesh I've been wanting to do!" Granted, it's usually something awesome and fun but... a girl needs a magazine and coffee day.
    Did you eat any of the cookies or is that against your cleanse?

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  2. yum yum yum. i can see the vanilla in the cookies, i bet they were delish. i wouldn't have wanted to eat mine though... unless i could have also eaten someone else's. just one cookie is never enough.

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  3. How adorable! Lucky Sharon! (And wedding party).
    I love trying new biscuit recipes but you definitely can't get raspberry flavouring here. We never have anything! Think the closest would be orange or lemon which could also be quite tasty.

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  4. Amazing. I'm always impressed by cookie decorating skillz. A friend of mine bought me some cute shapes for my birthday and I didn't have the heart to tell her I've never used a cookie cutter in my adult life.
    I've been thinking of doing a juice cleanse (for similar reasons) Wondering what your recipes for THAT are...

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  5. Bake, channel a the gamines of the past, cook like a fiend, AND have the willpower to cleanse like that?
    Are you a superhuman or what??? ;)

    The cookies are divine!

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  6. They are absolutely adorable!!!!
    What a nice way to celebrate your friends engagment <3

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  7. I think that those are the cutest coockies I've ever seen and I'm sure they look delicious! My adorable husband bake cakes every week...maybe I should try to juice cleanse formula as well...BTW, I really like your blond pixie cut!

    http://notjustaprettydress.blogspot.com

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  8. cookies look awesome!!!

    If you have been drinking alot you should try taking milk thistle...it's a all natural supplement and i highly recommend it. It cleans out your liver...it's great. You can get it at GNC or CVS or Rite Aid...basically where ever they sell vitamins.

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  9. These are adorable! They look like they were fun to decorate. Are the pearl waist and red tie for the maid of honor and best man? Awwwww =)

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  10. Aww, I love them! What a cute idea! I bet they tasted awesome too!

    I have heard wonderful things about juice cleanses but I have absolutely no willpower. I think I would give up after 4 hours. You are a brave and strong gal. ;)

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  11. these are so freakin adorable, love them!!

    Krystle
    http://dearwinsome.blogspot.com/

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  12. these are so sweet, i love them!

    Katie x

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  13. Ohw fantastic! So cute and sweet! Would love to taste one ;-)!

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