Happy Halloween Sugar Cookies

As much as I hate to admit it, this only-posting-on-the-very-last-day-of-the-month thing is becoming more common than I would like. This month it works out okay though because it's Halloween today!! I know there were a ton of cute creative Halloween projects that I missed out on, but one that I had always wanted to try was homemade sugar cookies. I've never really been a fan of eating them because the ones that I have had were way too sugary and sweet even for me, but I thought I'd give them a shot anyway because they look like fun to make. I also had a bit of an ulterior motive in making these cookies because I had volunteered to make some cross shaped cookies for my God daughter's Baptism and I wanted to bake a practice round first. With Halloween coming up, I figured they would be the perfect theme for my first batch of sugar cookies. I had a lot of fun making them and they weren't too detailed for a first time cookie decorator.

So here's what I discovered about making sugar cookies: it takes a loooooonnnnggg time!!!! Of course I learned more than that, but that is the main thing I realized after my 10 straight hours of cookie baking/decorating. After this experience, I have a whole new respect for Glorious Treats, which is where I got the base for all of my recipes and tips for this project. She always has beautiful, creative sugar cookies, but I can only imagine how many hours she spends in her kitchen!  Don't get me wrong though; I enjoyed being able to pour so much love & care into creating sugar cookies because it takes a good bit of time and patience.

With so many carefully decorated cookies on hand, Jimmy & I took some to our next door neighbors to introduce ourselves since a couple of them were new to the neighborhood. I also sent some to friends and family, and they held up surprisingly well through UPS. Unfortunately, I will admit I ate about a half dozen myself...and they were definitely more "treat" than "trick!" I cut back the sugar in the icing recipe and they turned out to be the perfect sweetness for my taste. Since it may be a little late to make these for Halloween, you can use the same recipes for some fun Thanksgiving themed cookies or of course for some cheery Christmas ones. Like it or not, the holidays are here and you can celebrate each one with sugar cookies!

Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
Parchment paper

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer (using the paddle attachment if you have it or if not just the regular beater whisks) cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy or about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat another minute or so. Slowly add the flour mixture and use a spatula to scrape the sides as needed. Blend until all of the flour is incorporated and the dough begins to form a ball. Take out the dough and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Knead the dough a few times with your hands and separate it into 2 pieces. Wrap each piece in parchment paper and place the dough in a large Ziploc bag. Refrigerate for about 2 hours or in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes. You may want to set a timer if placing it in the freezer as it will take a few hours to defrost if it gets too frozen. Even after pulling it out of the fridge, it will need to sit for about an hour before it's pliable enough to work with. Once the dough is about ready to roll out preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Stagger the time (about 1-2 hours apart) you take each half out of the fridge to keep the dough at the right temperature. Roll out dough to 1/3 inch thickness & cut out shapes. 

Once your tray is full of similar sized cookies, place it in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes right before going into the oven so that they'll keep their shape. Decorate with Royal Icing.

Recipe source: Glorious Treats

Royal Icing Recipe

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons Meringue Powder
3 cups powdered sugar
6 Tablespoons warm water

1/4 teaspoon Almond Extract

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Make sure all bowls and utensils are totally grease-free to ensure icing sets properly. Beat all ingredients until stiff peaks form. Divide white icing into individual bowls and add food coloring. Transfer into piping bags or squeeze bottles and decorate with love!

Recipe adapted from Glorious Treats. Visit her site for in-depth tutorials about cookie decorating and more creative sugar cookie ideas.

My Brownie Cookie Love Affair

These brownie cookies were sooo irresistible that one bite turned into two, then three and...well look at the almost empty glass of milk! 

 I'm not much of a cookie girl when it comes to my favorite sweets, but these brownie cookies have stolen my heart! Brownies have always been a go-to item when I want an indulgent and comforting treat, so I had high hopes for this new take on them. To say these sweeties delivered on their promise would be an understatement considering that I have already made them 3 times and really had to contain myself each time. I will admit though, that the second time I made them I wasn't as impressed. As it turns out, using unenriched, unbleached flour was the downfall of the second batch even though they were still pretty good. The unbleached flour gave the cookies a more crunchy texture that felt kinda dry to me in comparison to the rich, chewy texture of the first & third batches.
So, if you like a crunchy cookie, try unenriched,
unbleached flour, but if you like the soft & moist texture of say, the middle brownie of a batch, than go with unenriched, bleached flour. It still has a slight crunch on the edges that give it that cookie feel, but the inside is so soft and almost fudgey yet not too sweet. I could go on and on about the deliciousness of these treats, but the more I describe them and drool over these pics, the more I am tempted to make another batch! As it is, my thoughtful hubby had to practically pry a dozen from my death grip to take to his coworkers so we wouldn't gain five pounds over the weekend. I love to share my creations with them, but I will admit that it was hard to part with these this time. Actually, I'm starting to worry that with all of the goodies I've been experimenting with lately, I may have to skip out on any summer activities that involve wearing a swimsuit in public this year! Believe me, it'll be a small price to pay, so do yourself (or a loved one) a favor and bake these gems today!

Thank goodness I would be seeing my brother the week I made these so I could unload all these tempting treats on him!

Brownie Cookie Recipe

½ cup butter
4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 cups (18 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (I recommend unenriched, bleached flour which is most common)
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup roughly chopped walnuts (optional)

Combine butter, unsweetened chocolate, and 1 ½ cups chocolate chips in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter and chocolate melt (will be slightly thick). Let cool while separately you combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl, set aside.

Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla at medium speed with an electric mixer. Lower speed and gradually add dry ingredients to egg mixture. Then add the chocolate mixture and beat well. Stir in remaining 1 ½ cups chocolate chips and walnuts.

Scoop dough (should resemble thick cake batter) onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper about 1 inch apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-14 minutes. Carefully remove cookies from baking sheets leaving them on the parchment paper and transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Pure and Yummy