take me out

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Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

I got this recipe from The Joy of Baking. I did't have enoug hbutter in the house so I substituted a bit for shortening. It definitely changed the taste but they were still great! There's video here of them making the cookies and frosting them.

Sugar Cookies
Yeilds 30-40 cookies

3 cups (390 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter; at room temperature

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. 

2. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). 

3. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.

4. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.

5. Remove one half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch (1 cm). (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.) 


6. Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to baking sheet.


7. Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking. (Note: If you are not going to frost the baked cookies, you can sprinkle the unbaked cookies with sparkling sugar)


8. Bake cookies for about 8-10 minutes (depending on size) or until the edges are just starting to brown. 


9. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.


10. Frost with royal icing, if desired. Be sure to let the royal icing dry completely before storing. (This may take several hours or overnight.)

Royal Icing

2 large (60 grams) egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

1. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice. 

2. Add the sifted sugar and beat on low speed until smooth. 

3. If necessary, to get the right consistency, add more sugar or water.

4. Add food coloring, if desired. The icing needs to be used immediately or put in an airtight container as it hardens when exposed to air.

 

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Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes

I found this recipe on the New York Times website. Its from Magnolia, the famous New York bakery. How could I resist such an offer! I frosted the cupcakes to look like roses. At first, I hada lot of trouble making the roses look somewhat like roses but after a while they looked great!

Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes
Yeilds 24 regular-sized cupcakes

Cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing pans

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting pans

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour 2 12-cup muffin tins and then line with cupcake papers or grease. Mix the flours together in a bowl. In a glass measure, mix the milk and vanilla.

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk and the vanilla, beating well after each addition. Spoon the batter into muffin cups about 3/4 full.

3. Bake until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched, 20 to 22 minutes. Remove cupcakes from the pans and cool on a rack before icing.


Roses Frosting

You'll need a stiff frosting to make these roses as they will need to hold their shape. I used a store bought icing then added A LOT of icing sugar. I would not suggest this method. Make it from scratch! There are tons of recipes online and unfortunately I can't find the one I used the second time I made these so here is one that looks like it would work. I also added edible glitter to some of my cupcakes.

Here is a tutorial on youtube showing how to make the roses.

Bon Appetit!

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Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

These cupcakes were made for a fellow lifeguard's birthday this summer. The batter recipe came from my favorite cupcake book. The cupcakes were a huge hit. The recipe is for regular sized cupcakes, but I made them into minis, as per usual.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Yeilds 18-24 regular-sized cupcakes or 36-48 minis

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 ounces (1/3 cup) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped, melted
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup chocolate milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with liners.

2. Cream together the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Beat the melted chocolate into the butter mixture. Add the eggs, peppermint extract, and chocolate milk. Beat until creamy.

3. In a separate bowl combine the flour and baking soda.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and chocolate mixture until well blended. With a spatula stir in the chocolate chips.

5. Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
6. Frost the cupcakes using a mint Frosting. I used a ready made vanilla icing and then added mint extract, however you can make it from scratch as well.

Enjoy!

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lace & sugar

Welcome to the blog,
dedicated to my love for fashion and baking.
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