Recipes

Snickerdoodle Cookies

adapted from Joy of Baking

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Coating:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, and baking powder.  Set aside.  In standing mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light.  Add eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated.  Add vanilla.  Slowly add flour mixture until you have a well-combined dough.  Ball up dough and cover with plastic cling wrap, then place into fridge.  Let sit until firm (about an hour).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking sheets.  Combine coating sugar and cinnamon into a small bowl.  Ball up dough and roll around coating, then place on pan.  If desired, flatten balls slightly with thumb.  Bake until edges are light brown and firm (at least 10 minutes).  The centers will be slightly soft.  Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Gingerbread Cutout Cookies

adapted from Gingerbread Cookies 101

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 large egg

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, and salt with a whisk.  In a standing mixer, cream butter and shortening together until smooth.  Add brown sugar and beat until light in color.  Beat in molasses and egg.  Gradually add flour mixture until combined to a stiff dough.  Divide batch into two halves and cover each in plastic cling wrap.  Let chill in refrigerator until firm (few hours).

Preheat oven to 350°.  Dust work surface and rolling pin with flour.  Roll out dough to desired thickness (works well 1/8" - 1/4") on floured surface.  Cut desired shapes and transfer to cookie sheet prepped with parchment paper or silicon baking mat.  Bake until edges are slightly firm, about 10 minutes.  Cool slightly, then transfer to rack to cool completely.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients:

• 5 egg whites (I've had success using 15 Tbs of AllWhites®  pasteurized liquid egg whites in a carton)
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 lb butter (4 sticks), cut up @ room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Heat up a pot of water on the stove until boiling.  Put your egg whites and sugar into your KitchenAid mixing bowl (I have the Artisan 4.5 qt metal bowl), and put that in your boiling water.  Tada!  Double boiler.  Whisk with a hand whisk egg whites and sugar gently.  Once the mixture hits 160° F, the sugar should be dissolved (about 3 minutes).  Remove bowl from double boiler and put into the mixer with the whisk attachment.  Whisk until you have stiff peaks and the egg whites have cooled (about 10 minutes).  Turn down speed and slowly add chunks of butter.  Once all the butter is incorporated, whisk on high until creamy smooth.

NOTE:  I really can't tell the difference between the taste/texture of Swiss vs. Italian meringue buttercream.  My Italian MBC recipe is basically the same ingredients except for an additional 1/4 cup water to help melt the sugar.  After many tries, I've never had success making Italian MBC with pasteurized liquid egg whites in a carton.  I was really skeptical that Swiss MBC would work with it, but it was perfect on my first try.  Perhaps the Swiss method is more stable for using those.