Fourth of July Fireworks Cookies

Do these cookies look familiar? You might have seen them at the checkout counter recently. They are on the cover of the Martha Stewart Living magazine July issue. I think they are really cute and festive. I made these in advance for a BBQ I'm going to on Monday.


I also made a few simple stars outlined in red and blue with a little sanding sugar on top.


BTW, here is how I use and store my royal icing. I love these piping bottles from CK. I buy mine at a local bakery supply shop but you can also purchase them through Amazon. Also, so the tips don't dry out, I store the bottles upside down in a large cup with a damp paper towel on the bottom when I'm decorating the cookies.


I hope everyone has a safe and happy JULY 4TH!!!


Ingredients:

FOR THE COOKIES
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 teaspoon baking powder
Coarse salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

FOR DECORATING THE COOKIES
Red, White, and Blue Royal Icing (HERE is my royal icing recipe)

Directions:

Make the cookies: Sift flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a large bowl.

Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, then vanilla. Refrigerate dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough to a scant 1/2-inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut out cookies using a 1 3/4-, 2 1/4-, 2 3/4-, or 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, rerolling scraps once. Transfer to a baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Bake until edges just start to brown, 10 to 12 minutes or until edges become golden. Transfer cookies to a wire rack, and let cool completely.

Decorate the cookies: Pipe an outline of white icing around edge of 1 cookie, leaving a 1/4-inch border, then "flood" with more white icing to cover.

Immediately pipe a red or blue dot in the center of cookie. Then pipe concentric rings of colors around the center dot (using the same color as the dot, or alternating colors).

Immediately drag a toothpick through the colors to create bursts, starting from the center dot and working toward the edge, then alternate dragging inward and outward as you work around the cookie. (Or drag around the cookie in 1 direction or curve the lines for a pinwheel effect.) Let dry. Repeat with remaining cookies and icings.

Source: Slightly adapted fromMartha Stewart

Fortune Cookies

I've been wanting to make fortune cookies for some time now. So, when I had chicken and vegetable stir-fry on the menu this week, I decided it was time to find a recipe and give it a try.

I looked through Tastespotting and found this recipe from Martha Stewart on several blogs. I also read over everyone's tips for making these, which was very, very helpful. The biggest tip is to only make 2 at a time (yes, it will take a while to make a complete batch). You will only have seconds with each cookie to shape, so making the entire batch all at once wouldn't work.

I wrote up cute little sayings that my son could read. Next time, I'll also include some with just a small picture for my daughter because she doesn't read yet.



The cookies continue to cool in the muffin pan which helps them keep their shape.


We loved how these cookies tasted...way better (fresher) than anything from your local take out place. However, my cookies never got completely crisp :( The center stayed a little soft. I don't think it's anything I did wrong, because I later read that others have had the same issue. I think I'll try this recipe next time. Overall, I considered these a success. We all loved them!



Ingredients
Makes about 15 cookies (this is 1/2 of the original recipe)

2.5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
Pinch of salt
1.5 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites and sugar, and beat on medium speed, about 30 seconds. Add flour and salt, and beat until combined. Add butter, heavy cream, and almond extract, and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.
Pour 1 tablespoon of batter onto half of the baking sheet, and spread with the back of a spoon into a thin 3.5-inch circle; repeat on the other half of the sheet.

Bake until the outer 1/2-inch of each cookie turns golden brown and they are easy to remove from the baking sheet with a spatula (7-8 minutes).

Working quickly, remove the cookie with a spatula. Place a fortune in the middle of a cookie. To form the fortune cookie shape, fold the cookie in half, then gently pull the edges downward over the rim of a glass, or mug. Place the finished cookie in the cup of the muffin tin so that it keeps its shape. Continue with the rest of the cookies.

Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart

Lemon Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I was totally craving strawberry lemonade cupcakes a week ago and set out to find the perfect lemon cupcakes and fresh strawberry frosting.

The first cupcake batch I made was good but not quite what I was looking for. The cupcakes were dense and the lemon flavor was bit subdued. I tried again a few days later and found this recipe. It was a bit lighter than the first and brushing the tops with fresh lemon juice after baking helped add more flavor. I'm still looking for a really great lemon cake recipe though, so if you have one send it my way.

While the cupcakes were good, the frosting was AMAZING!!! I don't know why it took me so long to try a Swiss meringue buttercream (probably the whole egg white thing) but now I'm hooked. This frosting is so silky smooth and not sugary sweet tasting like a traditional (confectioner's sugar) buttercream. Plus, I loved the taste of the fresh strawberries in this frosting...perfect for this time of year when strawberry season is at it's peak.

One more look because I'm obsessed.


Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon peel and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition (batter will be thick).
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. *Poke the top of the cupcake 3-4 times with a tooth pick. Then brush the top with fresh lemon juice*Frost cupcakes. Yield: about 2-1/2 dozen.

Source: Taste of Home


Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1-1/2 cups (8 ounces) fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled (6-8 big strawberries)
4 large egg whites
1-1/4 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

Puree strawberries in a food processor and set aside.

Combine egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until the mixture is warm to the touch and sugar is dissolved (the mixture should feel smooth when rubbed between your fingers) and the temperature reaches 155 degrees.

Pour egg whites with sugar into a stand mixer fitted with whisk. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form about 10 minutes and the bowl is cool.

Switch to medium-low speed and add butter a few tablespoons at a time. Mix well after each addition. After all the butter has been added scrape down the bowl and switch to paddle attachment.

Continue beating on low speed until buttercream becomes smooth. Don’t worry if the buttercream starts to look curdled. Just keep beating until it comes together. Then add strawberry puree and beat until combined.

Source: Martha Stewart

Rocky Road Shortbread Cookies

My wonderful next door neighbor has been doing a holiday cookie exchange for 3 years now. The first year she invited me, I was pretty nervous about what cookie to make. I didn't really bake much at the time and settled on a chocolate chunk cookie by Wolfgang Puck. The cookies were good but did not really stand out as anything special.

I did much better next year when I made these Martha Stewart peppermint chocolate cookies:

They are the perfect holiday cookie. The inside is a homemade thin mint, surrounded by sweet, white chocolate and topped with crushed peppermint candies. Everyone loved them and people were still talking about them this year!

For the recipe, please click HERE. One thing you should know about this recipe though, is that it is pretty time consuming and a bit fussy (as I find most of Martha's recipes to be). By contrast, the rocky road shortbread's I made for this years party were very easy but still looked and tasted great. The recipe comes from Family Circle magazine and everyone seemed to really enjoy them. My husband gave these a big thumbs up too.

The cookie exchange party...so many yummy cookies, so little time!


Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup walnuts (or pecans), finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a large baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.

Blend flour, nuts (finely chopped) and salt in a bowl. In a second bowl, beat together butter, sugar and vanilla for 2 min. or until creamy and smooth. Stir in flour mixture.

Roll 1 tablespoon dough into a ball; place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Gently flatten each ball to a 1/2 inch thickness and smooth it's edges. Bake for 16 min or until lightly browned at edges.

Meanwhile, stir together marshmallow and coarsely chopped nuts in a small bowl. Melt semisweet chocolate chips in another small bowl in microwave.

Remove cookies from oven and spread with a teaspoon the melted chocolate, then sprinkle with the marshmallow mixture. Return to the oven for 1-2 minutes, until the marshmallows soften. Let cook on backing sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.