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Eightymillion

A DIY craft and photography blog. Dogs included.

December 11, 2012

DIY Food Gifts: Homemade Sugar Cookies (Part One)

December 11, 2012

 Here’s the third recipe that’s being using for my food gifts.  There’s a few variations to my sugar cookies this year, but when I got to the dog bones I decided they deserved a post all to themselves (just agree with me).
I’m choosing not to use frosting this year on any of the cookies in an effort to keep things simple.  I make a lot and when it goes to storing them before giving the cookies stick together.  I’ve tried the glaze recipes but haven’t mastered it yet.  So, to avoid all of that I explored other options for decorating the cookies.
Last week I visited my favorite shop in the whole wide world (seriously), The Calico Bean Market.  I shop there for several reasons.  Their seasonings are fresh, I find extra oddities that the supermarket doesn’t carry, they make fresh peanut butter while you shop, they sell the best cookie cutter shapes, and most of all, they are LOCAL!

To use a dog bone cookie cutter may not be very Christmas like, but I don’t care.  I use it every year no matter what holiday it is.  I guess you could say it’s very Jennifer like.

Before I forget, here’s the recipe.  Another one that my Mom passed along to me.

Sugar Cookies:
Ingredients:
1 C. margarine
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp. of vanilla
1/2 tsp. of almond extract
1 egg
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
Oven at 375 degrees.  Baking time?  Couldn’t tell ya.  Just watch them close.  Depending on the size of the cookie cutter and depth of your dough baking times will vary.  The dog bone cookie cutter that I used is two inches long and one inch wide.  They took roughly five minutes.
Supplies:
Cookies cutters of choice
Rolling pin
Extra flour along with some in a bowl
Baking sheets (I like using the air bake ones)
Parchment Paper (optional, but it works great)
Cooling rack
Decorations for cookies (your choice).  With these I used vanilla almond bark and mini chocolate chips
Instructions:

Cream together the margarine and powdered sugar.  Add the vanilla, almond extract, and egg.  In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.  Sift the dry ingredients into the cream mixture.  This is the part where you can now take a break to lick the beaters.  Cover the bowl with an airtight lid or transfer the dough into another container with a lid.  Refrigerate for a couple of hours until the dough sets enough that you can roll it out.  I made the dough the night before I rolled them out.  That works fine.  I use my Lock n’ Lock containers to ensure their freshness.
When your ready to roll out your cookies make sure you put a nice amount of flour on the counter to prevent it from sticking.  *Bakers tip*  I found that dipping the cookie cutter in a bowl of flour each time prevented any dough from sticking to it.  I’ve heard of people spraying them with cooking spray, but this worked fine for me. 
I may of went a bit crazy on the flour, because as you can see once they were ready to go into the oven I had plenty still on the cookies.  What I did was took the corner of a paper towel, slightly wet it, and dabbed those cookies with the most flour on them.  I wonder if using a pastry brush dipped in water would also work?  I’ll have to try that next time.
At first I wasn’t sure how I wanted to decorate them.  Then I came up with the vanilla almond bark and mini chips combination.  
I’m most pleased with how they turned out.  How do they taste?  I’m not sure.  Haven’t tried them yet.  Being in the kitchen for three straight hours on my feet rolling out endless shapes of cookies had me pretty much sick of looking at them.  No worries though.  I had fun making them and have decided to make another batch of dog bones.  Three hours wasn’t enough time, right?  For the next batch I’ll use chocolate almond bark with semi sweet micro baking bits.  
I did other cut outs at the same time.  Those will be passed along in part two later this week.   
In case you missed the other two recipes I shared click here and here.  Today I completed another DIY project pertaining to recipes.  The project was for myself, but it would also make a simple and inexpensive gift for someone who loves to cook/bake.
Until the next word…
~Jennifer

Posted by Jennifer Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: Chocolate Lovers, Christmas Goodies, crazy dog mom, DIY Food Gifts, DIY recipe book, dog bones for dog people, food gifts, gift giving, Holiday baking, homemade sugar cookies, treats for dog people

December 3, 2012

DIY Food Gifts: Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches (Perfect for Holiday Gift Giving and Cookie Exchanges)

December 3, 2012

Last night I started my Christmas baking.  It was a perfect day to light the oven due to the on and off rain we received.  Plus it also made my house smell like a chocolate factory.
Skip the gift card this year and give that special person on your list something you know they’ll love.
A homemade gift!
I came up with this combination a few years back during the holidays.  Perhaps it was during my obsession with peanut butter cups.  It’s simple and has only three ingredients.  Enjoy!
 Ingredients:
*(2) 15oz. boxes of Ritz crackers (any generic brand works just fine, Ritz just happen to be on sale)
*Peanut Butter
*(2) .24oz packages of Chocolate Almond Bark
Supplies:

*(3) Cookie sheets.  (2) lined with either wax/parchment paper
*Tongs
*Double Boiler (or microwave safe dish)
*Butter knife
Using the butter knife make sandwiches with the crackers and peanut butter.  I stacked them all on one of the cookie sheets.  After I’m done I placed the cookie sheet in the frig so that they could set a bit.  This helps them from sliding around when we dip them in the melted bark.
I found a couple of vintage double boilers at the thrift store last winter.  Perfect for melting bark.  You can also use the microwave but watch it closely.  I’ve burned a few batches previously using that method. 
When the chocolate is smooth and creamy grab the tongs and dip away.  I find it best to grab the cracker in the center.  That way when the peanut butter hits the chocolate it doesn’t slide around.  Utilizing the two lined cookie sheets I fill one up and then rotate them in the freezer until all the sandwiches have been dipped.
When the chocolate has set I break off the odd pieces around the sandwich.  You’ll come across some of them that the sides weren’t completely covered or a few spots on top that are missing chocolate.  No worries.  A little imperfection adds character to the treats.
The recipe makes 11 dozen, plus 2 in which I ate right away.  They were good!  Perfect combination of sweet and salty.
I have a cookie exchange coming up later this month.  My first one actually.  I’m thinking of taking these.
I’ll have two more holiday recipes to share within the next couple of weeks.  I use to make a large assortment of goodies every year, but nowadays I’m lucky to find the time to make a few different ones.  I’ll be giving them as gifts to my clients.
I’ve also got some DIY recycling tutorials coming up on inexpensive ways to package these sinful little tastes of pleasure.
Be sure to check back soon.
Tomorrow starts another long work week.
Girl needs sleep.
Disclosure:  This isn’t a sponsored post.  The brands that I used were solely decided on by myself and no one else.  
Until the next word…
~Jennifer

Posted by Jennifer 6 Comments
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: Chocolate Lovers, Christmas, cookie exchange, DIY, food gifts, gift giving, Holiday baking, Holiday goodies, Homemade Peanut Butter Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

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