Tag Archives: royal icing

Candy-coated Cut-out Cookies!

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Ruthanne

These buttery cut-out cookies are decorated in melted candy and designed to replicate our Josiah Venture Camps Theme for 2016!

There is so much to talk about with these little cookies! I will start with the WHY.

I work for an organization named Josiah Venture. We are a movement of God among the youth of Eastern and Central Europe that finds its home in the local church and transforms society. We plan over 100 evangelical camps each summer in 13 different countries, and each camp has the same theme. This year the theme is “Did You Get My Message?”, and this is the camp logo- on all of the t-shirts and banners and materials.

Last year, I made cookies that replicated our camp theme “You are Here” and they were such a hit that people asked if I planned to do this again… I’m starting to be a little afraid of the next year’s design!!! THIS year was pretty easy- and a lot of fun!

Now for the HOW.

Have you ever pieced two cookie parts together to make a shape not available in the cookie cutter world?

Me neither. When I was challenged to re-create this design in cookie form I knew I could get a hexagon cookie cutter- but how to add that cute little circle at the top? Then, how to decorate them without using Royal Icing? I’m not a fan of all the waiting for it to harden between colors.

Here’s what I did- and it worked (and tasted) GREAT. I realize you will want to make your own shapes and decorations- just adjust the amounts and colors of Wilton’s candy Melts accordingly. (For a printable cookie recipe, click here)

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 24 cookies)

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of butter flavoring
3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 bags of Wilton Candy Melts in blue (or in whatever colors you want to decorate in!)
1 bag of Wilton Candy Melts in white
1 bag of Wilton Candy Melts in red

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
Add eggs, vanilla and butter flavoring and mix well.
Add all dry ingredients and mix until able to knead into a firm ball of dough (add additional flour if necessary).
Roll out on a floured counter with a flour coated rolling pin to desired thickness (I made them fairly thick)
Cut into whatever shape you want- and if you want to join two shapes like I did, gently set one piece against the other on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet and press gently together.
Bake at 350F degrees for 8-10 minutes and slide off the cookie sheet (leaving on parchment paper) to cool.
I needed a full circle on top of each cookie, so I used a cookie marker to trace the cookie cutter as pictured.

I needed 2 items drawn on top of each cookie- an envelope and an question mark. I drew the envelopes out on my computer, found a good bold font for the question marks, and printed several sheets of these. I taped them under parchment paper and used melted white candy melts to trace them. To melt candy melts, you heat them in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring until smooth.
Then I took that same melted white chocolate and outlined the circle- using my lines as a guide.
Melted blue candy was used to outline the hexagon.

Finally, red candy melts are piped into the circle, filling it completely. I tapped the cookie gently on the table to get rid of bubbles before gently setting a question mark in the center. This step further cements those cookie pieces together.
The last step is to completely fill the hexagon with blue, tap out bubbles, and gently set an envelope in the center. I swirled a little white in the blue to copy the logo’s wave look.

Any squeeze bottle that can be fitted with a small round decorating tip will work, but aren’t these so fun? These are from the Kuhn Rikon Decorating Set. That’s a link to find them on Amazon, but I got mine in a clearance bin at Marshall’s and didn’t even know how much I would love them!

The best part about working in candy melts rather than frosting is that they harden up SO fast. No waiting between colors- and no bleeding of one color into another. Plus they taste like a cookie covered in white chocolate! The cons are color choice. You are fairly limited in what colors you can use- although the Wilton’s site does have this handy chart to help you mix colors. I will use this again- for sure. I loved it.

So. Fun. *smile* ~enjoy!!!

My role with Josiah Venture is as their intern coordinator. Every year we have over 100 college age interns that spend the summer in Eastern and Central Europe. They partner with local churches and help them reach young people through English, Music, and Sports camps, with the message that God loves them. We also invite churches from the US, Canada and the UK to bring groups of young people over to serve short term. I’ve taken two college-age groups over to Slovakia, and it is a life-changing experience! If you are a part of a church that might be interested in helping next summer, or you might be interested in being a summer intern- check out our website for more info. Applications for 2017 internships will be available in July!

Here’s a link to internship opportunities.

Here’s a link to short-term opportunities.

Here’s a link to a great video that explains more about who Josiah Venture is and what God is doing in Eastern and Central Europe.

Our 2016 interns!

Other cut-out cookie recipes you will love! (click on a photo to see the recipe)

3 Comments

The BEST Chocolate Cut-out Cookies Ever!!

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Ruthanne

They taste…like rich chocolate brownies. They cut…perfectly, no refrigeration needed. The recipe…is so simple to make! Absolutely perfect cookies!

Well. Here we are. It has been over a month since I have posted a recipe here, and I miss you all! It’s funny how blogging creates community, isn’t it? I’ve really missed hearing from you all, and reading many of your blogs!

So, what have I been doing? These cookies are more than just a recipe- they tell the story of summer in Eastern and Central Europe, and they tell the story of new chapter in my life.

For those of you who have followed Easybaked for years, you know I spent most of my life working in the field of medicine. You also know that I spent most of last year in Arizona, working with a small church on the Navajo Nation~ a journey and experience I absolutely LOVED.

When my time drew to a close with the Navajo, I wondered if I’d return to medicine, but God had other plans, and I was invited to join a mission organization called Josiah Venture as their Intern Coordinator. Josiah Venture’s vision is to be a movement of God among the young people of Eastern and Central Europe, that finds its home in the local church and transforms society. We have missionaries in 14 countries, and this summer there were over 100 college age interns sent to help local churches host camps and outreach events in their cities. My job is to recruit, resource and prepare these interns to go each year.

I’ve spent the 1st part of this year training for this position and raising the financial support I need to be able to do this job full-time. I was able to be in the Czech Republic at the end of May to welcome this year’s interns. It was incredible to see so many young people giving up their summer to serve God overseas. I loved it!

Each year, Josiah Venture has a theme for the summer camps hosted by local churches. This year it was “You are Here”. The logo was a Metro map. They used #urhere on Instagram and Twitter to connect people, and if you visit these hashtags you will see incredible testimonies of God’s faithfulness this summer!

I was invited to a cookout this summer with some missionaries visiting the US from Slovakia. I was asked to bring dessert- because when you have a baking blog, everyone asks you to bring dessert! 😉 I made these cookies for them, and they were SO much fun. I keep saying that I hate royal icing, but there are some times when it is your only option.

So… this is what I’ve been doing. It has been a struggle to keep baking and sharing with you all because it has been such a busy summer with so much travel. I keep telling myself that Easybaked is a HOBBY, and I am allowed to take a break for awhile. But I will be back- I promise! My head is swimming with new ideas 🙂

Before I share this recipe, I want to ask a favor. If you are reading this post, and you are a follower of Christ that wants to see the incredible news of God’s love shared around the world, would you consider becoming a part of my support team? I am slated to begin this position on September 1st and I am not fully funded yet- but I’m SO close! I am looking for people who are able to give toward this ministry on a monthly basis, and to pray.

If you are interested in learning more, here are a few links:

More about Josiah Venture here.

More about how to become a part of this ministry (and how to contact me with questions) here.

More about summer internships for college students interested in missions here.

More about me (my personal/ ministry blog) here.

Thank you dear followers, fellow bloggers, and friends. I have been asking God fervently to provide what I need before September 1, and who knows? Maybe he will answer my prayers through you!!!

Now, that cookie recipe!

It is the best cut-out cookie recipe ever. Plus it’s chocolate, which is bonus in my book!

I’ve shared this recipe many, many times on this blog. I’ve added espresso to the recipe for the delicious cookies posted above, I’ve made them into cookie cups to be filled with all sort of sweet happiness, and I’ve even made them into cookie lollipops. I don’t even feel bad re-sharing this recipe with you because it is one I keep returning to as a staple for so many ideas.

I simply cut this particular batch into squares, and decorated them using royal icing (click here for icing recipe) with the actual camp logo as a guide!

Here’s the cookie recipe (printer friendly recipe -by the way, this says to chill the dough, but you definitely don’t need to. Experimentation has proved otherwise! :))

INGREDIENTS: (makes 30-32 medium square cookies)

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Add butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa together in large mixing bowl.
Blend on medium speed with a mixer until smooth.
Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until smooth (use clean hands at the end, to knead into a soft ball of dough)
Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. I like them fairly thick.
Cut into squares and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 11 minutes until the edges are firm.
Gently slide parchment paper off of cookie sheet and onto a flat surface.
Frost as desired. A simple powdered sugar glaze would be delicious on these, or if you want to get fancy, use royal icing to create whatever your heart desires!

I hope you enjoy these delicious little cookies! Thank you for letting me share with you a little beyond the recipe today! *hugs* ~r

Here’s a few more of my non-baking stories from the past 2 years!

7 Comments

Posted in Cookies, Uncategorized and tagged best, chocolate, cookies, cut-out cookies, dessert, Josiah Venture, mission internships, missions, outreach, recipe, royal icing, summer camps. Bookmark the permalink.

Chocolate Crossword Cookies

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Ruthanne

These delicious chocolate cut-out cookies are the perfect way to spell out your love to Mom on Mother’s Day!

Goodness, I love these cut-out cookies. They are one of my very favorite chocolate cookies and they roll out and cut beautifully! I’ve used them often with various projects here on Easybaked.

This Mother’s Day is different. It is my very 1st Mother’s Day without a Mom. For those of you who follow me here at Easybaked, you know that we lost mom very suddenly last Christmas season to cancer. Almost every day feels strange without her here, but I guess Mother’s Day seems even more strange.

I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I would have a recipe this year here in celebration of Moms- and I said, “Yes!”

Moms are such a wonderful gift, and if you have one this weekend– give her a big hug and really enjoy having her in your life. I have no regrets about my time with my mom- we made so many wonderful memories together and I love thinking about all the times we spent talking and laughing in my 44 years.

This idea is for her. She was positively addicted to crossword puzzles, and I know that these cookies would have made her smile.

My icing skills are not something to be terribly proud of…man, I cannot draw a straight line!!!!

Here’s how we made them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 30, 1 1/2” square cookies)

1 sticks (1/2 cup) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Wilton’s candy melts (to mold or write letters with)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Add butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa together in large mixing bowl.
Blend on medium speed with a mixer until smooth.
Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until smooth (use clean hands at the end, to knead into a soft ball of dough)
Roll out cookie dough on floured counter, using a floured rolling pin.
Cut into 1 1/2″ squares and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 11 minutes until the edges are firm.
Gently slide parchment paper off of cookie sheet and onto a flat surface.
Before frosting, make letters by using a candy letter mold in 1″ letters. Pipe melted Wilton’s Candy Melts into the letters you need and allow them to harden completely before tapping to remove. You can also just “write” letters on the frosted cookies using melted chocolate or even use pens designed to write in edible ink.
Frost using Royal Icing. Click here for my printable royal icing recipe and instructions for use.
As soon as you frost, lay letters in place before the frosting hardens (if you are “writing” directly on the cookie you will wait until the frosting is very hard 1st).
Decorate extra cookies with fun sprinkles.

My thoughts: These are yummy little cut-outs! If you don’t want to go with a crossword theme, you can cut these into any shape and decorate them just for your mom!

I will leave you with a (very!) old picture of my mom and I together. I’m so thankful for all the years between this picture and now.

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

Looking for that perfect gift for moms and grandmas? Get them my cookbook- specially designed to use with kids and grandkids, teaching them both kitchen skills and about God’s love for them! Fun!!!

Life Is Sweet: 12 Baking Devotions for Kids

4 Comments

Posted in Cookies and tagged baking devotions, candy melts, chocolate, chocolate cut-out cookies, crossword cookies, cut-out cookies, dessert, fun, kids devotions, letter cookies, mom, mothers day, mothers day cookies, mothers day gift ideas, recipe, royal icing. Bookmark the permalink.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Cookies

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Ruthanne

These cute little pumpkin cutout cookies are chock-full of pumpkin spices and capture the tastes of fall in every bite!

I really dislike pumpkin pie. This time of year it is found everywhere! I’ve discovered that it is truly the pumpkin I dislike though- not the spices. These cookies offer all the yummy spices of pumpkin pie without a hint of actual pumpkin… plus they are cute as can be! These cookies can be cut into any shape you like and decorated accordingly. I had a hard time not eating them all up before I decorated them- so use frosting…or don’t…. maybe just cut them in circles and add a few sugar sprinkles to make them really easy!

Here’s how we made the cookies- and how we decorated them. (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of butter flavoring
3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 Tablespoons of pumpkin spice seasoning

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
Add eggs, vanilla and butter flavoring and mix well.
Add all dry ingredients and mix until able to knead into a firm ball of dough (add additional flour if necessary).
Roll out on a floured counter with a flour coated rolling pin to desired thickness.
Cut using a large (I used a 6″) round cookie cutter
Use a knife or pizza cutter to divide circle into even triangle “pie” pieces.
Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350F degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
Slide baked cookies onto parchment paper to cool completely.
To decorate, use royal icing (so it will harden into a firm shell) my recipe for that is here.
Use thicker icing to outline the shape of the cookie and then flood the inside of the outline with thinner icing.

Allow icing to harden up and then make the “crust” by using royal icing colored to match the cookies and swirling a loose “m” pattern across the end of each cookie.
Use a star tip to add a little white icing as “whipped cream”

Note: I wanted to add some cute factor to these yummy cookies and saw sugar cookies done as slices of pie on a REALLY fun blog called sweetsugarbelle.com. She does a GREAT job of showing the decorating process step-by-step, and I highly recommend you visit her site if you decide to make these cookies in slice form. The hardest part is the crust. I’m NOT a cake decorator and I really had to practice to get the crust to look acceptable. Her pictures and instruction were a big help! Plus the rest of this site is so addictive. Beautiful creations! Love it!

My thoughts: YUM. Seriously yummy cookies. If you are up for a challenge make them into pie slices, but if you just want some simply delicious and EASY cookies just cut these into fun fall or Christmas shapes and sprinkle with a little colored sugar. Don’t omit that butter flavoring- you can find it with other flavors and extracts at the grocery- it adds such a yummy flavor! Hope you get a chance to try these!!! Enjoy! ~r

Other fun Thanksgiving recipe ideas~ click on a photo to see the recipe:

16 Comments

Posted in Cookies and tagged autumn, cutout cookies, dessert, fall, pie, pie slice cookies, pumpkin, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pie cookies, pumpkin spices, recipe, royal icing, sugar cookies, thanksgiving, whipped cream. Bookmark the permalink.

Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Ruthanne

Dark chocolate cookies infused with espresso powder. Once you’ve had one you will be craving a plateful!!! They are really easy to make, and since they are a cut-out cookie they can be made in any shape you want. Aren’t the plain round ones so fun though???

Here’s how to make them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 36 medium cookies)

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 1/2cups sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons instant Espresso Powder
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

DIRECTIONS:

Cream together butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Mix in eggs and then cocoa.
Place vanilla and Espresso Powder together in a small cup until coffee dissolves. Add this mixture to the batter and mix until completely incorporated.
Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until smooth (use clean hands at the end, to knead into a soft ball of dough)
Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.
Allow cookie dough to soften a little at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Roll out cookie dough on floured counter.
Cut into desired shapes and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 11 minutes until the edges are firm.
Gently slide parchment paper off of cookie sheet and onto a flat surface. Cool completely before removing cookies from paper.

You can serve these cookies plain, or with a little cocoa powder sprinkled on top, or you can ice them.

I iced these with royal icing that I added a little espresso powder to.

For my royal icing recipe and techniques, click here.

To get the tiny heart shape at the center I used a little melted chocolate. While the icing is still liquid, pipe a little circle just a bit above the center of the cookie. Use a tooth pick to pull down through the icing and the chocolate, making a heart. Allow the icing and chocolate to harden completely. Enjoy!!

My thoughts: These are SO GOOD!!!! I’m on a diet….and I wanted to eat them all….but I didn’t. I gave them away. sigh.

These are simple to make and probably the easiest cut-out cookie dough I’ve ever worked with. Not sticky or fussy at all! I adore anything with coffee in it, so I would add even more espresso powder next time. Make them to your taste by adjusting the amount you add. Paired with a cup of coffee, they are just…..perfect! Enjoy!!! ~r

A few other desserts that would go well with your coffee:

35 Comments

Posted in Cookies and tagged baking, beautiful cookie, best cut out cookie recipe, chocolate, chocolate cookies, cocoa, cocoa powder, coffee, Cookie, cut out cookie, dessert, espresso, espresso powder, instant espresso, mocha, recipe, royal icing, royal icing recipe, sweets. Bookmark the permalink.

Chocolate Fudge Cut-Out Cookies!!

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Ruthanne

The rich dark cocoa flavor of these cut-out cookies sets them apart as one of the yummiest cookies I’ve ever had!!

This weekend was a special treat — my good friend (and fellow baker/blogger) Megan came to visit me from Pennsylvania. We met in 2010 on a mission trip to Russia and we have been best of friends ever since.

Megan and her mom and sisters create the most beautiful and unique cakes I’ve ever seen, and they blog about life and caking on their blog Happily Ever Cakes. Megan has such great decorating ideas and she promised to share some of her recipes and techniques with me this weekend.

We spent hours in the kitchen (often accompanied with friends who wanted to help and learn too!) It was so much fun, and I’m so excited to share with you all the things I learned!!

Holding our personalized mug cupcakes–technique coming soon to Easybaked!
Such a fun weekend!

I wasn’t sure which project to tell you about first, so I decided to begin by dedicating this post to some truly yummy chocolate cut-out cookies.

Megan wanted to prove to me that royal icing isn’t always a tedious mess…. but honestly, royal icing is a tedious mess no matter what your technique or recipe (in my humble opinion!)

They are cute. Super super cute cookies. But 24 cookies took three of us about 3 hours….which means if I’d done them alone they would have taken me 9 hours….yeah.

So there are a lot of pictures because this will likely never happen again.

We even put some of them on lollipop sticks which was a really fun way to display them.

When Megan suggested a royal icing project I immediately thought of this great family recipe. I’d never made them as a cut-out cookie or attempted to bake them with sticks inserted, but I thought it would be worth experimenting with since they taste SO good. The verdict?? These dense chocolate cookies are easy to cut into shapes and worked great with or without lollipop sticks. The dark cookie really made all the fun colors in our frosting stand out too!

Ready for the recipe? (printer friendly recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 24 large cookies)

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Add butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa together in large mixing bowl.
Blend on medium speed with a mixer until smooth.
Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until smooth (use clean hands at the end, to knead into a soft ball of dough)
Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.
Allow cookie dough to soften a little at room temperature
Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. If you are adding sticks, you will want to roll the cookies out thick (about 1/3″)
Cut into desired shapes and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Insert lollipop sticks, if desired, by gently pushing stick into cookie about 1- 1 1/2 inches. You will need to arrange cookies to fit with sticks on top of cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 to 11 minutes until the edges are firm.
Gently slide parchment paper off of cookie sheet and onto a flat surface. Cool completely before moving- this allows the cookie to “set” around the stick. Even when it is cooled, handle it with care. It takes a little time for the cookie to harden around the stick.
Frost as desired. A simple powdered sugar glaze will be delicious on these, or if you want to get fancy (and have a nice hard surface on your cookie) click here for Megan’s royal icing recipe and instructions for use.

Fun chocolate cookie cut-outs My thoughts: These cookies are SO yummy. I’m not usually a huge fan of cut-out cookies, but these are truly worth the effort of rolling out and cutting! I like them thick- even if you don’t add sticks to make them into pops. They are so much fun all set up in a vase~ what a perfect way to serve cookies at a party! You could wrap these in cello bags and tie them with cute ribbons too- a perfect favor for a wedding or shower! Hope you have fun with these treats!!! Enjoy!! ~r

Other fun cut-out cookies to try:

17 Comments

Posted in Cookies and tagged baking, chocolate, chocolate cookies, chocolate cut-out cookies, cocoa, cookie pops, cut-out cookies, dark cocoa, fun cookies, icing gels, lollipop sticks, party favors, recipe, royal icing, sugar. Bookmark the permalink.

Honey Cookies (Medovniky) in fun fall colors!

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Ruthanne

It’s almost too late for these cookies. Around here the leaves are turning brown and falling fast! The good news is that these incredibly flavorful cookies can be cut into any shape for any season!

These are a traditional Slovak cookie, generally made around Christmas. When I traveled to Slovakia I fell in love with a traditional cake called Medovnik (if you want to see my attempt at it, click here). When I came across this recipe on the Slovak Cooking blog, I knew I had to try them.

They are wonderful. A little like honey graham crackers, a little like gingerbread cookies, a little like spice cake… an incredibly unique cookie that is SO easy to roll and cut out (I can’t stand sticky, messy cut-out cookie dough!) They filled my house with wonderful fall scents when I baked them and I will definitely be making them again. Here’s the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

4 ¼ cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 ¼ sticks (5 oz.) of unsalted butter
3 ½ tablespoons of honey
½ cup of water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoons cinnamon
½ tablespoon ginger
½ tablespoon cloves

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the sugar, water and honey in a sauce pan until the sugar dissolves, stirring constantly.
Stir in the butter, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
Once the butter has melted, let the mixture cool.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
Pour the sugar-spice mixture over it and mix well.
Knead lightly to form a smooth dough.
Wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour. (the recipe called for refrigeration, but my dough was just perfect to roll out immediately.)
Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
Roll dough out on a board dusted with flour.
Cut cookies in whatever shapes you want and place on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 5-8 minutes (they bake fast, so keep an eye on them).
Cool and frost with your favorite glaze or frosting (I used Royal Icing, click here for the recipe and for directions on how to use it)

My thoughts: I really do love these cookies. The recipe was so different than any other cookie recipe I’ve made before. I have a love/hate relationship with royal icing. I hate the 12 years it takes to frost my cookies, but then I LOVE the finished result. However you ice them, these cookies are a unique addition to your cookie recipe collection. Enjoy! ~r

Other recipes you might enjoy: (just click on the image to see the recipe)

9 Comments

Posted in Cookies and tagged autumn dessert, baking, baking powder and baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, cookies, cut-out cookies, dessert, fall dessert, fall scents, food, ginger, gingerbread cookies, honey, honey cookies, honey graham crackers, icing, leaves, medovnik, Medovniky, recipe, royal icing, spice cake cookies, spice mixture, spices, tablespoon ginger, unique cookie recipe. Bookmark the permalink.

Frostings, Fillings and Fun!

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Ruthanne

One of the most frequent questions I’m asked about this blog is this: How do you keep coming up with new and original recipes?

The answer is this: I find elements (usually a filling, topping or frosting) that I love in one recipe and imagine ways to use it again in a totally new recipe.

Here’s an example: My friend Dawn’s friend Lily gave her a recipe for caramel chip bars. I changed a few elements in the recipe and made it my own. The bars are reeeeaaaaalllly good. The best part about them is the amazing caramel sauce that makes up the middle layer. How have I used this caramel sauce since?

(click on a picture to see the whole recipe)

This post is dedicated to sharing my favorites in the frosting, topping and filling world– I hope you can use some of these elements to create your own yummy treats (and if you do, please share them here with the rest of us!!!)

FROSTINGS:

Buttercream Frosting:

By far, my favorite frosting recipe ever. Light and whipped and a perfect blend of sweet and a touch of salty. If you want it flavored use extract in place of the vanilla. You can also add colors.

Ingredients:

1 stick (4 oz.)of salted butter (room temp)
1 stick (4 oz.)of unsalted butter (room temp)
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
3 t. vanilla (use clear if you want white frosting)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat on high until light and fluffy.
This is enough to frost 12-18 cupcakes. Double this recipe to frost more or to frost an entire layered cake.

German Chocolate Frosting:

Ingredients:

1c. sugar
1c. evaporated milk
1/2c. butter
3 egg yolks (beaten)
1 1/3c. flaked coconut
1c. finely chopped pecans.
1 t. vanilla extract

Directions:

In saucepan combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter and egg yolks. Cook over low heat (stir constantly!) until this thickens considerably (took me about 8 minutes).
Remove from heat and stir in pecans and coconut.
Chill until thick enough to spread.
This makes enough frosting to frost a layer cake.

Kool-Aid Frosting:

Just plain fun. Use different flavors to be as creative as you want!

Ingredients:

2- 8oz. packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened to room temp.)
1 packet (0.23oz.) of Kool-Aid
Food coloring (to deepen color if desired)
1- 7oz. container Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
1/3 c. powdered sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip Topping

Directions:

Cream together cream cheese, Kool-Aid and food coloring (if desired) until smooth.
Beat marshmallow creme and powdered sugar in and then fold in Cool Whip until completely smooth.
This makes enough frosting to frost a layer cake.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:

2 packets of Dream Whip (4 come in one box)
3/4 c. milk
1/2 t. vanilla
4 oz. (1/2 brick) of softened Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1/3 c. powdered sugar (divided)

Directions:

Cream together softened cream cheese and about half of the powdered sugar. Set aside.
Add remaining ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and stir until all powder is combined.
Mix with an electric mixer (beaters are ok, but I like to use my whisk attachment if you have one) on high until very stiff peaks form.
Add cream cheese mixture and continue beating on high until stiff and thick.
This makes enough frosting to frost a layer cake.

Royal Icing:

Not my favorite frosting to work with, but perfect for a smooth and hard topping for cookies. Beautiful but a lot of work…

Ingredients:

1 lb of powdered sugar
3 T. meringue powder
6 T. water
1t. vanilla (use clear if you want white frosting)
Food coloring

Directions:

Add all ingredients together and mix with a mixer for at least 2 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Color as desired.

FILLINGS:

Mint Filling

This is perfect for layering inside of brownies and cakes. I’ve even made a peppermint patty tart using this filling as a layer inside.

Ingredients:

5 c. powdered sugar
8 tbsp. (one cup) melted butter or margarine
2 tsp. peppermint extract
food coloring (if desired)

Directions:

Add melted butter to sugar and extract.
Mix well, using water to bring it to a thick but spreadable consistency.
Add food coloring if desired.

Kool-Aid Filling

Perfect for making a cream pie or putting in little cookie cups- this filling’s potential is as endless as the flavors of Kool-Aid on the shelf! Kids will LOVE this!

Ingredients:

8oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 (0.22 oz.) packet Kool Aid in any flavor
2c. marshmallow fluff
8 oz. Cool Whip (refrigerator temp)

Directions:

Cream together Kool Aid and Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Add Marshmallow fluff and blend well.
Fold in 1c. of Cool Whip.

Chocolate Mousse:

A perfect creamy filling for a layer cake–YUM!

Ingredients:

2 packets of Dream Whip
3/4 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
3T. cocoa powder
3T. powdered sugar

Directions:

Put Dream Whip, milk, vanilla, cocoa powder and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl and blend together.
Using a mixer, beat until stiff peaks form (3-4 minutes)

Easy Cheesecake Filling:

I’ve used this no-bake cheesecake filling for years- I like to make it and fill a pre-made graham crust for a super easy dessert!

Ingredients:

8 oz. of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1/3 c. granulated sugar
2 t. vanilla
1 (8 oz) container of Cool Whip
1 c. mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Cream together softened cream cheese and sugar.
Add vanilla.
Fold in Cool Whip and 1 c. chocolate chips.

TOPPINGS:

Chocolate glaze:

This glaze is nice because it hardens just enough to still cut- like a really hard fudge.

Ingredients:

12oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 tsp. butter (do not substitute margarine here!)

Directions:

Melt butter and chocolate together in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth.
Pour over dessert and spread evenly. Allow glaze to harden.

Ganache:

This is a big go-to topping for me- you’ll see it in many varieties in my recipes. You can change the flavor by changing the type of chips you use. I’ve made dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, butterscotch, cinnamon and peanut butter ganache using this recipe— it makes a GREAT (easy to cut!) topping for cheesecakes.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. whipping cream
1 c. chips (any flavor)

Directions:

Warm whipping cream in a small saucepan until just bubbling around edges (stirring!)
Turn off heat, add chips and cover pan for 5 minutes.
Stir melted chips into hot whipping cream until smooth (add a little heat if the chips aren’t fully melted)
Pour over dessert (or into cookie cups etc.) and allow ganache to harden.

Melted Frosting Glaze:

Such a simple topping- yet so yummy!

Ingredients:

One can of pre-made frosting

Directions:

Spoon frosting into a microwave safe bowl.
Warm in microwave for about 30 seconds.
Stir until smooth and runny.
Pour over dessert and allow glaze to harden.

Wilton’s Candy Melts:

The best thing to drizzle any dessert with. These are little candy wafers in a variety of colors that you can melt and drizzle. They harden into a solid layer though- so cutting them is more difficult.

I hope this collection of my favorites inspires you to create wonderful new treats!

Enjoy your weekend– and Happy Father’s Day to all of you dads out there!! -r

24 Comments

Posted in Easy recipes, Miscellaneous and tagged best frosting recipes, buttercream frosting, chocolate, filling, frosting, ganache, german chocolate frosting, mint frosting, peanut butter frosting, royal icing, store-bought frosting, vanilla, Wiltons candy Melts. Bookmark the permalink.

Mom’s Sugar Cookies with Royal (pain in the butt) Icing

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Ruthanne

I love these sugar cookies. My mom got the recipe out of a school cookbook (the kind where everyone submits recipes) and she’s modified and perfected it over the years. These are thick and cake-like cookies (not the thin and crispy sort) and they have cinnamon in them – YUM!!! They roll out beautifully without any crazy long refrigeration of the dough. They are pretty much the perfect sugar cookie.

My mom tops them with a thin powdered sugar frosting and puts buckets of sprinkles on so they don’t stick together. These are VW bugs and they were a delicious (albeit unidentifiable) summer treat!!!

I have been so curious about all the beautiful cookies iced in Royal Icing that I HAD to try it….the results blew me away- prettier than ANY sugar cookie I’ve ever made- the process??? Yikes. I decided about halfway through that I’d rather dye my hair purple and work as a telemarketer than ever frost another cookie with royal icing.

Now that I’ve distanced myself from the pain of it I think I would try it again…maybe for a special occasion though. We’ll see.

In any case- this sugar cookie recipe is a treasure– frost them however you want!

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. margarine
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
4 -5 c. flour
4 heaping teaspoons of sour cream
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Cream together butter and sugar.
Add eggs and sour cream.
Mix dry ingredients (using only 4c. flour) together and add to wet ingredients, combining well.
Add additional flour until dough is thick and only slightly sticky.
Place dough on a well-floured countertop an knead into flour until not sticky at all.
Roll out flat with a floured rolling pin.
Cut out cookies and place on an un-greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes (longer for larger cookies).
Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack.
Frost 🙂

The royal icing I used:

Ingredients:

1 lb of powdered sugar
3 T. meringue powder
6 T. water
1t. vanilla (use clear if you want white frosting)
Food coloring

Directions:

Add all ingredients together and mix with a mixer for at least 2 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Color as desired.
Frost cookies.

I read about 10 different blogs about HOW to frost cookies with royal icing….mine turned out ok- you basically outline the cookie with the thick frosting, thin the remaining frosting with water and flood the middle of your outline (easier said than done!) Just plan on spend a lot of time– it really is worth the effort though- the glossy hard finish is impressive!