>Check it

>www.theedibleartproject.com

>Cookie bombs

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Let’s face it, lately, I’m a sugar cookie junkie. But with all the variations and endless possibilities, how couldn’t I be?  I made sugar cookies again, for the third time last evening.  Matter of fact, sugar cookies are the only thing that’ve come out of my new (to me) kitchen. What? I’m experimenting.

To further fuel the EAP, and because I’ve been slacking off, I decided that baking sugar cookies (again) was not only necessary, but imperative. Not to mention, I do this sweet little thing called cookie bombing where I pack up sweet treats in cello bags and hand them out to random, homeless people in the city. If there are ever extra cookies lounging in the cookie jar, I make sure I take a few every time I leave the house. You know, just in case. And so far I’ve had 3 consecutive days of successful cookie bombing.

I realized, today, that I bit off a little more than I could chew when I decided I was going to create and take on the EAP. I mean really, do I need anything else on my plate? Not to mention, it costs $5 every time I ship a box of cookies to an artist, which I wouldn’t mind if I was getting paid to be a full time student. But, I knew getting into this what it would entail, and if it means spending $200 on shipping before anyone besides the artists realize the project exists then, in the words of the late Kurt Vonnegut, so it goes.

Back to cookies. If you haven’t noticed, I tweaked the recipe.. a lot. I do not like adding leavening (baking powder, cream of tarter+baking soda, etc.) to a cookie that’s supposed to keep it’s shape, because there is nothing worse than decorating a flat, oval cookie that went into the oven looking like a thick circle, right?

Hopefully by now you’re starting to get the gist of the whole sugar cookie thing, and trust me, having a good go-to sugar cookie recipe is important; you don’t have any other flavors (chocolate chips, raisins) or textures (oatmeal, brown sugar) to mask the final product if you mess up the mixing process. So, learn this one by heart and I promise, just like your favorite pair of fat-day jeans, it will never fail you. Cross my heart, hope to die.

Here’s a little sneak peek into last night’s late-night decorating session:

Don’t you dare say I went overboard with the gummi bears! Because in all honesty, I thought about piling one of the cookies with a heaping stack of gummies and icing, then realized that would be taking things a little too far. So, compared to having a gummi bear orgy atop one of my cookies, I didn’t go anywhere near overboard, now did I?

Ha, I said gummi bear orgy. Ha.

>Not your average sugar cookie

>

I came home Friday afternoon to a package from one of my favorite human beings. It’s contents? Only 3 pounds of the greatest gummi creation in the galaxy! I don’t think she realizes I leave for Cape Cod in 1 week. Or maybe she does and she’s trying to sabotage my girlish figure? 😉 Either way, thanks (and I adore you), lady!

As you can tell, I haven’t been baking enough lately. I woke up yesterday, from an 11 hour hibernation that had me feeling like I’d been asleep all summer, and for some reason all I could think about was confectioner’s sugar. Why do people only use it in icing; why is it never used in the actual cookie dough? Well, my pecan sandies are proof that you can use that weightless, chalky confection in cookies – so why not experiment with sugar cookies?

                    

Pow Sugar Cookies
..ergh, bare with me here – I’m drawing a blank.

1 c. butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar
2 TBS granulated sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 c. unbleached flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
and a pinch of salt!

I’m just going to assume most of you don’t have a stand mixer – but if you do, go ahead and use it (fitted with the paddle attachment).

And I’m going to be honest, I rarely ever do two separate mixing bowls for the wet and dry ingredients, not unless sifting is required. So I’m going to teach you how things really go down in my kitchen.

Mixing bowl:
– Cream butter for 1 minute
– Add sugars – mix well
– Add egg and pure vanilla extract
– Pour baking soda and salt into mixture – do not combine until each is added
– Add flour 1/2 c. at a time – if you’ve reached 3 1/2 c. of flour and dough is still sticky, add an extra 1/4 c.
– Wrap dough in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for at least 1 hour prior to baking

See, how easy was that?  And, you only have to dirty one mixing bowl.

Once your dough is finished chilling, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (I am so over Silpat) and roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Make sure you roll no less than 1/2 inch thick – if you roll them too thin you won’t get the full effect of the powdered texture.  Once the cookies are in place on the cookie sheet, refrigerate the cut out dough (yes, again) for 10 minutes before tossing them into the oven (trust me, this will ensure they keep their perfectly cut shape).  And yes, they can stay on the cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes

PS – Thom swears these cookies are better than any other sugar cookie. The taste is the same, but the texture is so much lighter than that of sugar cookies made with sugar of the granulated sort. Listen to him, his belly knows all.

                    

Royal Icing

1 egg white
1 1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tarter
2 drops of lemon juice
and a dash of salt!


– Pour all ingredients in a bowl and blend for 5-7 minutes, until icing forms stiff peaks.  Happy piping/flooding!

                    

Maura is back from LA and she happily tag teamed the sugar cookies with me.  I have to admit, it was nice not having to decorate cookies all by myself.. and it made me realize that once I start my bakery, I am most definitely going to need a #2.  As much as I think I can do it all on my own, I am one very small person.  Small people need sidekicks.

If there is only one piece of advice you ever take from me, take this: do not buy Wilton food coloring. The first time it bled, I thought it was my fault.. but the second, third and this time? Clearly Wilton is not doing something right. AmeriColor, FTW!

Time to go brave this triple digit heat. The things I’ll do for a hot dog and a movie..

>Too lazy to measure ingredients

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Last night I sat at home, alone, eating a bowl of Fruity Pebbles/Kix with marshmallows and wondered for a good 5 minutes, how old am I, really?  If Thom were home, I’d have been way too embarrassed to eat a concoction that only appeals to 5 year olds (and me, apparently), not to mention, I’d have probably eaten a bowl of Grape Nuts with mushy bananas (like I did two nights ago).  Do you believe me yet that I am simultaneously a 10 year old and an 80 year old trapped in a 22 year old’s body?  You should really start listening to me.

I baked for the fist time last night (since moving).  My cookies turned out like shit.  So shitty, in fact, I boycotted baking for the remainder of the night.  Yep, all 67 minutes that were left.  I tried blaming it on my new kitchen then sadly realized that I am the only culprit.  Apparently you have to measure the ingredients if you want your recipes to turn out properly.  I know, right?  What kind of self proclaimed baker refuses to measure ingredients because they don’t feel like washing a few measuring cups and spoons?  Seriously?  Seriously.  The laziness has taken it’s toll.

Another first also happened last evening: (drum roll please) I baked with that disgusting, little, blue tub of fat.  I stopped baking with partially hydrogenated margerine because I can’t stand the thought of knowingly pumping that crap into people’s bellies, but here I am baking with partially hydrogenated shortening and well, I am ashamed of myself.  No one should ingest partially hydrogenated anything but, I bake by popular demand, and unfortunately raw brownies aren’t appealing to most people.  I guess not everyone can be so lucky to have a GI condition that restricts their diet to things of the all natural sort.  But honestly, even if I didn’t have a GI condition, I still wouldn’t ever eat hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup or artificial anything.  You can judge me all you want, but I’m not the one walking around with a tire around my waist, so HA (sticks out tongue and wrinkles nose).

I am finding it nearly impossible to warm up to my kitchen.  I mean, look at it, it’s not like it’s inviting me in with a 10 foot island or a double convection gas oven.  The poor thing has been practically begging me to come bake in it, and every night I pass it up for french doors, a claw foot tub and this guy named Thom.  I mean, last night I had to Force myself, with a capital F, to bake some freaking cookies, and I hated every single minute of it.  It’s not like my last kitchen was fancy or anything – but it did have a beautiful Whirlpool gas oven, to which I was very loyal.

And my poor appliances, all squished together on one side of the counter, looking pitiful as ever.  I usually stow the toaster away in a cabinet, but since I’ve been utilizing it’s abilities (and yes, my toaster has more than one ability) quite frequently, I’ve found it pointless to put it away after each use.  Some people would call this laziness.  I call it.. saving a few seconds of my time?

But, the real reason all of my favorite appliances are squished together is because there isn’t a single outlet on the other side of the kitchen.  Thankfully an electrician is coming to remedy that tomorrow.  Toastie had better learn that complaining about Myxer (my favorite appliance of all) cramping his space will only result in being banished to the other side of the kitchen.  And now my appliances have genders.

Expect great things from my kitchen in the near future.  Like, dark chocolate cookies with dried cherries and chiles.  And in case you were wondering, my bake book is coming along poorly.  Blame it on the mo mo-mo-mo mo moving.

>Moving sucks, but cookie art is good

>Moved, finally. I don’t ever want to move again. And if I do, I am flying out all five of my brothers to do the man work.

I was walking into Target yesterday and received another e-mail from Ben, with an attachment. I waited for the attachment to load on my phone, then dropped it in the middle of the parking lot when I saw what he did with my cookies:

This is what I expected out of Ben, and then some. His art is not the kind of art you look at and mindlessly think, oh, that’s pretty – it’s the kind of art you look at, your jaw drops and you go how in the hell did he do that? I have never seen a cookie look so good.

The above photo is proof that Ben is a talented artist who thinks outside of the box, and that’s what I like most about him (besides his undeniable charm, of course). I am so fortunate and thankful that he agreed to participate in the project.

Ooh, ooh, ooh! Speaking of the project, I have two more artists lined up to participate!!!!!! I’m not excited or anything. I know, I really need to get to working on the edible art blog, but I’ve been such a lazy human lately, it’s pathetic.  Besides, I’m currently leeching on Panera’s internet because Comcast is supposedly booked until 13 July. Bastards. Frequent updates will resume once I can blog from the comfort of my own home.

Ok, time to unpack. Anyone care to lend a hand? I will bake you endless amounts of cookies; more than your belly can handle.