It's COOKIE Time!!!

I love this time of year but I am usually so busy right up until Christmas that I can’t take the time to do all the fun stuff, like making and decorating cookies. Not this year. I am still busy but I have a reason, well lots of reasons.  One of them is writing this blog…sharing things like ideas and recipes with you. I did the basics with a little twist. The best part is that you can make all parts, dough and frosting, up in advance, whenever you have a moment. They all refrigerate well and the doughs can be frozen until you are ready to bake and serve. This time of year is all about efficient time management and I am all about it, even down to my cookies. Share any of your favorite cookie memories, flavors or tips. And happy December! -V 

Recycled Sweater (felted) Ornaments:
onceasweaterfound.blogspot.com

Lime Cardamom Holiday Cookies

Makes about 24 cookies

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cardamom*

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temp

1/2 cup natural cane sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon lime zest*

Decorating sugars or sprinkles

Easy Decorating Frosting (see recipe below)

Special Equipment:

Stand or hand mixer

Microplane or fine rasp style grater

Rolling pin

Holiday shaped cookie cutters between 2-3 inches

Parchment paper or a silicone baking mat

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. On medium low speed add the egg, vanilla and zest, just until combined. Turn the mixer down to low and little by little add the flour mixture until completely combined. Turn out dough on to a piece of wax paper and form into an even disk. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 1/2 hours (or up to 3-4 days, you can also tightly wrap and freeze until ready to use, just thaw in the fridge overnight and allow to soften a bit at room temp) before attempting to roll.

Preheat your oven to 350 °F. On a lightly floured surface (you can also use powdered sugar to dust the surface, it will absorb into the cookie) roll the dough out until it is an even, less than 1/4 inch, thickness.  Cut out desired shapes and place on baking sheet with parchment. Re roll the leftover dough and roll, and cut until all dough is used. Sprinkle with decorating sugar if using and bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating the pans half way through the cooking time. Remove from the oven and allow to sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes then move to a wire rack to completely cool before decorating with frosting.

*You can really use any flavoring you like here, 1 teaspoon of a single one or 1 teaspoon total of a mixture. You could even try rose water; a teaspoon will do for this size recipe. Or even do a different extract such as peppermint, cinnamon, or almond. Also, any zest would work here too…you could skip the spices all together and just do zest, or skip it all and just go with the OG and no flavors. You chose!

Makes about 1/2 cup - Easy Decorating Frosting 

2 cups powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons water or milk

In a large bowl whisk together the ingredients. Store in an airtight container or place plastic wrap right down on the surface (it will forma crust) until ready to use.

I usually put into a zip top bag and just cut off the corner to decorate.

This will decorate 1 batch of sugar cookies (depending on your design) and plenty to decorate the Ginger Peeps. You can also easily double this recipe for lots of cookie fun. It will keep in the fridge for a few weeks; just let it warm up at room temperature before using.

G3-Gingerbread

Makes about 18, 4 1/2 inch Gingerbread Peeps

3 cups white whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon orange zest

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

1/2 cup candied ginger, diced

Easy Decorating Frosting (see recipe)

1/4 cup raisins

2 tablespoons Red Hots, or red candy hearts

Special Equipment:

Stand or hand mixer

Microplane or fine rasp style grater

Rolling pin

Holiday shaped cookie cutters between 2-3 inches

Parchment paper or a silicone baking mat

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and all the spices and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. On medium low speed add the egg, vanilla, molasses, zest, and both gingers just until combined. Turn the mixer down to low and little by little add the flour mixture until completely combined. Turn out dough on to a piece of wax paper and form into an even disk. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 1/2 hours (or up to 3-4 days, you can also tightly wrap and freeze until ready to use, just thaw in the fridge overnight and allow to soften a bit at room temp) before attempting to roll.

Preheat your oven to 375 °F. On a lightly floured surface (you can also use powdered sugar to dust the surface, it will absorb into the cookie) roll the dough out until it is an even, less than 1/4 inch, thickness.  Cut out desired shapes and place on baking sheet with parchment. Re roll the leftover dough and roll, and cut until all dough is used. Sprinkle with decorating sugar if using and bake for 13-15 minutes, rotating the pans half way through the cooking time. Remove from the oven and allow to sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes then move to a wire rack to completely cool before decorating with frosting.