by Sarah | Dec 7, 2012 | All About Home, Holidays
*This is a re-post. These cookies are so good they demand numerous re-postings.
I have made a LOT of cookies in my 30+ years. I’ve tasted even more.
When it comes to cutouts, it’s tricky. Too much sugar and it’s just a sugar cookie – too little and they are way too dry.
I used to think my Mom’s were the best…but they always required a ton of frosting to counteract the dryness of the cookie (sorry, Mom) – I stopped making them when I got married and moved out. My aunt’s Christmas cookies, while good – were just never right either (and it’s been so long I can’t remember why).
I tried several recipes in the 8 years I’ve been married – and for the past 5 years I’ve stuck with these. I stumbled on the recipe when I was looking for Polish cookies – and that’s what these were called. BUT, the recipe called for Anise (*gag* *hurl* Blech)…and I was definitely not down with that. So I adapted the cookies to a flavor that was much better.
Let me tell you, this is the easiest dough I have ever worked with and the flavor, when done as I adapted it, is PHENOMENAL.
****
The Best Sugar Cutouts
1c. Butter
1c. Shortening
2c. Sugar
5 Large Eggs
7c. Flour
2Tbs. Baking Powder
1/2tsp. Salt
1/2oz. Almond Extract (original recipe called for Anise, this substitution makes deliciousness)
- Cream the Butter, Sugar and Shortening until smooth and fluffy
- Stir in the eggs one at a time until incorporated
- Add almond
- Mix in the first 6 cups of flour
- From here it’s by sight/feel. Add in flour until you get a moist batter. It should seem too sticky to roll, but solid enough to hold together.
- Chill the dough for at least 2 hours. Preferably overnight.
- Once thoroughly chilled, the dough is a dream to work with. Take off a handful and put the remainder back in the fridge while you roll it out for cutting.
- Place a hunk on a floured surface and roll out for cutting (about 1/8″ thick).
- Bake for 12-15 minutes in a 350* oven.
- Frost with frosting of your choice. I love a good buttercream w/ a touch of corn syrup for shine.
- Decorate all out for your holiday fun (and for Santa’s plate).
And that’s it! The strong almond flavor gives and added touch of yum. The cookies are moist enough that you could eat them plain…but really, who wants to? Frosting is 98% of why we eat the cookies, after all…right?
I hope you enjoy them if you try them. My search for the perfect cutout has finally come to a sweet and delicious end!!
by Sarah | Dec 5, 2012 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Me, All of Us
In recent months there’s been some trouble in the Cass house.
A horrible little fiend named Insomnia.
Whether stress induced, medication induced, or just popping up to say hello – Insomnia has taken all of us into it’s hold.
For days on end poor Erik suffered from this for several nights in a row. I kept trying to convince him to let me make him a hot angel.
He kept insisting that he couldn’t stand warm milk.
One night I insisted, making him one and handing to him insisting he drink.
Since then it’s become an almost nightly ritual.
So good, and so simple to make – and it knocks you out without using drugs. I love it, and have since I had my first one at Barnes & Noble’s. Of course than I had a steamer and vanilla flavor syrup.
It’s a simple solution, – the next time you have a rough night, you should totally make it.
8 – 12 oz milk (depending on your mug size)
1-2 tsp vanilla (1 or 2 cap-fuls)
2-3 Tbs sugar (or more)
Warm over the stove on med to med-low heat. Don’t let boil, just warm to whatever temperature works for you (I usually go to where I can still stick my finger into it without burning myself – Yeah, real accurate, isn’t it?).
Honestly, do the vanilla and sugar to taste, hubby likes less vanilla, I like more. I never measure accurately. Just put stuff in until it feels right.
Your other option is to buy the flavoring syrup they have for coffee at the grocery store and use that (like we did at Barnes & Noble). I am planning to buy the Caramel syrup next shopping trip and try that for something different!
by Sarah | Dec 4, 2012 | Books, Hump Day Hook, Masked Hearts, Writing
Time for another Hump Day hook. I’m excited for this week, because I get to use it to announce my latest contract! Once again I’ve signed on with Secret Cravings Publishing, and I couldn’t be more excited!
Masked Hearts is my latest WIP. I finished it a couple of months ago and have been working on edits for it diligently while plotting my upcoming WIP (Into a Mirror Darkly, of which you saw the 1st paragraph HERE).
Masked Hearts didn’t come easy to me. It was my own personal challenge to write something under 50k (I’m super-wordy and writing short isn’t my forte), and I went into it blind with only some horrors of the past to trigger the story. Eventually everything fell into place and after some hefty editing of the first 10 chapters (before I knew Minnie & Roy very well), I felt it was ready. I just got my contract signed, and can look forward to publication in April!!
So without further mucking this up with words, here is my selection for this week:
Minnie turned again, her long black hair shimmering in the colorful glow of sunrise. The sense of perfection shifted the moment she lifted her hair.
Roy couldn’t stop his sharp intake of breath. A patchwork of scars stretched across her back in varying shades of white and pink. From her neck to just above her backside they were a glaring difference to the bronze perfection of the rest of her.
At the same time the scars added so much beauty. Only a strong woman could survive the torture of a fire hot enough to sear itself into her flesh.
Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published. Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library! To see more participants, click on the HHH banner below:
by Sarah | Nov 28, 2012 | Books, Changing Tracks, Hump Day Hook, Writing
If you’re here from the link on Kerrianne’s site, Welcome! Click here to see the latest HDH posts!!
Time for another Hump Day hook. I’m excited for this week, because I’m showing you a paragraph from my contracted book, Changing Tracks (due for pub in February w/ Secret Cravings Publishing). Jane & Cole are two of my favorite characters so far. It makes it very difficult to ever pick just one paragraph (or very short exchange) for the pair of them. So I found this little section from Cole’s POV. Just this one little moment of him looking around his room encapsulates the two of them pretty well in a few simple words.
Then he saw it.
The book.
It had to be hers because he couldn’t read.Obviously he left her alone too much. She’d taken the chance to add herself to the room.
All it took was a book.
Damn her.
Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published. Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library! To see more participants, click on the HHH banner below:
by Sarah | Nov 27, 2012 | All About Kennedy, All About Molly, Anger Issues, Special Needs
After a pleasant couple of months with the girls (we won’t discuss the teen today) – things are going downhill at a rapid pace.
Molly is starting to fall behind in school. Her comprehension of lessons she used to excel at is slipping, her grades are following suit. I have no idea on her behaviors in school because we missed Parent Teacher conferences in the wake chaos around the teen’s hospital stay. I’ve contacted her teacher in hopes that we can develop new ways to tackle this and keep her going. She’s so smart, I don’t want her to lose that edge.
Kennedy.
Oh, Kennedy.
Her anger has always been an issue. While we’ve been seeing a massive resurgence of her anger – another threat has been lurking, ready to pounce on us out of nowhere.
Lying. Stealing. Manipulation.
I always knew she was a good liar. I kept an extra eye on her when I could.
I don’t know if it’s the recent stresses on the family, or just being in full time school, me going back to work, or just testing limits.
But it’s blown out of proportion.
Over the past two weeks we’ve caught her in two lies, the latest involving stealing. Then lying to me three times about it.
We’re calling the counselor.
She’s having recess revoked as punishment.
Now I just have to figure out how to punish her here at home.
Threats of Santa not coming have no effect.
How do I get through to this one?
What punishment would you suggest? She shares a room with her sister, and some punishments would affect both of them, which isn’t fair to her sister. So keep that in mind.
And that’s it! The strong almond flavor gives and added touch of yum. The cookies are moist enough that you could eat them plain…but really, who wants to? Frosting is 98% of why we eat the cookies, after all…right?