I brought the yummy layered salad and [...]]]> Our good friends Tim and Jackie had us over for the Saints v. Colts game Sunday night.  There was so much food!  The spread included black bean chili, queso, chips & salsa, veggies, layered Tex Mex salad, hot wings, and cookies.  This is one of the main reasons I love the Superbowl.

I brought the yummy layered salad and these cookies.  I made plain sugar cookies using left over sugar cookie dough that I’d stashed in the freezer, and some chocolate sugar cookies.  Both recipes come from the Joyofbaking.com.

The chocolate dough was easy to prepare and easy to cut out.  They baked up pretty evenly and tasted good.  I did find them a bit drier than the plain sugar cookie, but still tasty.  I made sugar cookie helmets honoring both teams, and chocolate cookie footballs.

I use Wilton gel colors for my icing.  There may be something better out there, but these have always served me well.  I HATE black icing.  It’s hard to achieve, and it makes a mess on my hands and underneath my fingernails.   So I used the blue for my fleur-de-lis instead of black, which Ben gave me a hard time for, but I was just too stubborn and lazy to color more icing and give everyone a blue tongue and lips from eating the black icing.  You know what I’m talking about.

Here are some very rough instructions on how to decorate sugar cookies.  I promise to write better instructions one of these days!

Decorating Cookies

1.  Outline the cookies

• First, mix up powdered sugar and water until smooth, and stiff, but still a consistency that you can pipe through a pastry bag.  I have not measured the sugar or water before.  I will try to get those measurements on here soon!
• Use a pastry bag with a plain tip to outline the cookie close to the edges.  Be sure to make a closed outline so that you can fill the cookie without any glaze escaping.
• Let the outline dry completely before filling.

2.  Fill the cookies

• I use this recipe from Toba Garrett.  The recipe can be found here or at the bottom of this post.
• Once your glaze is prepared, use an offset spatula to drop some glaze in the center of the cookie.  Tip: Use less than you need because you can always add more.
• Holding the cookie in your hand gently push the glaze to the edges, being careful not to break the outline.  Don’t worry about making it completely smooth. The glaze is thin enough that will even out on its own.
• Let this harden for a few hours before continuing with any other details.

I will be honest, this takes practice and patience.  In the near future I will take some step-by-step photos because it isn’t easy to explain all the little nuances with words alone.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups (355 grams) all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (75 grams) unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon (4 grams)baking powder
• 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups (350 grams) granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.
3. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Remove one half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch (1 cm). (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.)  Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet. Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking.
6. Note: If you are not going to frost the baked cookies, you may want to sprinkle the unbaked cookies with crystal or sparkling sugar.
7. Bake cookies for about 10  – 12 minutes (depending on size) or until they are firm around the edges. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Frost with royal icing, if desired. Be sure that the frosting on the cookies dries completely before storing. (This may take several hours.) Frosted cookies will keep several days in an airtight container. Store between layers of parchment paper or wax paper.

Toba Garrett’s Sugar Cookie Glaze

Ingredients

• 1 pound (454 g) powdered sugar
• 3/8 cup (90 ml) whole milk
• 3/8 cup (4.5 oz or 126 g) light corn syrup
• Flavor Options: 1 tsp concentrated extract, I Tbsp alcohol or liqueur, or 2 to 3 drops concentrated candy oil

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, thoroughly mix the sugar and the milk first. The icing should be very soft and have a heavy-cream texture before you add the corn syrup. Add the corn syrup and mix just until combined.
2. Divide the icing into several bowls. Flavor each bowl with extracts, alcohol or candy oils. Color each bowl of icing as desired. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap to prevent drying until you’re ready to use it.