Daring Bakers September 2010: Decorated Sugar Cookies

Oh my! I actually almost forgot about this post! Luckily I remembered early on in the day, otherwise I might not have been able to get this post up on time. Phew...anyway, time for another round of the challenges presented by the Daring Bakers! This month I was super excited when I found out what we'd be doing. It was almost as if Mandy from What the Fruitcake?! was reading my mind! I had been looking at intricate, decorated sugar cookies using royal icing on other blogs and had really been wanting to try it out myself, and then boom. I look at the Daring Baker challenge for September, and that's exactly what it is! For those who don't know, royal icing is a type of icing made from egg whites, powdered sugar, and then sometimes lemon or lime juice. It dries hard and shiny and creates the perfect finish for professional-looking decorated sugar cookies. You generally pipe fine lines using a small round piping tip to outline the shape you've created and then use a technique called "flooding" where you water down the royal icing and then use it to fill in the cookie where you've outlined. Then you go back after it's dried with the small piping tip and pipe on details. You can make it as intricate or simple as you like, but the finish product always is impressive.
For the challenge this month, Mandy wanted us to make cookies that were September-themed. She said we could do anything that September meant to us. To me, September means my birthday and the start of fall, my favorite season. The problem is, I only have winter/Christmas themed cookie cutters. So instead of going out and buying more or even making my own, I just free handed them with a knife. It actually wasn't too hard, and of course, if you don't like the shape you've cut, you can always roll it back out and try again. For my birthday, I made birthday cakes, a party hat, and circles with the number 20, the age I turned this month. (Admittedly, I just used a round glass to cut out the circles...no way can I free hand circles that well!) For the fall, I made pumpkins and red/orange/yellow leaves. I actually ended up pretty proud of my cookies. They're not as pretty as other decorated cookies I've seen, but they were pretty good for my first try. I definitely look forward to trying out more in the future! I encourage you to try making some...it's fun, and they taste good too!

Basic Sugar Cookies (adapted from Peggy Porschen)
Makes approximately 36 4" cookies

Ingredients

• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup caster/superfine sugar
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavorings you’re using. Beat until just becoming creamy in texture. (Don’t over mix otherwise you’ll incorporate too much air and the cookies will spread during baking, losing their shape.)
2. Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non-sticky dough forms.
3. Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces. Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 1/5 inch. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
4. Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife. Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30 minutes to an hour. (It's very important to chill the cut-out shapes before baking so they do not lose their shape and spread in the oven.)
   
5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Leave to cool on cooling racks. Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.

Royal Icing (adapted from the Joy of Baking)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 to 3 cups confectioner's sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon almond extract, optional

Directions

1. Beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined. Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps and add it to the egg whites. Beat on low until combined and smooth. Add almond extract, if using, and mix until combined. Use immediately or keep in an airtight container.

For decorating tips and all that jazz, please check the printable pdf of this month's challenge here: The Daring Bakers September 2010 challenge.
The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

Lost Obsession: Fish Biscuits

So...I didn't end up making anything for Valentine's Day. In the end, I just didn't feel up to it. But never fear...I do plan on making both things I considered at some point. The first thing I thought about making was a red velvet cheesecake, but discarded it being as I didn't feel like leaving the house to get cream cheese, sour cream, etc. Then I thought of Mexican chocolate cupcakes filled with homemade caramel and then topped with a boiled frosting...but like I said, I lost motivation, ha ha! But I still would love to try both of those, so I'll keep them on my To Try list and eventually I'll get around to them.

Anyway, if you don't watch Lost, you're probably wondering what the heck a fish biscuit is...and it probably doesn't sound too appetizing either! Well, here is the ultimate display of how obsessed I am with Lost. In season 3, one of the characters, Sawyer (played by the gorgeous Josh Holloway...certainly an incentive to watch!) is captured by a group dubbed "The Others" and is put in a cage for keeping. In this cage is a contraption, and if you're able to figure it out, it rewards you with a fish biscuit! As I was rewatching this episode, I had the craziest urge to try and make some. So I went on Google and lo and behold, I found this blog that had a recipe, instructions, and she even included a template for the fish biscuits! Awesome! Glad to know I'm not the only one with this Lost-obsessive idea! Of course, the "biscuits" are actually just a rolled sugar cookie recipe, so there's nothing fishy about this recipe except for the shape. If you aren't a fan of Lost, you should become one, as it's an excellent show. Hulu is streaming every single episode of Lost through December 31 this year, so even though the last season is now airing on ABC, it's never too late to become a fan! Or, of course, if you're not interested in becoming a fan (I'll just pretend like I didn't hear that), this is still a great dough for any shape you want it to be.

Rolled Sugar Cookies for Fish Biscuits (adapted from Epicurious)
Makes about 5-7 large fish biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I used bleached, since that's what I had)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 teaspoons grated lemon peel (I omitted)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon grated tangerine or orange peel (I omitted this as well)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla butter & nut extract
• couple drops red food coloring
• couple drops yellow food coloring

** This sugar cookie recipe can pretty much be flavored with whatever you like. The original recipe on Epicurious used citrus zest, but I used McCormick's vanilla butter & nut extract, the same I used for the yellow cupcake recipe. You can easily substitute any extract you like, such as vanilla or almond, etc., to taste.

Directions

1. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, grated lemon peel, and grated tangerine/orange peel until light (since I didn't use zest, I just beat the butter by itself. Don't add any extracts yet.) Add the sugar and powdered sugar and beat until fluffy.
2. Beat in egg and extract. Add food coloring a little bit at a time, working until you have a nice, rich salmon color. Keep in mind that the color will fade slightly when baked.
3. Add dry ingredients a little bit at a time until fully incorporated. Divide dough in half and wrap the dough in plastic wrap, forming two disks. Store in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight until set.

This is the color you're looking for.

Making the fish biscuits:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Generously flour your work surface and rolling pin. (I rolled out my dough on a piece of parchment paper which I also floured. I found that this really worked best.) Place one disk of dough on the floured surface, and flour the top. Roll out dough to about half an inch in thickness. Place fish biscuit template on the dough and cut around the template using a sharp, floured knife.
3. Continue rolling and cutting dough, making sure to keep leftover dough scraps for additional cookies and placing the cut out fish biscuits on your prepared cookie sheet. Depending on your estimated thickness, you should get about 5-7 fish biscuits. (I got 7, but the original blogger said 4-5...I guess I wasn't making mine as thick as hers!)
4. Once all fish biscuits have been cut out, fold the template in half and place on fish biscuit. Using a small rounded butter knife (I actually found that a toothpick works best!!), gently press in the top or bottom half of the Dharma logo letters. (Do whichever side you're more comfortable with. The original blogger pressed in the bottom half of the letters first, but I found it easier to press in the top half of the letters first.)
5. Remove the template and then press in the other half of the letters. Continue doing this for each fish biscuit. (The name DHARMA comes from a group called the DHARMA Initiative who were scientists who came to study the island and who were supplied with food with their logo on it...for more info on them, you can click here.)
6. Bake the fish biscuits for 15 to 20 minutes until they no longer give when pressed. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature and watch your favorite Lost episode as you enjoy! For the fish biscuit template and printable recipe and directions, please visit the original blogger's file here. (Must be able to see pdf files.)