Molasses Spice Cookies

We have a rule in my family, no Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving.
Now, I love the Christmas season more than well, a lot of things. And having to wait until that one Black Friday every year is sometimes a lot harder than it should be. But, I grit my teeth and I bear it. Every year. For 11 months. I suffer.
Then, after the months and weeks and days of waiting, that wonderful day appears. Christmas music appears everywhere, wreaths are on the street lights, lights on the houses in the neighborhood. It's like the Heavens have opened up and everything is right with the world.
Ha..Okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic.
But really, I love this day.
Unfortunately this year the Christmas-ness in my world was halted a little bit since I had to work, so no time for putting up the decorations or Black Friday shopping. But you better believe there was Christmas music at work.
And cookies.
Spicy, delicious, Christmasy, cookies.

Molasses Spice Cookies
Ingredients:
2 1/4 c. lower-protien unbleached all-purpose flour (I used regular AP Flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tso finely ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1/3 c. packed dark brown sugar
1/3 c. granulated sugar, plus 1/2 c. for rolling
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup molasses

Directions:
-Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees.
-Line large baking sheet with parchment.
-In medium bowl whisk flour, baking soda, spices, pepper and salt.
-Either by hand or with electric mixer, beat the butter with brown sugar and 1/3 c. granulated sugar at medium high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 min.)
-Reduce speed to medium low and add yolk and vanilla, increase speed and beat until incorporated (about 20 seconds).
-Reduce speed and add molasses beat until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping the bottom and sides once with rubber spatula.
-Reduce speed to lowest setting and add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, scraping the bowl once.
-Give the dough a final stir by hand to ensure no flour pockets at bottom. (dough will be soft).
-Place 1/2 c. sugar in shallow bowl for rolling. Fill small bowl with cold tap water.
-Dip hands in water and roll heaping Tbsp. of dough into scant ball.
-Drop ball in sugar and roll to coat.
-Set on prepared baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.
-Bake about 11 min. (cookies will "crack", edges are puffy and inside of cracks look raw). Do not overbake.
-Cool on baking sheet for 5 mins. and trasfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
-Serve when cooled to room temperature.
Source: Good Things Catered

Orange Cheesecake Cookies

I had a special visit this weekend. My little sister braved the airport crowds and made the two hour flight from California down to visit me. :)
(Pardon the faces..:))
We really only get to see each other every couple of months, so I try (usually to no avail) to think of something fun to do while she's down here. This time, we got up way too early for a Saturday morning and took the Light Rail to the Downtown Farmer's Market. This was both of our first times at this Market, and it was great! We got all sorts of goodies, but I think the highlight was definitely a Blood Orange Marmalade. This stuff is amazing! After covering our French Toast in it, it was decided that something else had to be made. Then I found this recipe...
These taste just like Cheesecake, minus half the work, and in delicious cookie form. So. Good.
We substituted the orange zest for two teaspoons of the marmalade and it worked perfectly. We also decided not to cover them in the chocolate this time, but I'm sure that would also taste amazing.

Orange Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
3 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest (We used 2 teaspoons of marmalade)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted

Heat the oven to 375 and prepare two sheet pans with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a mixer cream the butter and cream cheese until they are well combined.
Add the sugar, vanilla, and citrus zest and blend until the ingredients are well combined but not fluffy. Add the flour and mix on low until the flour is incorporated.
Scoop the dough into 1″ balls onto the prepared sheet pans. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the tops are slightly puffed.
Cool on the pan for two minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cool drizzle, or dip, the cookies with the melted chocolate. Put the cookies into the refrigerator for thirty minutes to set the chocolate.
Yield about 3 Dozen.
Adapted from Evil Shenanigans

Browned Butter Cardamom Cookies

I almost wasn't going to post these cookies. They aren't my favorite. They're a little too powder sugary and just seem kind of lacking. There aren't as many levels of flavors as I would have liked.
Plus, have you ever tried to type complete sentences with a head cold? Yeah, this is a lot harder than it looks.
So why am I posting them then? Because I love the pictures! I think they turned out so cute and wintery. That's a word, right?
So, my advice to anyone who does end up trying these...Don't roll them in powdered sugar twice. Just do it one time, when they're cool. When they're warm I think they just pick up too much of the sugar and it gets a little overwhelming. I would also consider adding something else to it. Maybe a little extra spice, maybe some cinnamon. I'm not really sure...but it could use something.
Maybe I just need fully active taste buds. Ha...Perhaps I'll try them again in a week.



Browned Butter Cardamom Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup Butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar (for rolling cookies in)
Melt butter in 2-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring constantly and watching closely, until butter just starts to turn golden brown (3 to 5 minutes). (Butter will get foamy and bubble.) Immediately remove from heat. Pour into bowl; refrigerate until cooled (30 minutes).

Heat oven to 350°F.
Combine cooled browned butter and sugar in large bowl; beat at medium speed until well mixed. Add egg yolk, vanilla and cardamom; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low. Beat, gradually adding flour, until mixture is no longer crumbly and forms a dough.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies puff and start to turn light golden brown. (Cookies will have cracks in them.)
Immediately remove from cookie sheets. Cool 1 minute. Roll cookies in powdered sugar while warm and again when completely cooled. Store between sheets of waxed paper in loosely covered container.

Source: Land O' Lakes
Photos by Keegan Orange

Brown Sugar Cardamom Cookies

I have a confession to make.
This was the first time I've ever baked with Cardamom. I know, I'm shocked too.
I was looking through some recipes to try and find something to make for a friends work potluck and came across this recipe for Brown Sugar Cookies. I've been wanting to make these cookies for awhile now and this seemed like the perfect time.
Although I haven't worked with Cardamom before I knew I liked it and wanted to give it a shot. It ended up being a great addition to these cookies! It took the Snickerdoodle-like cookie and turned it into a little more of a spice cookie. This will definitely be one of my new go-to recipes and will probably even show up in a Christmas gift box or two.



Brown Sugar Cookies
yield: 36 cookies
Ingredients:
14 TBS butter
1 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Large Egg plus 1 Yolk
1 TBS Rum Extract (I used Vanilla Extract)
2 cups AP Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cardamom

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar

preheat oven to 375 degrees
1. Melt 10 TBS of butter in a small pan and keep on the low heat for 4 minutes until the butter is a light brown color and smells nutty. Pour into a separate bowl and add the remaining 4 TBS butter and whisk to melt the butter.
2. Let cool 3 minutes , then add brown sugar and salt. Whisk until brown sugar is completely clump free and smooth. Add egg, egg yolk and rum extract. (can be replaced with vanilla extract)
3. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add to the wet mixture and mix until fully combined, using a spatula.
3. Combine 1/4 cup of each sugar and brown sugar and mix. Roll out 36 balls of dough and coat in the sugar combination.
4. Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, placing only one cookie sheet in the oven at a time to ensure even baking. Rotate the cookies after 4 minutes.

Source: Adapted from Natalie's Killer Cuisine

Photos by Keegan Orange

Impossible Pumpkin Pies

There's only one problem with pumpkin pie. If I make a whole one, I eat a whole one Ha...So maybe it's really more of a problem with self control. But I mean, come on, who's keeping track? Either way, I've found the perfect solution. Cupcake sized pumpkin pies.
These were so good! It says that they're called "Impossible" because you don't have to make a crust for them. When you cook them, the center stays nice and gooey and fall in a bit, so the outside turns into something like crust. Although, I have to admit, I got a little overly distracted watching Dirty Dancing on cable while attempting to make these Impossible Pumpkin Pies and left them in the oven for a bit longer than I was suppose to. It caused the centers to cook a little more than they should have so they didn't quite cave in like I would have liked. So keep in mind these will appear slightly undercooked when in fact, they're done.
Top these with some delicious whipped cream and enjoy! And try not to eat the whole batch... :)


Impossible Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes
Ingredients:
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup half and half (or evaporated milk)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or silicone liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice
In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and half and half until well combined. Add in dry ingredients and whisk until no streaks of flour remain and batter is smooth.
Fill each muffin cup with approximately 1/3 cup of batter.
Bake for 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan. They will sink as they cool.
Chill cupcakes before serving. Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Makes 12

Source: Baking Bites

Photos by Keegan Orange

Fall Sugar Cookies

Fall and Winter are two of my favorite times of year. In my head Fall usually stands for things like cooler weather, pumpkin baking, and falling leaves.
Unless you live in Phoenix.
Fall in Phoenix means 85 degrees instead of 95, if you're lucky. It means you can bake with pumpkin, but you should probably do it at night since the rest of the day the kitchen will still be burning hot. And falling leaves? Ha, I'm pretty sure I haven't seen those since vacation.
Fall is, without a doubt, one of the most frustrating times in Phoenix for people who love the season. Generally because most years, it doesn't exist. It's been in the 90's here for the past week and I've been getting desperate for a sign of weather change. So, I'm making one in my house. Fall Leaf sugar cookies, my own personal vision of how fall should be. (Baked at night of course.)
I haven't had a lot of experience with Royal Icing, but it something I want to try and work with more. I seem to have a lot of trouble getting the colors the shade that I really want them. I'll probably try again soon using more basic colors so I can work on my actually decorating skills. But for now, these are pretty delicious.


Ella’s White Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 ½ t. almond extract
1 t. vanilla
1 t. salt
2 ½ c. sifted flour
Directions:
Cream butter. Add powdered sugar. Blend in egg, almond extract, vanilla, salt and flour. Chill dough until firm. Roll to 1/4” thickness on well-floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 min. Cookies should not brown. Frost and decorate when cool. Yields ~40 cookies.
Source: Annie's Eats

Royal Icing
Ingredients:
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2.5 tbsp. meringue powder
5 tbsp. water (may need a little more/less)
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined with a smooth constancy. Add a little more water to create a thinner icing to fill the cookies, use a slighty thicker icing to create the outlines.

Most recipes I read for Royal Icing are made for use with a stand mixer. They all say to mix the icing for 7-10 minutes until it becomes for matte looking and loses its shine. I personally don't have a stand mixer so I wasn't able to try out this method, but it seems like it would create an easier to work with icing.

Photos by Keegan Orange

First Post, Hi Everyone!

Hello Everyone!
Well, first things first, introductions.

I'm Sarah, and I'm a sugar junkie.

Everyone: Hi Sarah!

Well *phew* good, I'm glad that's over with... Now there are three things I'd like everyone to know before reading this blog. Or rather, before I started attempting to write this blog like a mad woman.

1. I have no clue what I'm doing.
I'm an avid blog reader. I wake up in the morning and check other peoples blogs, before I go to bed at night I check other peoples blogs. Sometimes on lunch breaks even, there are blogs checked. Some people may say I have a problem. Those people are wrong. :) Anyways, this is my very own first official blog. I don't know all the appropriate blog etiquette and I'm basically just doing the best I can. So if anyone has any suggestions or helpful tips, please, let me know!

2. I don't have a super fancy camera.
My camera doesn't suck. All of the pictures I take myself will be done on a Canon Powershot SD700. It's a good camera, I just don't know how to use it well. There will be times though (hopefully) that I'm able to get my super awesome friend to help me take some pictures for this site. Those pictures now, I'm sure they'll rock.

And finally, 3. I am not a professional.
I have worked in a few small bakeries as summer jobs, and took a few cooking classes back in High School. But besides that, this is all me. I don't get paid to bake and I still make a ton of mistakes. So I'll show it all; the mess-ups, the victories and the great attempt to break out of my comfort zone. All in one.

So, with all that having been said...
Welcome to Sugar Junkie! Enjoy!