Lofthouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies

I've had a favorite sugar cookie recipe for a while now, but I believe that the secret ingredient in sugar cookies is the sour cream. I can almost guarantee that anything made with sour cream is delicious. It makes the cookies so moist. Who actually likes hard crunchy cookies? Not me! As I was searching on pinterest I came across these and they looked divine so I had to try them. Turns out they're just as good as they look. Now I just need to find someone to take some to. I should have halved the recipe. It makes about 4 dozen! Enjoy :)

Lofthouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies

Cookies:

6 cups flour, divided
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 c. butter, at room temperature
2 c. granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 t. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. sour cream

Frosting:

1 c. butter, room temperature
1 t. vanilla extract
4 c. powdered sugar
6 T. heavy cream
Several drops food coloring
Multi-colored Sprinkles

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the flat beater attached, cream the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Dough will be a bit “sticky”. Divide dough into two sections. Flatten into rectangles about 1 1/2 inches thick, then wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or at least two hours until firm.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.

Use the plastic wrap that you chilled the dough in. Dust the top of the dough and then flip and flour the other side, keeping it on the plastic wrap. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes, until pale golden. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vanilla. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired spreading consistency is achieved. If desired, add food coloring and beat until combined.

Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container. Let cookies sit for several hours before serving to allow the flavors to develop.

Makes: 4 1/2 dozen cookies

Chunky Avocado Salsa

Mmm! You guys are going to love this. It's SO easy to make. I have a couple suggestions for you all though. Make sure if you buy your avocados the day of, make sure they're ripe! Mine were slightly hard, but it still tastes AMAZING! Also, I don't really like the Tapatio sauce. I thought it smelt weird and tasted even weirder so I only put in a couple drops. I didn't have any of the garlic pepper and couldn't find it at Target today, but the garlic salt sure does do the trick.

Chunky Avocado Salsa

1 medium tomato

2 avocados

1 cup of sweet white corn (I get a frozen bag from Costco)

1 Bushel of green onions

1 can of black beans
, drained
Garlic Pepper (I never have this, so I leave it out)

Garlic salt w/ parsley

Tapatio Sauce



Place drained black beans and corn into a large bowl. 
Dice up the tomato and green onions and add them in the bowl.
 Season with the garlic pepper, garlic salt and tapatio sauce to taste. 
Mix everything around and then taste it to check seasoning.

 Add chopped avocado and mix it around one more time (I do the avocado last so the little diced pieces don’t get all mushy in the initial mixing process).

Nutella Yogurt Fruit Dip

This is probably the best fruit dip out there. I did however use nonfat vanilla yogurt instead of plain. It's what I had on hand... but I have to admit, I'm not so sure plain yogurt would make it as yummy as it was.

Nutella Yogurt Fruit Dip

Makes 10 servings

1 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt 1/2 cup Nutella

Mix the yogurt and Nutella together in a small bowl until completely combined. Refrigerate until ready to use. Serve with fresh cut fruit.

Single Serving of Ready to Eat Cookie Dough

So I actually came across this on pinterest and HAD to try it. I've been working hard and studying for boards and I needed a little something sweet in me. This recipe is actually probably two servings... so I would either half this or make sure you have someone else to share with. I also didn't add the chocolate chips because I hate biting into the hard chips in cookie dough. Some people like it though.

READY TO EAT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp Butter

4 Tbsp Sugar

6 Tbsp Flour

Splash of Vanilla

1-2 Tbsp of Milk

As many chocolate chips as you want

In a small bowl, mash up the butter. You want the butter barely soft enough to break apart easily. You don't want it melted. Add everything but the milk and chocolate chips. It will be tough but don't give up! When complete, you should have a dry crummy mess.

Once you have incorporated the ingredients as best you can, add as much milk (you could use water too) as you need ntil you get desired cookie dough texture.

ENJOY! :)

Winger's Sticky Fingers

Mmm! How many of you LOVE winger's sticky fingers? I always get the sticky finger wrap... or salad depending on my mood. I kid you not, this recipe tastes just like the real thing! TRY IT!

Winger's Sticky Fingers

3 Tbsp Ranks Red Hot Sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp water

Tyson crispy chicken strips, frozen

In a sauce pan combine the ranks, brown sugar and water. Continually stir until combined (doesn't take too long). Cook chicken strips as follows on the bag. Once chicken is cooked, place in a tupperware dish with sauce and shake until covered. Serve with french fries or red/green peppers. Covers about 8 sticky fingers.

Cheerio Treats

Cheerio Treats

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 5 cups Cherrios

1. In a large sauce pan, combine sugar and corn syrup. Bring to boil over medium heat.
2. Allow mixture to boil for one minute and remove from heat.
3. Add peanut butter and vanilla to mixture and mix until smooth.
4. Add Cheerios and mix until all coated.
5. Drop mixture by spoonful onto waxed paper and allow to cool. Enjoy. (I get about 2 dozen from this recipe. It all just depends on how big you make them.)

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

You know the almonds they sell at Christmas time at the mall? Mmmm! These taste just like them! Super easy to make too... so give it a try!! :)

Ingredients:

1 lb of unsalted almonds

1 egg white

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat or parchment paper.

Place the egg white and vanilla into a bowl and beat with a whisk until nice and foamy. (About 3-5 minutes with a hand mixer). Add almonds to the foam and toss to coat evenly.

Add the cinnamon, brown sugar, white sugar and salt together in another bowl and mix until well combined. Pour the sugar mixture onto the almonds and gently toss to coat evenly. Pour onto the baking sheet and place into the oven. Roast for 20 minutes then flip the almonds over with a spatula then continue roasting for another 20 minutes. Let them cool before eating. Enjoy!

Royal Icing

Okay so clearly this was my first time ever working with royal icing. Hopefully next time my cookies will look much better. I'm throwing a bridal shower for one of my best friends in July so I figured I'd better practice a couple times before the huge bash. Enjoy! :) (HERE is a great step-by-step)

Royal Icing

Annie's Eats

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2 tbsp. meringue powder (I found this at Michael's craft store in the baking section)

5 tbsp. water

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance (about 7-10 minutes). Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to an airtight container. This will be the stiffest consistency of the icing, and at this point it is still too stiff to use for decorating. Add water a very small amount at a time and stir by hand until fully incorporated. Continue until the icing has reached a consistency appropriate for piping. (Remember, if you are having any difficulty piping, it is still too thick. Add a little more water and try again.) Using a pastry bag, pipe around the edges of each cookie. Let stand so the icing will set. make sure to keep the leftover icing covered at all times when not in use so that it doesn't begin to harden.

Once all the cookies have been edged, transfer some of the remaining icing to a separate air-tight container. Thin out by incorporating a small amount of water at a time, until the icing drips off the spoon easily when lifted and then smooths in with that still in the bowl. If you go too far and the icing is too thin, add more sifted powdered sugar to thicken it again. Once the icing has reached the desired consistency , transfer it to a squeeze bottle (or plastic bag with a hole in one corner), and flood the area surrounded by the piping on each cookie. If it does not completely spread to the edges, use a toothpick to help it along. Allow to set.

Use remaining thick icing for piping decoration as desired. Gel icing color is best as it does not add a significant amount of liquid. Liquid food coloring can be used as well - add powdered sugar as needed to compensate for any thinning that occurs.