First Dessert Table

Well I'm sure the title is self explanatory.  I did this as a favor to for my husband's friends.  He asked if I could do it on a Friday night and I thought about it until Sunday.  Then I worked at the lab Monday and Tuesday all day.  So when I got started I had THREE days to pull it off.  It wasn't easy and I wouldn't have accomplished it if not for some crafty help from Miss Putt and emergency powdered sugar from my bestie.  Oh, and my sweet mommy who gave me the table and the cloth. 

I wanted lots of goodies to appeal to everyone there.  I made sure to lay an assortment out.  Even something salty for those who don't like sweets. 

Matthew's friend, Aaron Carter, took all the photos.  He also holds the copywrite, so ask before you pull them!

The paper cupcakes were made using a Cricut. 

I hope you enjoy the pics!  Let me know what you think! 

Oh, and we will be moving this week, say a prayer.

I took this one.





I took this too.  Orange slices below.

I think his photos are amazing.  Wish I was that good!
I'll be posting some more recipes for some of the desserts I used.  I also did another mini-table this weekend and I'll get those up soon too.  (As soon as I have a computer in the new house.)

Have a delicious day!

Strawberry Sugar Cookies {Recipe}

It's been a crazy couple of weeks here in the South!  So many people's lives have been turned upside down that my problems seem practically insignificant.  Blogging about dessert seems silly when they're are so many suffering.  But then I remembered that dessert can be a release for so many of us.  Trying out new recipes can be a sweet release for many. 

Not only that, but I promised to share my strawberry sugar cookie recipe with everyone.  Plus, I've been baking up a storm lately and I love sharing the pictures!  Last week I did a full dessert table for 80 people in 3 days!  (No, I did not sleep.)  This week, I'm gearing up for moving (it was postponed) and getting things in order for a wedding cake tasting and another dessert table on the 11th. 

So without further ado, I wanted to try making strawberry sugar cookies after the success of the lemon ones.  And in case you couldn't tell, that recipe is so easy to cater to a variety of flavors.  I'm thinking next time I'm going to try cherry.

Ingredients:4 cups of unbleached flour (remember you can trade this out if needed)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 cup of butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 box of strawberry cream pudding mix.
1 teaspoon of strawberry extract
*(optional) a dab of pink gel food coloring to make them  a bit pinker

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and strawberry extract, one at a time. Mix well after each addition. Add a dab of food gel color if desired.  See the before and after food color below.

Mix dry ingredients a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.  You can use your clean hand to help incorporate if needed. 

Then roll it out between wax paper as previously mentioned here.  Refrigerate until firm.  I left mine overnight. (This does make the dough edges more crumbly, but I just don't cut my cookies right at the edge until I've remixed and re-rolled it.)   Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 8-10 minutes for soft cookies and 11-13 minutes for crisper cookies.*  This makes 2 dozen or so cookies, depending on size.  Keep them chilled, just like I've said before, to keep them from spreading or losing shape.  Your cookies come out PERFECT if you do this.  You may have to pop them in the freezer for 5 minutes after cutting them out if your kitchen is hot; with weather like this lately, almost everyone's is.

*If you are serving your cookies soon, then I recommend closer to the 8 min. mark.  If you are doing them in advance, like a week or two, then make them crisper and they will soften over the week or two in a sealed container on the counter.  If they are too soft they can be more difficult to decorate due to their delicateness. 

I cut some out for a baby girl theme and put those in the freezer to decorate later. 

The others I decorated with a blue and orange theme I was doing for the dessert table along with some vanilla and chocolate ones.  I had a friend of my husbands come and take professional pictures of the table, but I don't have them back yet.  (insert tear drops here)

Plain Jane, simple camera at home about 2am the day of the dessert table.

Fancy Cannon camera (borrowed from my mom) on site at the dessert table.

I really hope you give these cookies a shot.  Make a batch and give them to someone who could use a smile.  You never know how much a delicious gesture can brighten someone else's day.

April Showers Bring May Flowers...{Wedding Sugar Cookies}

This was supposed to be posted last week but blogger was down.  I've got a lot of blogging to catch up on!


If April showers bring May flowers then what do May flowers bring?  June weddings!

I love weddings.  The flowers, the dress, the CAKE, the favors that are shaped like little cakes!

I wanted to be a do it yourself bride, but I had so many people telling me it was going to be too hard and too much stress that they talked me out of it.  I wish they hadn't because there are so many ways to save time and money far enough in advance that you have no worries.  Dang it.  I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off the last 48 hours, having to remind people what to do and where to be.  Oh well, I still have my prince.

So if you want to save some time, money, and still add your unique touch (or you want someone else to do it for you) to a wedding reception or a bridal shower, here is a lovely idea.

Purchase a wedding cake cookie cutter.  I got my from a local craft store, but you can purchase yours from many online shops.  It was 99 cents.

Mix up and  bake your favorite batch of sugar cookies or other decorating cookies, along with a batch of royal icing. 

It's easier to assemble everything you'll need from the start.

Then begin decorating!  My favorite decorated cookie was this plain white one I added embelishments to.  My dress was actually ivory so I might add a bit of tan if that is the case for you, depending on the shade of the actual cake. 

Fun, huh?

The undecorated cookies can be stored after baking in the freezer for a month.  Just thaw completely on cooling racks before decorating.  The decorated cookies can keep well packaged for 2 weeks.  Also, I stuck some in a plastic container for a week in the fridge (accidently) with some cupcakes.  I had to eat it when I opened it.  They tasted fine.  The icing was still just as pretty and the cookie seemed to be the same softeness.  Just make sure your refridgerator doesn't add condensation to the top of your plastic lid covering them and you should be ok. 

Happy decorating!  And happy 2 year anniversary to my best friend and my prince. 

Chocolate Sugar Cookie {Recipe}

What's the closest thing to heaven on earth in food terms?  That's right, chocolate or chocolat or cioccolato, depending on the country.  It's important to know how to say and spell it in other languages so you can order it in the event of an emergency in say, Italy. 

I adore chocolate.  The richness melts in your mouth and lingers on your taste buds.  My favorite cake is a dark chocolate cake with milk chocolate caramel frosting.  Cookies are better with buds of chocolate morsels swimming in them.  Even coffee is better when made with hot chocolate and served with a side of my favorite chocolate waffles and chocolate maple syrup.  If you are one of the weird people like my husband that prefers any flavor to chocolate then this post is not for you.

These cookies will make you love sugar cookies all over again.  (I hope.)  Their rich flavor was accidental.  I wasn't paying attention...look something shiny!...I love rainbows.  Whoops!  Did it again!  So, I wasn't paying attention and I added more cocoa powder and sugar than I had originally intended.  The result was heavenly.  So perfect to me for a sugar cookie.  Sweet and bakes up perfectly with intricate cookie cutters (as long as the dough is chilled).  Perfect for say, Teacher's Appreciation Day, Mother's Day, Graduation Day, or "I deserve chocolate because life can be so vanilla".  All topics for future posts I hope.

So getting on with it:

Ingredients

2 cups of flour
1 cup of cocoa powder
1 cup of unsalted butter
1 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder (optional--see here)

As normal, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla, one at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix dry ingredients a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour and cocoa is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.  You can use your clean hand to help incorporate if needed.  Then roll it out between wax paper as previously mentioned here.  Refrigerate until firm. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven (or just a nudge less) for about 7-8 minutes.  Remember what I said about the lemon cookies.  The chocolate ones definitely taste better on the softer side.  Cool completely before decorating with your favorite royal icing recipe.

My unoriginal royal icing recipe: (also a mistake, but turns out it is yummy)

1/4 cup of water
4 cups of powdered sugar, measured then sifted
2 Tablespoons of meringue powder
Pinch of cream of tartar
1-2 teaspoons of clear vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients in a bowl with an electric mixer/standing mixer on medium high speed for 5 minutes.  After that you can thin it down using the 10 second rule and color it.  Keep it covered with a damp cloth or plastic wrap at all times.  It crusts quicker than you can say Jack Robinson.

The teeny army of decorative touches to add to cookies.

Make them and tell me what you think.  Have a delicious week!  Stay tuned for some desserts for this busy week!


Not my most beautiful specimens but some of my most tasty!



Lemon Sugar Cookies {Recipe}

As I've mentioned, I've been fascinated with sugar cookie decoration for some time now.  My addiction to Sweetopia.net has not helped with that.  I've long wanted to try to decorate sugar cookies in flavors other than the traditional vanilla.  Chocolate is naturally the next choice.  It is, after all, superior.  But, oddly, it is not my husband's favorite. 

He has an obsession with citrus.  If he ever offers to make you his mediteranian soup, pass.  It's chocked full of lemon or lime juice.  The acid will melt your teeth off.  Not kidding.  So I attempted to make some lemon sugar cookies, just for him.  Also, it was really the only option I had because we always have citrus flavors on hand.  These would make a lovely Mother's Day cookie option too.  Just saying.  That's not too far off.

Ingredients:
4 cups of unbleached flour (remember you can trade this out if needed)
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 cup of butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 box of lemon pudding mix, I think it's about 4oz.
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla or substitute for lemon extract to get extra lemon pizazz
(If you'd like to add a bit of yellow coloring you can, to make them look more lemony.  I did not.)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, one at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix dry ingredients a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.  You can use your clean hand to help incorporate if needed.  Then roll it out between wax paper as previously mentioned here.  Refrigerate until firm.  I left mine this time for 2 days because I got busy!  Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 7 minutes for soft cookies and 10-12 minutes for crisper cookies.*  This makes 2 dozen or so cookies, depending on size.  Keep them chilled, just like I've said before, to keep them from spreading or losing shape.  Your cookies come out PERFECT if you do this.  You may have to pop them in the freezer for 5 minutes after cutting them out if your kitchen is hot.

*If you are serving your cookies soon, then I recommend closer to the 7 min. mark.  If you are doing them in advance, like a week or two, then make them crisper and they will soften over the week or two in a sealed container on the counter.  I've done this many times.  They never taste "stale" or old.  Just as wonderful as you'd expect.

Decorate with your favorite frosting recipes as normal!  They're almost better than the chocolate cookies.  Just don't tell my husband. ;)

Check back soon for the chocolate ones.  I think I finally got the recipe right.

Have a delicious day!