Cookie blogging

It ends up my grandmother’s memorial/family reunion is scheduled for the day we’re having Lucas’s birthday party.  We won’t, therefore, be attending.

Accordingly, I’m memorializing my grandmother in other small ways.

When I was a kid, she and I used to make cookies together–and even once I was an adult, when she knew I was visiting Long Beach she’d make a big batch of frosted sugar cookies for me.  (They were so addictive–I swear she slipped nicotine in them.)

Anyway, I secured the recipe from her years ago, and Lucas and I are making them today as both a way to remember my grandmother* and as a treat to take to this evening’s picnic at his new school.

The cookies are so tasty** that I thought I’d share the recipe here.  (Pictures coming once they’re frosted. . .)

These a simple cookies, but they do take many hours to make.

You will need:

• 2 c flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 c sugar
• 1 c butter, softened (room temp)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla

To make the dough:

• Beat the sugar and butter until creamy.
• Add egg and vanilla.
• Add flour, salt, and baking powder as one.
• Add a bit more flour if you’re planning to cut the cookies into shapes.  (Dammit–I forgot this step today!)

Chill the dough for at least an hour in the fridge.  I like to divide it into a couple of batches, wrapped in plastic wrap, so that I can pull out one batch at a time when I’m rolling out the dough and cutting it into shapes.

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Flour the surface on which you’ll be rolling the cookies.  (I use a large wooden cutting board, and I always put down more flour than I think I’m going to need; this dough gets sticky.)

Roll the dough out in small batches–I usually roll it to be between 1/4″ and 3/8″ thick–and cut into shapes using cookie cutters or, if you’re really artistic, freehand with a sharp knife.

Grandma instructed me to place the cookies on the bottom rack of the oven first, and move them to the top rack after five minutes.  I usually just leave them on one rack, but you do need to keep an eye on them so that they don’t brown too much.

Let the cookies cool.

To make frosting:

Beat together half a cube of melted butter (note: if you like lots of frosting, use a whole cube) with powdered sugar until it forms a thick paste.  Add warm milk slowly until you reach a consistency you like.  Add vanilla or mint extract, or fresh-squeezed orange or lemon juice (and zest), depending on your flavor preferences.  Add food coloring if you’d like.

Spread frosting on cookies.  Add sprinkles if you party that way; these cookies are really tasty with a few of those red hots (cinnamon candy dots) on top.

Let the cookies sit out for a while to let the frosting dry a bit; if you stack them up too soon, they’ll stick together and make a mess.

Keep in an airtight container.  I’m guessing these will last about a week in a sealed container, but usually we eat them all within a few days. 

* Grandmother + cookies = cliché, I know, but it rings true in this case.  She was an awesome baker of treats.

** especially to grad students, I’ve found. . .