Baby Shower Cookies

So Cute!


Two of my wonderful friends, Leslie and John, are having a baby girl. To celebrate this great occasion, my friend Sarah and I hosted a baby shower for Leslie. Sarah and I made a ton delicious food, hung adorable decorations, served tasty drinks, and hosted a wonderful shower. No baby shower is complete without dessert, so expect to see more posts in the next couple weeks. I wanted to make something to give as a favor and came up with these adorable cookies. The baby's name starts with an "A", hence the "A" on the onesies. Unfortunately, I put these cookies in the little bags I was packaging them in a little too earlier and all the icing smeared and slid off. My tip to you if you make these....make sure they dry completely before you package them up! In case any of you are interested, I have included our menu from the shower and a few pictures of the food at the end of the post. Just shoot me an email if you want an of the recipes.

Classic Sugar Cookies
recipe from Baked Perfection

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 almond extract
2 eggs

Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until fully absorbed. Separate dough into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a clean floured surface, roll out one disk of dough at a time to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are barely brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Decorate as desired.

Sugar Cookie Icing
recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla extract
assorted food coloring

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and vanilla extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick add more milk, if too thin add more sugar.

Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Decorate as desired.

Afternoon Baby Shower Menu

Snacks:
* Coconut Lime Shrimp Skewers
*Caprese Salad Bites
*Melon wrapped in prosciutto
*Tea sandwiches
- BLT's
- Chicken Salad
- Goat Cheese and Watercress
*Caramelized Onion Dip
*Spinach Dip
*Fresh-made Hummus
*Assorted Veggies and Fruit
*Chicken Satay w/ peanut sauce
*Sausage Wonton Cups
*Tomato Bacon Cups
*Apple and Gorganzola Flatbread
*Pretzel Bites

Desserts:
*Lime Bars
*Cookie Dough Truffles
*Double Chocolate Cupakes w/ Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
*Pink Velvet Cupcakes w/ Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Drinks:
*Sparkeling Peach Sangria
* Cider Sipping Sangria

Creamsicle Cookies (a.k.a Orangebursts)

Tastes like summer.


I am back. Sorry for the delay in posts, as you know I have been extremely busy. I am happy to report that my one client has filed with the SEC and we met all our deadlines. In other news I am leaving for Atlanta tomorrow to spend three weeks there to work on another client's year-end.

Before I leave, I want to share these cookies with you. I am ready for spring and I bet most of you are as well. It seems like it is right around the corner and these cookies are perfect to celebrate its arrival. In my opinion these cookies taste very similar to creamsicles. I used to LOVE creamsicles when I was small. For the first six years of my life I lived in California outside of Los Angeles. One of my fond memories from California was hearing the chime of ice cream man. Of course my brother, sister, and I would go running the minute we heard that sweet song. As a creature of habit, I would always pick the strawberry shortcake or the creamsicle. This cookies brings back all the memories of the creamsicle I would eat on the curb with my brother and sister. The sweet vanilla and tangy orange are the perfect combination. I suppose now it is time for me to make a strawberry shortcake cookie.

Creamsicle Cookies (a.k.a Orangebursts)
recipe adapted from Guittard

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange zest
2 cups Guitard Choc-Au-Lait Vanilla Chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture until combined. Stir in orange zest and chips.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Cool for several minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Lemon Glazed Triple Berry Scones

Don't hate me.


I have been working non-stop the past few weeks. Not even "Snowmagedon" stopped me from working. I am not going to get into too may details, but work put me and my team up in a hotel a block from the client to make sure we would be able to make it to work during the blizzard. With all the work and staying in a hotel for three days I have not had much time to bake. Last night I wanted to get back into the kitchen, but I knew I wanted to make something fast and easy. In comes these scones. They came together in minutes and only had to bake 10 minutes. I brought them in to work today and they were devoured. One of my co-workers said to me today "I hate you for making these." as he ate his third scone. Enjoy!

Lemon Glazed Triple Berry Scones
recipe from Baked Perfection
Scones:
2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mixed dried berries (I used a mix of blueberries, cherries, and raspberries)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, salt, and dried berries. Pour in heavy cream. Mix or knead by hand, just until combined. Mixture will be sticky. Flour surface. Divide dough into two sections and pat into two rounds, each approximately four inches. Using a pizza cutter, cut each round into 8 pieces and place on a greased large cookie sheet. Bake 9 to 11 minutes. Let cool five minutes, then glaze.

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon

Mix together until a thin icing consistency; pour over warm scones.