Artsy Cream Sugar Cookies

The kids love these fun & artsy cookies!
Transform sugar cookies into edible works of art.
Your 'canvas' is cookie... Your 'paint' is food coloring.

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Dash of salt
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Variety of food colorings (red, blue, yellow)
1 recipe Meringue Powder Icing (see below) 

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in sour cream, egg, vanilla, and lemon peel until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour with a wooden spoon. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill dough for 1 to 2 hours or until easy to handle.

On a well floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time until 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Using floured cookie cutters, cut dough into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack. Let cool. When cookies are cool, frost with Meringue Powder Icing. Let icing dry. Next, use a clean small paintbrushes to paint designs on each cookie with food coloring.

Meringue Powder Icing:  In a medium mixing bowl beat together 1/4 cup warm water and 2 tablespoons meringue powder with an electric mixer until combined. Beat in 2 3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar to make a smooth, spreadable icing. If desired, tint icing with paste food coloring.

Double Chocolate Zebra Bread

Since the egg whites are beaten separately, there is  more work involved in this cake... But the fudgy, rich results are well worth it!

 

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sour cream
6 eggs, separated
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa, sifted if lumpy
1 recipe Zebra Mixture (see below)

Directions:

In a large bowl beat the egg whites until stiff, and set aside.

In another large bowl, cream the butter with the sugars. Beat in the separated egg yolks, then the vanilla and sour cream.

In yet another bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda. Beat dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture. Stir about 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it and then fold in the rest gently but thoroughly.

Spread about one-fourth of the batter into a greased and floured 9x5x3" loaf pan and sprinkle with about one-third of the Zebra Mixture. Continue to alternate batter and zebra layers, ending with a batter layer. With a knife, lightly zig-zag the batter and cocoa mixture together creating the zebra stripes.

Bake the loaf in a slow oven at 325 degrees for 1-hour and 45 minutes, or until it tests done with a toothpick. Let stand in pan for 10 minutes; turn onto wire rack to cool. Wrap in foil or plastic wrap and store in a cool place overnight before slicing

Zebra Mixture: 1/3 cup cocoa, sift if lumpy, and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Mix ingredients together and set aside.

Orange-Raisin Cream Scones

Serve these tasty scones with a variety of delicious jams, or clotted creams... Your party-goers
will positively flip for them!

 

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins
1 large egg
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
Cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle

Directions:

Position rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Have ready a large baking sheet ungreased.

In a large bowl thoroughly whisk together the flour sugar baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with 2 knives or a pastry blender, tossing the pieces with the flour mixture to coat and separate them as you work. Continue mixing in this fashion until the largest pieces are the size of peas and the rest resemble breadcrumbs. Work quickly. Do not allow the butter to melt or form a paste with the flour. Stir in the raisins.

In another bowl whisk together egg, heavy cream, and orange zest. Add egg mixture all at once to the butter mixture. Mix with a rubber spatula just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Gather the dough into a ball and knead it gently against the sides and bottom of the bowl 5 to 10 times, turning and pressing any loose pieces into the dough each time until they adhere and the bowl is fairly clean.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and pat the dough into an 8-inch round shape about 3/4 inch thick. Cut dough into 8 or 12 pie-shaped wedges and place at least 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet.

Brush the tops with cream or milk. Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon and sugar. Bake until the tops are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on a rack or serve warm.

Cranberry-Apple Cake

This cake is low in fat and serves well with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a sifting of confectioners'
sugar over the top.

 

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 medium-sized Granny Smith apples
1 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped coarse

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10- or 12-cup bundt pan. In a large bowl mix together flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

Quarter and core the apples (no need to peel). Cut into 3/4-inch chunks (you will need about 2 cups).

In a medium bowl whisk together sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until mixture is smooth. Using a spatula, stir in flour mixture until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in cranberries, apples, and nuts until the batter is stiff.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for about 30 minutes. Loosen the edges of the cake and invert on the rack. Let cool completely. Serve immediately, or wrap airtight and store overnight at room temperature before serving or freezing.

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