Mir's Sugar Cookies and Royal Icing

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups (four sticks) of sweet cream salted butter
3 cups of Confectioner's Sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Almond extract
5.5 cups All-purpose flour
3.5 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt

Method:
Cream together softened butter and confectioner's sugar.  Crack the egg into a separate bowl, and add the flavoring.  I use emulsions, but extract also works well.  Add that to the butter sugar mixture and mix until the egg is thoroughly incorporated.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then add little by little to the mixture.  I can tell the dough is ready whit it no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.  When I touch it, it has a little give, but does not stick to my fingers

Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick, use flour for dusting as necessary.  Then, cut and bake at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes.  This version makes 4-5 dozen

Notes:
This dough DOES not need to be refrigerated before rolling it out, that is the best part.  It does need to rest a little after mixing, it will firm up a little bit after a minute or two.  Decorate the cookies the next day, the surface seems to be prettier the next day.


Royal Icing Flowers (Step one of iced cookies)

Ingredients:
2 egg whites
1 tsp lemon juice
5 cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 tsp water (approximate)

Method:
Mix egg whites and lemon juice.  Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing in between.  add almond extract and whip.  Add water if needed.  Frosting needs to pretty thick to hold the structure of the piped flower.  Use a piping bag and flower tip and pipe away.  Let dry and store in ziplock bags.

Royal Icing Piped Borders (Step two of iced cookies)

Ingredients:
3 egg whites
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp Almond extract
5 - 5.5 cups of Powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp water

Method:
Mix egg whites and lemon juice.  Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing in between.  add almond extract and whip.  Add water if needed.  Use this frosting to pipe borders prior to flooding and then also after flooded cookies are completely dry to add accents.

Royal Icing Flooding (Step 3 of iced cookies)

Ingredients:
6 egg whites
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp of Almond Extract
8 cups of Powdered Sugar

Mix together on low.  Use to flood piped cookies.  Let dry for 24 hours on counter top before adding accents and additional piping.  Use piping icing to glue flowers on the cookies.

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Mouse's Bakery Frosting

Mouse's Bakery Frosting

Ingredients:
2 lbs C&H Powdered Sugar (no generic)
2 sticks Danish brand butter
1 cup of crisco
3.5 tsp Watkins Vanilla (Found at Walmart & Winco)
1/4 Cup Heavy Cream (40% preferred)
Dash of Salt

Method:
Cut butter into tablespoons and add to mixer.  Add 1 cup of shortening.  Beat together until smooth.  Add half of the powdered sugar and beat until creamy.  Add 1/4 chilled heavy cream and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Add remaining powdered sugar about a cup at a time.  Beat until smooth.  If you need to add extra cream, only add 1-2 Tbs. at a time.  Too much and your frosting will loose its structure.  Add a dash of salt with the last couple cups of powdered sugar.  Beat on med/high for 10 minutes until light and fluffy.

Mouse's Raspberry Filling

Mouse's Raspberry Filling

Ingredients:
2 bags of frozen raspberries
1.5 cups of Sugar
3 Tbs. Cornstarch

Method:
The night before dump bags of frozen raspberries into a bowl and sprinkle one cup of sugar over the top and let them sit on the counter to thaw.  As they thaw, it will draw the juice from the berries.  Keep an eye on the berries, don't let them get to room temperature.  Once they have thawed put them in an airtight container and put them in the fridge overnight.  Putting them in the fridge too soon may not yield enough juice.

Next day place the berries in a strainer over a large bowl and drain all the juices.  Save the juice (you should have about 1 cup) and pour in a small saucepan with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar.  Add 3 Tbs of cornstarch and whisk until completely blended.  Once blended, turn on medium heat and cook until thickened, stirring occasionally so it doesn't burn.

Let cool and gently fold in the raspberries.

Store in airtight container in the fridge until you are ready to use.

This is Mouse's creation.  She said she cooks the juices and not the berries because when the berries are cooked, you get a jam/jelly taste.  This recipe tastes like fresh fruit

Outback Steak House Garden Salad

Outback Steak House Garden Salad

Salad:
Romaine lettuce - washed and chopped
Red onion - sliced
Outback croutons - I buy a bag at Outback for around $5.00
Cucumbers - sliced and cut in half
Grape tomatoes - cut in half lengthwise
Shredded Cheese (thick not thin)

Spicy Ranch:
1 heaping tsp. Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing mix (Buttermilk recipe)
1 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 tsp coarse ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in medium bowl.  Mix well.  Cover bowl and chill dressing at least 30 minutes before serving.

Candy Clay/Molding Chocolate

Candy Clay/Molding Chocolate

Ingredients:
12 oz. bag of your preferred color of candy melts
1/4 cup light corn syrup

Method:
In a microwave-safe bowl add candy melts and microwave in 30 second intervals stirring in between. It usually takes 3 times at 30 seconds to melt the chocolate.  Stir to smooth out.  Add corn syrup and gently stir from the outside in, using a folding method. Stir until soft serve ice cream consistency.  Don’t over stir.

Once finish pour mixture onto a large piece of plastic wrap and spread it out with a spoon to flatten.  Add another piece of plastic wrap on top and flatten out even more.  Seal and leave on counter for a few hours until completely cool.  It will be hard, don’t worry.  Start kneading and it will soften right up and you can mold it into whatever shape you would like.

Marshmallow Fondant

Marshmallow Fondant

Ingredients:
8 oz. mini marshmallows
2 Tbs. water
4 cups powdered sugar
Food coloring (optional)

Method:
Place marshmallows and the water in a large microwave-safe bow.  Microwave on high for 1 minute, until marshmallows are puffy and expanded.

Stir marshmallows with a rubber spatula until they are melted and smooth.  If some unmelted marshmallows remain, return to microwave for 30-45 more seconds, until the marshmallow mixture is free from lumps.

If you want colored or flavored fondant, you can add several drops of food coloring at this point and stir until incorporated.

Add powdered sugar and begin to stir with the spatula.  Stir until sugar begins to incorporate and it becomes impossible to stir anymore.

Scrape the marshmallow sugar mixture out on to powdered sugar sprinkled surface.  It will be sticky at first, totally ok.

Dust hands with powdered sugar and begin to knead the fondant mixture like bread dough, working the sugar in the marshmallow with your hands.  Continue to knead until fondant smooths out and loses its stickiness.  Add more sugar if necessary.  Make into a ball, wrap in Saran Wrap and let rest for a 1/2 hour on counter.

Steaks Vidinhar Style

Steaks Vidinhar Style

Rib eye steak - Costco
Sprinkle with:
Olive oil
Garlic Powder
Hawaiian Sea Salt
Pepper

BBQ on high and then turn heat to medium.  7-8 minutes on each side for Costco thick steaks.  Slice and serve