I do not apologize for not having updated my website.
I’m a farmer, y’all.
I do not sleep until winter.
But I am taking the time to give you the recipe for these Christmas cookies because you are going to lose your mind. All of my recipes are copied from someone, and then I modify. Because I love to modify. To plan and change until it all comes out perfectly, and then I never change it again. These cookies are a mix of two recipes. One recipe is from Sugar Cookie Cutouts, and the icing is from my friend, Susan, who lives in Tennesse, y’all. She’s the bomb.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, ‘Lavender and Lemon Christmas Cookies’. I have no idea what else to call them.
Ingredients:
-1 cup of butter, softened (I always use salted butter, even though they always say, don’t. What do they know?) Softened butter means you can dent it with your finger.
-1/2 cup of sugar (I like organic, fair-trade, raw sugar)
-1 egg (organic from the farm!)
-1 tbsp vanilla (um…feel free to just splash it in, not measuring it)
-3 cups all-purpose flour (I use hard white organic)
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt (but isn’t there already salt in the butter? Yes. Your point?)
Directions:
Do not turn on your oven yet. It takes too long to roll them out and if you live where I do, hydro is freaking expensive. And I am not baking cookies after 7pm.
1-In a large bowl, with a mixer (although I have done this by hand) at low speed, beat softened butter and sugar until blended well. Then increase the speed to high, and beat it until light and creamy like a cloud.
2- At a low speed, now, add egg and then vanilla. Then beat in flour, 1 cup at a time, and then baking soda. I will tell you now, that at some point, the whole thing will gum up in your mixer and you’ll have to mix the rest by hand. And that’s ok.
3- If the kitchen is hot, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. My kitchen was freezing today, so I was fine. On a lightly floured surface (or on a big chopping block in between parchment paper), roll out 1/4 of the dough to about 1/8″ thick. Or thicker. Depends how you like your cookies.
4- Use your heirloom/brand new cookie cutters and cut them out, putting them on a baking sheet/cooking sheet.
5- Now. IF you are just going to use maraschino cherries or sprinkles, then go ahead and put them on the cookies and then put them in the oven. BUT if you want icing, go ahead and turn on the oven to 350F and wait for the ding to say the oven is ready. Lick bits of cookie off your fingers and eat the fallen crumbs.
6- Bake in oven for 10 minutes. That’s it. Just 10.
7- Try not to eat them all while they cool
Crazy Crack Cake Icing
This icing is from the Crazy Crack Cake recipe that Susan gave me. I like a melted icing. It makes me happy. So I modified it.
Ingredients:
-1/2 cup of butter (or one stick for you Americans)
-6 tbsp cream or milk (I use vanilla soymilk)
– 1 tsp vanilla (this is optional. I found it made my icing a strange tan colour, so I don’t use it)
-3 3/4 cup of icing sugar
Directions:
1- In a small saucepan, combine butter and milk. Heat until it melts and whisk away. Add in one cup of icing sugar and then whisk until smooth. Do this with additional cups until you get the right consistency. Like a good shampoo, not runny.
With a silicone brush (cause that’s what I found in the drawer), stir the icing, take it off the heat. Now this is the fun part. If you want lemon-flavouring, go ahead and add some. If you want mint-flavouring, almond, whatever, go ahead a add a few drops.
But with your brush, pick up remaining cookies that have cooled, and paint the entire cookie top. Put cookies down on a rack and finish painting cookie.
Sprinkle immediately with fresh/dried lavender buds. And then add a the faintest wisp of lemon zest.
Isn’t it pretty?
Now put the whole tray in the fridge so the icing can harden. But eat one first. Because they are amazing.
In an hour, your cookies should be nice and hard. But you should try one to make sure. No? Ok, back in the fridge and check again in another hour.
You’re welcome.