Who Cares if a Cookie's Pretty if it Doesn't Taste Good?

I love cooking and I especially love baking. I enjoy finding new recipes,ones that are tried and true. And usually, when I find a recipe that I like for something I stop looking. For example, my sugar cookie recipe. I love it and I've been using it for years with consistent results and happy, satisfied recipients. I have a reputation in my neighborhood for making cookies and all the kids know it. But, even though my cookies are tasty, they aren't always pretty. I also wish they would hold the shape of the cutter better and not spread so much. I like the way Royal Icing Looks.

I recently fell in love with this blog. SugarBelle makes the most amazing cookies I've ever seen and I want mine to look like hers.

However, I'd never made royal icing before. Her recipe looked easy enough and I wanted to try it. She swears by her sugar cookie recipe.... that they're soft and sturdy. The recipe is also appealing because the dough doesn't need to be chilled. So, as apprehensive as I was... I spent 4 hours after church today attempting to make her cookies. I know, they're hearts and Valentine's Day is still more than a month off, but I thought they'd be the easiest to decorate.

The dough looked just like hers and I created the perfect icing for what I wanted to achieve... I was pretty pleased with how they turned out.. Until I tasted them. The cookies kept their shape better than mine and the frosted results turned out beautiful... but they tasted BLAH!!! It's official now that I definitely dislike Royal Icing, even if it is pretty. The cookies were crumbly and tasteless and a bit hard. (Maybe the high altitude here affected the baking... but either way, they tasted bad.)

So, at least now I know. I am completely capable of creating pretty cookies and I could whip up some royal icing of any desired consistency on request, but I think I will stick to my not-so-pretty... DELICIOUS recipe that I never should have cheated on. If you feel so inclined to try it out... here you go:

My Favorite Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

3 ½ cups Flour

1 ½ cups Sugar

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 sticks butter, softened but not melted (1 cup)

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbl milk

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Add softened butter. Use pastry cutter or knife to chop butter into dry ingredients until it looks like corn meal.

In separate bowl, lightly beat eggs and stir in vanilla and milk.

In dry ingredient mixture, make a well in the middle and pour in egg mixture. Mix with hand or wooden spoon until dry ingredients are coated. Use hand to mix in any leftover dry ingredients and form into ball. Don’t over mix. Cover ball with plastic wrap and place in fridge for a few hours or overnight (if you don’t have a lot of time, put the dough in the freezer).

Pull chilled dough out and lightly knead until it is soft enough to roll. Roll dough to about ¼ inch on floured surface and press with cookie cutters. Bake at 375 for 9-11 minutes or until edges become slightly golden.

Frosting

1/3 cup butter, softened but not melted

4 cups powdered sugar (about half of a 2 pound bag)

¼ cup milk (or more)

½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp almond extract

pinch of salt

In mixing bowl, beat butter slowly with powdered sugar. Add milk and continue to beat. Add vanilla, almond extract, and salt. If needed, add more milk to make frosting spreading consistency. Color with food coloring if desired.

And Now... for some cute pictures of my favorite little gems: