Bacon Wrapped Potatoes with Spicy Sour Cream Sauce

I wasn't going to post about these so soon, but I figured I should share at least one Superbowl recipe with you guys.

I saw the picture on pinterest, but it didn't actually lead to a recipe.  So.. I made it up.  Wrapping the potatoes in bacon was a little bit more time consuming than I had anticipated, so you'll want to leave yourself plenty of time.  Also, you kind of do want to pay attention to your potato pieces and make sure they're all about the same size.  I just guessed as I went and found myself having to trim a few as I was wrapping them with bacon.  Honestly, you'll probably just want to make them smaller than what you think you should.  Trimming some wasn't a big deal for the small amount that I made, but if you're planning on feeding a larger crowd, it's probably better to make sure they're the right size the first time.

Cooking the potatoes for this is a little tricky, too.  You want to the water to boil so that the potatoes cook, but you DO NOT want the potatoes cooked all the way through - if they're too mushy, they'll fall apart when you try to do the next steps!  I am not too sure how to describe the softness that you're looking for - fork tender, I guess.  You should be able to spear the potatoes with a fork without them falling off.

Once you drain them, make sure you rinse them with cold water to cool them off a little!  This will help slow down the cooking process, but it's also practical so you don't burn your hands!  I found it easier to cut the bacon into thirds as I went, so I didn't cut more than I needed, but the total amount of bacon depends on the number of people you're feeding.  As with all bacon stuff, make sure you drain on these on paper towels before you serve them - I found that some of the grease got trapped in between the bacon piece and the potato.

The sauce was so easy and so great.  I only added 1 1/2 tsp. of hot sauce to mine, because Joe doesn't like things that are too hot.  The sour cream does cool it down quite a bit, though, so you should be able to spice it up a good amount without burning the mouths of too many people.  For me, I would have definitely made it hotter, but sometimes, you've just gotta go with what the crowd wants and likes.  For game day, I think I'm going to chop up some chives or green onions and mix it in with the sour cream sauce so it really tastes like a little baked potato.  Man, I'm drooling just thinking about it!

The reaction to these was off the hook!  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I love baked potatoes and I felt like these would taste pretty similar.  When the boys saw me take these out of the oven, they got so excited when they realized what they were about to eat.  When I presented the plate to them, they practically knocked me over in their quest to eat snacks.  Between the three of us, we devoured this plate in just a few minutes.

The recipe below makes about 3 dozen bites - increase accordingly based on your needs!  If you try this one, please let me know what you think!

What are some of your favorite Superbowl/party foods?

Bacon Wrapped Potatoes with Spicy Sour Cream Sauce
 3-4 potatoes
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp. salt
garlic powder*
onion salt*
ground peppercorn*
smoked salt*
cajun seasoning*
6 slices bacon
4 oz. sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. hot sauce

*all spices are to taste.  these are what I used, but you can use whatever you like!

Peel potatoes and dice into about 1" cubes, keeping the pieces about the same size (it's okay if they're not the same shape).

Put the potatoes in a medium pot, cover with cold water, season with salt and bring to a boil.  Cook potatoes until they're fork tender but don't fall off the fork.  You want them to be almost cooked through but not mushy

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Drain the potatoes.  Rinse under cold water and transfer to a large bowl. Season with spices and oil, coating evenly.

Cut the strips of bacon into thirds. Wrap each potato in a piece of bacon, securing the ends with a toothpick. Put the potatoes on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until bacon reached desired crispiness.  Remove from oven.  Let cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.  Combine the sour cream and hot sauce; serve.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

You've probably seen these a million times recently, since lots of people make these for Christmas.  Hell, you've probably even made them yourself.  I, on the other hand, have made these exactly twice in my entire life.  The first time I made these, Joe still live in his dingy bachelor pad downtown.  I remember that I had to go out and specially purchase everything I needed - butter, peanut butter, cookie sheets, etc.  The man had the bare essentials and that was it.  He did have one cookie sheet, but it was questionable looking.  He had been talking about these and I remarked "are you kidding, those are so easy to make!" and then he asked me if I could make them for him.  I did, and then never made them again.

What a jerk.

See, it turns out that chocolate + peanut butter is Joe's favorite combination.  It also turns out that Hershey Kisses are my kryptonite.  You'd think that having to unwrap them in order to eat them would slow me down, but I think I see it as more of a challenge than anything else.  The tricky part with these cookies is that you have to unwrap the chocolates first, since you need to be able to press them into the cookies right away.  See the problem?

We were having some friends over and I hadn't made them in awhile (about 8 years, if you were wondering), so I decided it was about time to resurrect these babies.  Also... I really wanted some Hershey Kisses.

My self control paid off, since I had about a dozen chocolates left over that I could eat without feeling guilty (or giving myself a tummy ache) and everybody loved the cookies.  Also, Joe might have made a funny little shriek/squeal noise when he saw them cooling on the counter.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

48 Hershey Kisses, unwrapped
1/2 c. shortening
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/3 c. granulated sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Lightly grease cookie sheets and set aside.  Place the additional sugar on a small plate or in a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat shortening and peanut butter until well blended.  Add sugars and beat until fluffy.  Add egg, milk and vanilla; stir until incorporated.  Combine baking soda and flour and gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar.  Place on baking sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned (I baked mine for 8 minutes).  Remove from oven and immediately press a chocolate into the center of each cookie.  The cookies will crack around the edges.  Let cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Apple Pie

Alright, peeps (yes, I say "peeps" in real life, and not just when I'm talking about the marshmallows), I have a confession to make: the crust on this pie is not homemade.

I know, I know.  I tried to make it.  Twice, in fact.  The same crust recipe I use for my chicken pot pie, since it's just a basic pastry crust that can be used for anything.

This time, though, it failed me.  I'm not sure what happened.  My dough was really hard to roll out.  And I don't mean physically difficult, because I may be little but I'm pretty strong.  Seriously, though, the dough was very solid and tough, not doughy and stretchy at all.  If I really muscled and forced it, I could get it to stretch, but then it would rip.  I tried putting it in the bottom of the pan and stretching it out that way, since it's not like the bottom crust has to be pretty.  That sort of worked, but I ended up nixing that idea pretty quickly because there was some niggling thought in the back of my head that told me the crust just wasn't going to come out right.  Also, I really didn't want an apple crumble pie.

The only problem was that my oven was already preheating and my apples were already mixed and waiting to be poured into the crust.  So, I did what any self-respecting person does when they're having a minor kitchen emergency: I put on my sneakers and went to the grocery store in my pajamas to buy pre-made crust from the dairy aisle.

While that solved my immediate problem, it also gave me a new one.  HOW WAS THE PIE GOING TO TASTE? Having never used pre-made pie crust before, I was a little worried that it would *taste* like it came from a box or the store and not like it came out of my kitchen. So... I decided not to tell Joe.  And then I cut him a slice of pie and he ate it and said it was delicious, and I kept the crust a secret... until now.

Whatever - the pie was delicious and that's all that matters!

Also, I think I need a new pie crust recipe.  I'll probably do some Googling and figure one out myself, but if you have one, I'd love to see it!

Apple Pie Filling
6 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used Granny Smith & Macintosh)
2/3 c. granulated sugar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp corn starch
1 1/2 tsp. apple pie spice

Preheat oven to 425°F.  Lightly grease an 8" or 9" inch pie plate and set aside.

Press first pie crust into the bottom of the pie plate, leaving overhang.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix well, making sure all apples are evenly coated.

Pour into pie shell.  Top with second pie crust and crimp edges as desired. Cut slits in the top for ventilation.

Place pie plate on a baking sheet (this makes it way easier to handle!).  Bake for 40 minutes.  After 20 minutes, remove from oven and let cool for a couple of minutes, then cover edges with foil to prevent browning.  Return to oven and bake for remaining 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling.

Chocolate Cola Cupcakes

I don't even know how I stumbled on an idea like this, but in a nutshell, it's chocolate cake and chocolate frosting made with Coca Cola.

Now, if you know anything about me, you know that those are two of my favorite things.  I had never heard of it before so I started researching, and Google tells me that this kind of cola cake is pretty much a southern thing.  Of course, it doesn't tell me and I have no idea.  Maybe it has something to do with southerners needing to figure out a way to make their cakes still taste delicious in spite of the humidity?

I'm not sure, and frankly, it doesn't even matter.  Wherever you're living, you need to make these right now because you're going to LOVE them.  These cupcakes are moist and fluffy!  The hint of cinnamon adds a little depth to the chocolate, and the frosting?  HAVE MERCY.  There's a container of it in the refrigerator and it's taking all of my self control not to go at it with a spoon.

I wasn't really sure how much soda I needed for this, so I ended up buying a 6 pack of cans because I'll drink it anyway (soda is one of my very few vices, lol).  Turns out, I only needed one regular sized can (not those little miniature ones).  I would've found that information helpful from the start, so I'm passing it along to you so you can plan accordingly :)  My Coke was room temperature when I used it, but I don't think it really makes too much of a difference.  You can certainly use the bottle if that's you have/prefer, but I would suggest making sure it's a brand new one and not one that's been around for a few days, since the carbonation seems like it's an important part of this recipe.

You can tell this is one of my favorite recipes because I don't have a lot to say about it (too busy eating cupcakes).  If you make these, please let me know what you think!  My brother may have eaten 6 in a row :P

I was pretty generous with my frosting, but you'll most likely end up with some left over.  If you're like me, that means you quickly stash it in the fridge and try to forget about it before you attack it with a spoon.  When your willpower inevitably cracks and weakens, as mine did, you'll want to let the frosting warm up a little bit before you attack it with a spoon.  The soda makes it a little sweet to eat straight, so I ended up scooping mine with pretzels.  Sweet, salty AND crunchy?  Chocolatey heaven!

Chocolate Cola Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
2 c. granulated sugar
2 c. flour
1 c. (2 sticks) butter
3 Tbsp  coca powder
1 c. Coca Cola
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla



For the frosting:
2 sticks butter, room temperature
3 c. powdered sugar
6 Tbsp cocoa powder
6 Tbsp Coca Cola
1 tsp. vanilla

Method:
Line cupcake tins with cupcake papers and preheat oven to 350°F.

In a medium sized saucepan, combine butter and Coca Cola and bring to a boil.

In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar.  Slowly and carefully add in the Coke mixture and stir to combine.  Mix in buttermilk, baking soda and cinnamon.  Add cocoa powder and mix well.  Stir in vanilla and add eggs, one at a time.  Whip ingredients until well blended.  Batter will be loose.


Fill cupcake papers about 2/3 full.  Bake for 20 minutes, until tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Yields about 24 cupcakes.

While cupcakes are cooling, combine butter and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until smooth.

Slowly add in the sugar and cocoa, adding the soda as needed when the frosting gets too thick.  Continue adding soda until desired consistency is reached.

Beat 3-5 minutes until frosting is fluffy.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crust

When mom told me that I could make all of the desserts for Thanksgiving/Chanukah this year, I was beyond excited.  About 2 seconds later, I got overwhelmed - how many people would there be?  What should I make?  How many desserts should I make?  Should I make more, smaller things, or fewer, larger things?  I asked mom for advice and she told me that there would be 6 of us and beyond that, I could do whatever I wanted.  In other words: ahhhh!

See, I felt like I had some giant shoes to fill.  My gramma doesn't do much baking or cooking anymore, and she never did for holiday things (keep reading and you'll see why), but she DID (does) always go bananas with the amount of food.

For every Thanksgiving except for this one, there's always a 20-ish pound turkey, a couple of pounds of boneless chicken breast, two kinds of rice, mashed potatoes AND sweet potatoes... you can see where I'm going with this.  And that's just the real food.  Dessert always involves the same amount of stuff: multiple kinds of cupcakes (chocolate AND vanilla/mini AND regular size, etc); at least two kinds of cookies; apple, blueberry and pumpkin pies; chocolate cake, jello and sometimes there's ice cream in the freezer that she forgets about.

So, even though I knew nobody would be "judging" me and everyone loves my stuff, I felt like my gramma had set the bar wicked high and that I wouldn't even come close.  In determining what to make, I had to figure out what was the most important.  As I thought about it, I realized that for gramma, it's not Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie - even though I don't think I've ever seen her eat more than a little sliver of a slice, I think it's just one of those things that she needs to have on the table in order for her heart and head to be like "ahhh, now this Thanksgiving is complete".  She has a really hard time letting go of the reins (so THAT'S where I get it from!), so I knew I wanted to make her pumpkin pie.

Of course, I couldn't make any pumpkin pie.  No.  Instead, I make pumpkin pie cheesecake with a graham cracker crust.  Talk about stacking the deck against myself.  I had made this recipe before, but only once.  Probably two years ago.  And I used a box mix cake for the base and made it bars, not a pie.  That said, I remembered the bars being delicious and easy to make, and a graham cracker crust seemed like a really good idea.  Plus, since it's cheesecake, I figured it would be easy to make a day or two ahead of time since it's gotta sit in the fridge anyway.

You guys.  I am SO GLAD I made this.  The graham cracker crust was the PERFECT compliment to the pumpkin mixture.  I topped my slice with some homemade whipped cream and it was absolutely to die for.  Since the filling recipe is for bars and I made a pie, you'll actually end up with leftover filling.  I made cupcake sized cheesecakes, but realistically, you could probably get two 8" pies out of this.  I don't really know how to do it, but I'd recommend making one to freeze and one to eat, because you'll definitely want some more before next Thanksgiving.

Yum!

Oh, and if you're wondering.. my gramma loved it!

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crust

For the crust:
2 c. graham cracker crumbs (about 18 crackers)
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

For the filling:
8 oz. brick cream cheese, room temperature
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
15 oz. can pumpkin puree
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease a 9 1/2" pie plate. (Note: I used a disposable one to make life easier, I think it was 8" or so - use whatever size you have available!)

Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugars and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Press into the bottom and up the sides of your pie plate.  Bake until firm, about 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk.  Add eggs, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice.  Mix well.  Batter will be loose.

Place cooled pie plate on a small baking sheet.  Pour pumpkin mix into crust.  Bake until center is set but still wobbly, about 45 minutes.  To double check, insert a sharp knife into the center of your cheesecake, until it touches the crust - it should come out clean.  Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

*To make cupcakes: press about 1 EATING sized teaspoon of graham cracker crumbs into the bottom of your cupcake wrappers.  Bake until firm, about 5 minutes.  Add 2-3 EATING sized teaspoons on pumpkin mix and bake about 20 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then refrigerate in an airtight container overnight.

No Bake Cookie Dough Bites

I LOVE cookies.  Frankly, when it comes to cookies, I'm probably the least picky person on the planet - Oreos, store brand sandwich cookies, fig newtons, peanut butter, oatmeal, those yummy italian cookies that I only get at Christmas... if it's a cookie, I want it.  By far, though, my favorite cookie is just regular ol' chocolate chip.

As a kid, I would stand in or near the kitchen, anxiously awaiting mom to say that the cookies were cooled enough for me to take one.  Let's be honest - sometimes I didn't even wait.  I love it when the cookies are hot and fresh, right out of the oven and the chocolate is so gooey it drips down your chin when you take a bite.  Sure, sometimes they were REALLY freakin' hot and I burned myself, but it was all worth it.

Once I started making cookies myself, my favorite part was being able to lick the bowl/spoon without having to share with anybody (the perils of having younger siblings).  The only problem is that I have been known to give myself a tummy ache a time or two from eating too much cookie dough.  Or brownie batter.  Or cake batter.  And watermelon. Mmmmmm.

Where was I?

Oh yeah.  Chocolate chip cookies.  So, my friend Natascha has a son and he just turned two.  I told her I was going to make something, but then I had no idea what to make.  Last year, I made cupcakes, but so did everyone else.  I knew there were going to be a good amount of kids at the party, so I wanted to make something that kids and parents enjoyed but that was super easy for the kids to eat -  you know, so they could sneak a couple when mommy and daddy weren't looking.

Cookie dough bites seemed like a great idea.  Except for the whole "raw eggs make you sick" thing.  I knew I could make a bunch of cookies and then crush them up with some cream cheese to make truffles, but I wanted these to REALLY be cookie dough, just without the eggs.  Alas, I knew I needed something to add some moisture to the dough, but I didn't really know what I could use.  I knew that applesauce was a good egg substitute, but I didn't have any in the house and wasn't about to go buy some for the small amount that I needed.

I did a ton of googling and it seemed like whatever I was going to do, water was not the right answer.  I found some recipes online that used almond/soy/non-dairy milk for similar recipes, and they all had pretty good reviews, so I decided that I could probably use regular, whole dairy milk in my recipe and get similar results.

I tried it and, what do you know - it worked!  People, these are freakin' delicious.  It's like the best part of the cookie without ever having to turn the oven on!  As soon as the kids (and adults) realized that these little balls of chocolate had cookie dough inside, it was all over. 

After figuring out the dough, making these was super easy.  I did end up shelling out $8 at Target for a cookie scoop, but that's because whenever I make things like this, I have some that are huge and some that are little and some that are in between.  When I make regular, baked cookies I don't have a problem getting everything to be the same size, but I thought this project would be a lot easier if I could get the sizing to be consistent.  I still can't believe I paid that much for it, but it definitely helped! It felt pretty efficient, too, since I was able to scoop all of them out at once and then roll them all, instead of having to scoop and roll at the same time.  My cookie scoop said it makes 2" diameter cookies.  That seems like it might be fairly accurate to what I was able to make, and I got about 3 dozen - obviously, you'll get more or less depending on what size you make yours.

These don't take very long, either.  Most of the time is waiting for the dough to chill and then waiting for the chocolate set.  These were definitely a huge hit at the birthday party, but I think they'd go over well at your holiday party or at a football party.  Actually, I think I'm gonna put these on my list for the Superbowl!

What are you waiting for?  Go make some!

PS: as it turns out, today is national cookie day.  What's your favorite kind of cookie?

No Bake Cookie Dough Bites
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3/4 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp milk
2 1/4 c. flour
1 c. mini chocolate chips

14 oz. chocolate for dipping

Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add milk and vanilla.  Mix in flour and stir by hand until incorporated.  Fold in chocolate chips.

Cover and chill dough in refrigerator for about 1 hour.

Form dough into balls about 1-2" diameter and arrange on a baking sheet.  Chill for about an hour.

Melt chocolate according to package directions.  Working with a few balls at a time, dip the cookie dough balls into the chocolate, letting excess drip off.  Place on wax or parchment paper lined cookie sheets.  Let chill until chocolate is set.  Trim off excess chocolate with a sharp paring knife.

Store in an airtight container for up to one week (although good luck getting them to last that long).

Chanukah Sugar Cookies

You guys.  I have so much to talk about.  I know I've been kinda quiet lately... it's because I got a new job!  I may have alluded to some unhappiness at work in the past, and this was totally the right move.  I now work at a local car dealership as the internet marketing director for the 3 dealerships that are all on the same property.  I am responsible for photographing and putting descriptions up of ALL new and used cars. 

To give you an idea of how large this company is, the owner has about 50 or so dealerships in the greater Boston and Providence areas.  The dealerships run the gamut, from Ford and Honda to BMW and Rolls Royce and everything in between.

It's only been a few weeks, but so far, I LOVE it.  Surprisingly, even though I have about 400+ new cars that I need to get photographed and online, the job is way less stress than  my last one.  People are treating me the way I want and deserve to be treated and seem genuinely happy to have me on board.  Also, I get to use my education (imagine that!) and have minimal interactions with customers (pretty much just a smile and a friendly hello when I see them in the show room).  Also, there's way more upward growth potential at this job.  Overall, I'm thrilled.

So.  Thanksgiving just passed and we are in the midst of Chanukah.  I have done a TON of baking this past week for the holidays, and have much to show you.  I thought it would be overwhelming if I did it all once, though, so I'm breaking them down into different posts.  I was originally going to do it in the order of which the things were made, but, obviously, Chanukah cookies are relevant and I wanted to share those first.  Also, considering my pretty terrible decorating ability, I'm the most proud of these and wanted to show them off!

Since it's just a basic sugar cookie recipe, this also seemed the most timely so that you can plan to make them for Christmas.  Before you ask: I have no idea where to go to acquire Jewish themed cookie cutters.  I figured if anyone would have them, it would be mom.  She did, so now I do.  If you're looking for some so you can make your own, Amazon seems like it's probably a safe bet (side note: I just checked while I was typing this.  Definitely check Amazon.).

The cookie recipe itself is actually something I've had since high school.  In my freshman year english class we had to do a "how to" demonstration.  Obviously, the girl couldn't fully demonstrate how to make cookies, but she brought the recipe with some samples!  Now, this is not designed to be an actual roll out cookie dough recipe, but I did all of the research for you and you can turn pretty much any sugar cookie recipe into one!  All you really have to do is chill the dough so that it stiffens to the correct consistency.  You can also add more flour, but this recipe is pretty similar to a lot of the ones that I found floating around on the interwebz.  I chilled my dough for about 10 minutes, but you'll want to chill yours for longer.  Some of my cookies softened around the edges instead of staying in the precise shape they were in when they started.  For me, this was no big deal.  If you're making these with kids, it's probably no big deal either. 

After I noticed that it was happening when I checked on the first batch, I stuck the other sheets in the fridge to chill after they were cut and before they went in the oven.  This helped out some, but chilling the dough for longer ahead of time is probably the right thing to do.  The trick is to make sure you don't chill it for TOO long - I would think that about 30 minutes to an hour is good enough, because you still need the dough soft enough to work with.  I worked with about 1/3 of the dough at a time, and probably could have left the rest of it in the fridge.

I love sugar cookies with frosting, but transporting them the few blocks to my mom's house with buttercream frosting seemed like it posed some problems.  I've read about royal icing about a million times on the internet, but never had the opportunity or a reason to try it.  Once I started investigating, my main concern was the (uncooked) egg whites called for in most traditional recipes.  I was pretty sure that most everybody would be okay, but my gramma is 81 years old and I'm not knowingly going to take any chances with that woman.

Basically, royal icing is the same stuff that you use when you make gingerbread houses.  There are lots of different consistencies that you can make by adding more water or more sugar to make it thinner or thicker.  "Flood" consistency is pretty much what it sounds like, a thin consistency that you can use to spread a thin layer for decorating.  The best part of royal icing is that it dries hard, so you can stack your sugar cookies for easy storage and transport. (For more information and/or a better explanation, I would definitely check out The Shiksa's post on it - I found it tremendously helpful!)

I made mine with meringue powder instead, which is made of dried egg whites, sugar, and gum.  I had to go to Walmart (my nemesis) to get it, but I was able to find it pretty easily once I could figure out where the cake decorating/Wilton section was.

After reading about 20 blogs about royal icing, I was prepared for a battle.  I was expecting it to be much more difficult than it really was.  The hardest part, for me, was getting the icing to the right "flood" consistency, but I think that was really because I was bound and determined to make only one batch and split it up from there, rather than making multiple batches and then wondering the the heck to do with the leftovers.  I ended up having to use my (clean!) fingers to spread the icing on some of the smaller cookies, but it definitely worked well.  I was a little wary about leaving my cookies out overnight, and while I ended up with a crunchier cookie in the end, none of the bad things I imagined ended up happening.

This exercise made me realize how much of a perfectionist I can be.  For me, I was originally unhappy about the cookies losing a little of their shape in the oven.  Then, I was like "man I could have decorated these much better!".  Then, I called Joe into the room when I was finished and he thought they were awesome.  Then, I brought the cookies to my mom's house and made a whole huge thing about keeping them a surprise and not showing them until it was time to eat dessert.

And suddenly, it didn't matter that it took me a couple of days to make these or that I thought the results could have been better.  Wanna know why? My family LOVED these cookies - I hope your family does, too!

Easy Sugar Cookies
2 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients.  Dough will be thick.  Cover and refrigerate for about one hour.  Preheat oven to 375°F.  Roll out to about 1/4" thick and cut cookies as desired. Bake for 8 minutes or until edges are just starting to turn golden.

Royal Icing
3 Tbsp meringue powder
1 lb. (approx. 4 cups) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c. warm water, plus more for "flood" consistency icing

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine meringue powder and powdered sugar. Add water and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes.

Add water or sugar as needed to achieve correct consistency.

Use immediately.