Cream Cheese Cut Out Cookies and Royal Icing

 I know that Christmas is over, but these cookies are still relevant.  You still have Valentines Day and Easter coming up and there are some great designs for these two holidays. The first subject I want to talk about is Glazing Sugar and King Arthur Flour's White Icing Mix.

I'm not sure how many of you have attempted royal icing, but I'm sure everyone feels the most frustrating part is the drying time.  I've tried several recipes including Martha's and it usually takes about 24 hours for that base icing to dry, uncovered!  Ever wonder why those cookies that are so beautifully decorated are dry and stale tasting? Because they had to sit out for so long.  Well, I found the solution-Glazing Sugar!

Before Christmas I was stalling on doing my snowflake cookies and I kept coming back to KAF's White Icing Mix.  I try to avoid box mixes if I can make the same thing from scratch which saves you lots of money.  Plus, I can't find mos of KAF's box mixes locally so on top of that there is the cost of shipping.  But the reviews kept raving about the short drying time.  Why was theirs so fast? I looked up the ingredients and the one thing that caught my eye was the glazing sugar so I did a search to see if they carried glazing sugar, which they did.  What I found out is that the confectioner's or powdered sugar you get in the store contains starch which really slows down the drying time and combats the hardening of the icing.  Ever try to do a white glaze on top of your sweet breads only to have it gum up and become gloppy?  It's the starch!

So excitedly I ordered the glazing sugar and the icing mix.  Didn't have much time so didn't want to take any chances.  The icing mix was awesome but I do have to admit, I have yet to try the glazing sugar.  For once, I truly enjoyed decorating the cookies and it only took 3 hours for that first coat to dry!  3 versus 24?  I'm sold.  After that, I ordered 3 more boxes.  This box can be made into three different styles of icing:  classic white icing glaze, royal icing and cookie frosting.  Now, it has you mixing the whole box with 1/4 cup of water.  I wasn't sure how much that would make so I started out with half the box so I halved the water which was not enough.  I increased it to 1/4 cup and that was perfect.  On a side note, I live in Las Vegas where it's pretty dry in the summer so you can imagine how dry it was around Christmas, so proceed carefully when adding more water.

I followed the directions for royal icing and I did not have to do a separate batch for piping and flooding.  I simply outlined the area and added the icing to the center and spread using a toothpick.  3 hours later, I was ready to add to the design.  One thing I always do with my snowflakes is to luster the base coat.  This will give your icing a opalescent finish and really make any designs you do on top of that coat pop.  You can find them at your local cake shop or Michael's.  They come in many colors, but just make sure to read the label.  Some are not for consumption.  I bought a blue one and did not see the toxic label.

The bottles won't seem like much, but a little goes a long way.  Now all you need is a soft buffing brush which should be available at the same store.  To apply, tap a little into the lid and swirl the brush in it.  Tap excess into the lid and lightly swirl the luster dust onto the icing.  Now your cookie with practically glow!  

I earlier posted a recipe for Butter Cut Out Cookies and while it's a good one, the following is my favorite.  Funny thing is, the first time I tasted it was for Valentines Day!  Now I'm not much of a sugar cookie person, but these I instantly loved.  And the wonderful coworker was not one of those types who claimed it was a family secret or something like that.  If you're not a royal icing fan, this recipe does come with an almond frosting recipe that is very good.  Here you are:

Cream Cheese Cutout Cookies

 Ingredients:

 ·       1 cup butter       

·       8 oz. cream cheese, softened       

·       1 1/2 cups sugar

·       1 egg

·       1 tsp. vanilla      

·       1/2 tsp. almond extract

·       3 1/2 cups flour 

·       1 tsp. baking powder

·       Almond Frosting:     

·       2 cups sifted powdered sugar                 

·       2 tbsp. butter, softened        

·       1/4 tsp. almond extract        

·       4-5 tsp. milk

·       assorted candies for decoration                                 

Directions:

    In a mixer, beat softened butter and cream cheese until well combined.  Add sugar; beat until fluffy.  Add egg, vanilla and almond extract; beat well. 

    In small bowl, combine flour and baking powder.  Add dry ingredients to cream cheese mixture; beat until well mixed.      

    Divide dough in half.  Wrap each portion in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours. 

    Preheat oven to 375º. 

    Roll out dough, one half at a time, to 1/8″ thickness on lightly floured surface.  Cut out with cookie cutters.  Place 2″ apart on ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Remove to wire racks to cool completely. 

    In small bowl, beat sifted powdered sugar, softened butter and almond extract until smooth.  For piping consistency, beat in milk.  For spreading consistency, add a little more milk.  If desired, tint with food coloring.

    Frost cookies with Almond Frosting and decorate with assorted candies, if desired.  

One of the ingredients is almond extract. If you are worried someone with a nut allergy eating these, you can omit the extract and just add a bit more vanilla.  I've done them without and they were still very good.  The almond just gives them a little something something.  

The directions are very simple, but make sure you do not skip the refrigeration portion.  This will help your cookies keep their shape and from becoming puffy.  Matter of fact, after I roll and cut them out, I place them on the baking sheet with parchment paper and refrigerate them again, but only for about 30 minutes.  This will give you very sharp cut outs! 

Now get on Pinterest and start searching for designs for Valentines and Easter!  Enjoy!

Flaky Cheese Twists

Looking for an easy but elegant appetizer or bread?  These are it!  You are going to be amazed at how easy they are to make.  I've made traditional puff pastry and while I myself don't find it difficult, it can be time consuming.  The puff pastry for this recipe is  far from time consuming which is why it is called Fast and Easy Puff Pastry.  

This recipe has been featured on the King Arthur Flour web site during the holiday season.  I've been eyeing it, but just didn't get to it until after the holidays.  But this would be a beautiful accompaniment to your homemade Valentine's Dinner.  

First of all, you are going to make the puff pastry. Here's the recipe:

King Arthur Flour's Fast and Easy Puff Pastry

Ingredients:

 ·       2 cups (8 1/2 oz.) all-purpose flour

·       1/2 tsp. salt

·       1/2 tsp. baking powder

·       1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pats

·       1/2-3/4 cup (4-6 oz.) sour cream

Directions:

  Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder.

    Add the butter, working it in to make a coarse/crumbly mixture.  Leave most of the butter in large, pea-sized pieces.

    Stir in the sour cream; the dough won't be cohesive.  Turn it out onto a floured work surface, and bring it together with a few quick kneads.

    Pat the dough into a rough log, and roll it into an 8x10" rectangle. 

    Dust both sides of the dough with flour, and starting with a shorter end, fold it in three like a business letter.

    Flip the dough over, give it a 90º turn on your work surface, and roll it into an 8x10" rectangle.  Fold it in three again. 

    Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least 30 minute before using. 

    Freeze the dough for prolonged storage, up to 2 months.  To use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

    The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup sour cream.  From the reviews I read, some people found it wasn't enough.  It's pretty dry here in Las Vegas, so I did end up adding more.  I would start with the smaller amount and work up to it. 

    I did use a technique I learned from a baking demo instead of kneading the dough.  It involves less direct handling which prevents the warmth of your hands from over-softening the butter which can lessen the flakiness of the dough. 

I now use this technique for all my pie dough and scone recipes or pretty much any dough that you want maximum flakiness.  Here it is:  Dump the dough onto a nonstick rolling mat.  You'll want a good sized one.  Take one side and fold over part of the dough onto itself.  Do this with each side of the mat.  If too dry, add more sour cream to the maximum amount.  After folding over all four sides and the dough is still too crumbly, take a spray bottle and finely spray some water on the dry and crumbly parts and fold over all four sides again.  Now proceed with the rest of the directions.

Now that you have allowed the puff pastry to rest, you are ready to make the twists.  Here is the recipe:  

King Arthur Flour's Flaky Cheese Twists

Ingredients:

·       Fast and Easy Puff Pastry, chilled and ready to roll

·       3/4 (2 5/8 oz.) cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

·       1 tsp. paprika, for color

·       1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, optional

·       1 large egg beaten with 1 tbsp. water, for glaze

·       sea salt

Directions:

    Preheat the oven to 400°. Ready a baking sheet by lining with parchment, if you have it; otherwise, just get out a baking sheet, no need to grease it.

    Place the pastry on a well-floured work surface, and roll it into a 12x24" rectangle, about 1/8" thick.

    Brush some of the beaten egg/water over the dough, saving the remainder for later.

    If you're using the paprika and/or cayenne, mix with the grated cheese. Sprinkle the cheese over half the pastry (12x12" piece of pastry).

    Fold the dough without filling atop the piece with filling, to make a 12" square.

Gently roll till the two halves stick together; you'll now have a rectangle about 12x13".

    Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise to make two rectangles, each 6x13".

    Cut each rectangle crosswise into 3/4"-wide strips; you'll cut about 17 strips from each piece of dough, about 34 strips total.

     Pick up a dough strip and twist each end in opposite directions until the dough is a spiraled cylinder. Place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough strips, leaving about 3/4" between them.

    Brush with the remaining egg wash. Sprinkle very lightly with salt, if desired.

    Bake the twists for 12-15 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool slightly on a rack before serving.

Servings:  30-34 twists

If you decide to bake all of the twists, you are going to need two baking sheets.  Remember, it's going to make 30-34 twists, so if you are just making them for a few people, freeze half of them.  I wished I did.  To freeze them, lay them on the sheet but just don't worry as much about spacing.  Place in freezer (no need to cover them) and set a timer for 1 hour.  Once time is up, place them in a freezer bag, label it and date it.  When you are ready to use, take out of freezer just before baking.  No need to defrost and baking time may be a minute or two longer.  They should keep 2-3 months depending on your freezer.

The paprika really gives them a beautiful color and the cayenne gives it just a slight zip.  You barely know it's there unless you are extra sensitive.  I like to use sea salt for the final sprinkling because it has a delicate flavor which works out if you have sprinkled a little too much.  

When you are brushing the twists with the egg wash, don't worry about covering every bit of the surface.  You will just end up unraveling them.  Also, when you are twisting, don't worry about it being perfect.  As you see from the pic before baking, mine are kind of misshapen but they bake up beautifully.  

I really hope you try these.  They are so easy and so beautiful.  Everyone will think you are a pro!  Enjoy!