Christmas Tree Cookies

I still am in the learning stages of decorating cookies. It’s a rather tricky process of gaining expertise in the icing and their use. I circumvented a big chunk of the decorating in this recipe by coloring the dough instead of applying a green icing over the entire cookie.

Ingredients for Christmas Tree Cookies

3 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup softened butter
1 ½ Cups granulated sugar
2 whole eggs
1 Tbs vanilla
1+ tsp dark green food coloring

Directions for Christmas Tree Cookies

Preheat oven to 400º

In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a mixer cream the butter and sugar . With the mixer on low add the eggs one at a time and combine thoroughly .

Add the vanilla and the food coloring mix well. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms. If it looks too light green add a little more coloring.

Divide the dough in thirds and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to overnight.

On a well floured surface roll the dough out to about a ¼ inch thickness and using a Christmas tree cutter cut out the shapes and place on a lightly greased sheet pan or one with a silpat. You can decorate with sprinkles at this point or wait until cookies are cool to ice or do both.

Bake for 8 – 10 minutes until the edges begin to lightly brown. Remove from the oven and carefully place on a cooling rack to cool completely

Once cooled decorate as you wish. For the ones in the picture I used Royal Icing.

Royal Icing

I have also discovered I do not have the patience or artistic talent to create great looking cookies. If your looking for a good blog about cookie decorating try http://bakeat350.blogspot.com or http://sweetopia.net/ two very great looking cookie sites.

There are a number of different recipes for Royal Icing, which is an icing that will harden rather quickly and is great for decorating. For ease in making I use the meringue powder, or when I can find it pasteurized egg whites.

Here are a few items to help make this recipe:
Wilton Meringue Powder, 8 oz Can
24 Pcs Icing Piping Nozzles Pastry Tips Cotton Bag Cake Decoration Kit Icing Crafts
DayMark 115435 12″ Hand-E-Grip Disposable Pastry Bag with Dispenser (Roll of 100)

The Official Taste Tester & Santa Lookout

I just love this time of year. So many old familar smells and all those cookies, there is a big sock on the chimney that has some very interesting scents coming from it, I wish I could read a calendar so I’d know how many days to Christmas.

Christmas Tree Cookies

2014-12-02 15:51:38

Yields 24

Write a review

Save Recipe

Prep Time

3 hr

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

4 hr

Prep Time

3 hr

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

4 hr

Ingredients

Ingredients for Christmas Tree Cookies
3 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup softened butter
1 ½ Cups granulated sugar
2 whole eggs
1 Tbs vanilla
1+ tsp dark green food coloring

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400º
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In the bowl of a mixer cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and a pale yellow. With the mixer on low add the eggs one at a time and combine thoroughly .
Add the vanilla and the food coloring mix well. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms. If it looks too light green add a little more coloring.
Divide the dough in thirds and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to overnight.
On a well floured surface roll the dough out to about a ¼ inch thickness and using a Christmas tree cutter cut out the shapes and place on a lightly greased sheet pan or one with a silpat. You can decorate with sprinkles at this point or wait until cookies are cool to ice or do both.
Bake for 8 - 10 minutes until the edges begin to lightly brown. Remove from the oven and carefully place on a cooling rack to cool completely
Once cooled decorate as you wish. For the ones in the picture I used Royal Icing.

Rants Raves and Recipes https://www.rantsravesandrecipes.com/

If you enjoy our site and are thinking of purchasing anything from Amazon, please use the link to Amazon from our site. It doesn’t cost you anything and we profit from the ads and purchases .

Please help us keep our blog going by letting your friends know we’re here and by checking out the links on our front page.

January 27, 2014May 16, 2015

Shortbread and Lemon Curd Bars

Most of the recipes you”ll find for lemon bars have a “shortbread type” crust, so why not just make a batch of shortbread. Some of the recipes use way too much sugar in the topping making it too sweet. You can do a lemon filling, a lemon curd, homemade or canned whatever you find easiest for you. For this recipe I make my own curd, I like the slightly tart flavor it has. The “must” is don’t use the bottled type of lemon juice, go with the real thing. You’ll need the zest anyway. I use our family favorite shortbread recipe, http://www.rantsravesandrecipes.com/worlds-best-shortbread-cookie-recipe , it will make 3 batches of bars, or make one and the rest cookies, or do a few different kinds of shortbread bar recipes.

Ingredients for Shortbread and Lemon Curd Bars

For the Shortbread:

1 pound butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla (optional)
4 cups all purpose flour

For the Lemon Curd:

5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 4 lemons
1/2 cup lemon juice strained
pinch of salt
6 Tbs butter cut into small cubes

Directions for Shortbread and Lemon Curd Bars

In a double boiler, place the egg yolks,sugar, lemon juice,zest and salt. Whisking constantly mix, until the eggs turn a pale yellow and the mixture thickens and forms a ribbon when the whisk is lifted from the bowl about 10 -15 minutes. Don’t let the bowl come in contact with the water and keep the water from coming to a full boil or you might scramble the eggs.

Once the mixture thickens take the bowl off heat and add the butter, a little at a time, whisking the butter completely into the curd before adding more.

Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap that comes in contact with the top of the curd (this will prevent a skin from forming). Place in refrigerator to cool and thicken.

Now begin the shortbread.

Line a 8 x 8 inch pan with aluminum foil (this will make removing the bars from the pan easy).

Preheat oven to 325°

In the bowl of the mixer place the sugar and butter and cream until soft and fluffy.

Add the yolk and vanilla and continue to mix until completely incorporated.

Slowly add the flour and mix until all combined.

When a dough begins to form take the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a flattened ball. Cut into 3 equal pieces.

Take a third of the dough and roll it out to a 7 1/2 inch square. Place the square into the baking pan and lightly press from the center pushing the dough to the corners and edges.

Bake in the center of a 325° oven for about 50 minutes until the top begins to lightly brown. Remove pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the shortbread is cooled spoon the Curd on top and even and smooth it out with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface for a few hours, overnight better.

Carefully take the foil lined bars out of the pan and gently remove the foil. cut into 16 equal 2″ squares. Optional sprinkle a little powdered sugar over the top.

Here are a few items to help with this recipe:
Cuisinart 7111-20 Chef’s Classic Stainless Universal Double Boiler with Cover
Wilton Perfect Results 8-Inch Square Cake Pan
StainlessLUX 73601 Brilliant Stainless Steel Juicer / Fruit Squeezer – Quality Houseware for Your Home

A slightly tart, delicious summery treat, I think I’d even like broccoli if you put it on shortbread! 5 paws.

If you enjoy our site and are thinking of purchasing anything from Amazon, please use the link to Amazon from our site. It doesn’t cost you anything and we profit from the ads and purchases .

Please help us keep our blog going by letting your friends know we’re here and by checking out the links on our front page.

Shortbread and Lemon Curd Bars

2014-01-24 16:42:31

A light summery treat for any time of year

Write a review

Save Recipe

Ingredients

For the Shortbread
1 pound butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla (optional)
4 cups all purpose flour
For the Lemon Curd
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 4 lemons
1/2 cup lemon juice strained
pinch of salt
6 Tbs butter cut into small cubes

Instructions

In a double boiler, place the egg yolks,sugar, lemon juice,zest and salt. Whisking constantly mix until the eggs turn a pale yellow and the mixture thickens and forms a ribbon when the whisk is lifted from the bowl.
Take the bowl off heat and add the butter, a little at a time whisking the butter completely into the curd before adding more.
Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap that comes in contact with the top of the curd (this will prevent a skin from forming). Place in refrigerator to cool and thicken.
Now begin the shortbread.
Line a 8 x 8 inch pan with aluminum foil (this will make removing the bars from the pan easy).
Preheat oven to 325°
In the bowl of the mixer place the sugar and butter and cream until soft and fluffy.
Add the yolk and vanilla and continue to mix until completely incorporated.
Slowly add the flour and mix until all combined.
When a dough begins to form take the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a flattened ball. Cut into 3 equal pieces.
Take a third of the dough and roll it out to a 7 1/2 inch square. Place the square into the baking pan and lightly press from the center pushing the dough to the corners and edges.
Bake in the center of a 325° oven for about 50 minutes unti the top begins to lightly brown. Remove pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the shortbread is cooled spoon the Curd on top and even and smooth it out with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface for a few hours, overnight better.
Carefully take the foil lined bars out of the pan and gently remove the foil. cut into 16 equal 2" squares. Optional sprinkle a little powdered sugar over the top.

Rants Raves and Recipes https://www.rantsravesandrecipes.com/

January 19, 2014July 13, 2015

Millionaire’s Shortbread

I suppose that given the rate of inflation, a millionaire not being what it used to be, that maybe we should rename this truly decadent dessert “Billionaires Shortbread”. In any case it is a recipe that takes a bit of work and a lot of time but the results are really worth it!

I tried a number of different recipes for the caramel and topping and these I found on instructables.com were the best, no need to come up with another: http://www.instructables.com/id/Millionaires-Shortbread-Bars

For the shortbread I used my family favorite recipe: http://www.rantsravesandrecipes.com/worlds-best-shortbread-cookie-recipe , which can make three batches or one and a lot of cookies or use part to make another type of shortbread bar recipe (which I did and will post later).

Ingredients for Millionaire’s Shortbread

For Shortbread:

1 cup sugar
1 pound butter softened
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups all purpose flour

For the caramel

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbs corn syrup
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

For the chocolate topping

4 oz semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp corn syrup

Directions for Millionaires Shortbread

Take a 8 X8 inch baking pan and line it with aluminum foil.

Preheat oven to 325°.

In a mixer place the butter and sugar for the shortbread and cream. Once creamed add the egg yolk and continue to mix until completely combined. Add the vanilla, with the mixer on low add the flour and mix until a ball begins to form. Take the dough out of the bowl and form into a round, and cut into 3 equal parts.

On a silpat or a lightly floured surface take 1/3 of the recipe and roll out to about a 7 1/2 inch square, it should be 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Place the square of dough into the foil lined pan and press into the corners and edges. Place into the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 50 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Remove pan to a wire rack and let the shortbread cool completely.

Once the shortbread has cooled go to step 2 the caramel.

Put the butter, sugar and corn syrup and the condensed milk in a sauce pan and on medium heat melt the butter stirring as it melts. Once the butter is melted bring the heat up and while continually stirring bring the mixture up to a boil. Constantly stir until the mixture turns a light caramel color (be careful not to over cook or it will taste burnt). Once it reaches the proper color take it off the heat and very carefully add the vanilla and stir in ,watching out as the cool vanilla can cause the mixture to bubble up.

Pour on top of the shortbread and rotate the pan to get the mixture to cover the shortbread completely. Put into refrigerator for at least 2 hours, over night better.

Once cooled and firm go to step three.

In a small saucepan put the chocolate, the butter and corn syrup and on low heat melt and stir to combine. Once fully melted and combined pour over the caramel and rotate the pan to completely cover. Refrigerate for a few hours until chocolate is firm.

Once the recipe is firm carefully pull out of the pan and loosen from the aluminum foil. Place on a cutting board and cut into 2 inch squares, will yield 16 squares.

Here are a few items to help with this recipe:
Silpat Roul’Pat Non-Stick Silicone Countertop Work Station with Non-Slip Grip, 16.5-Inch by 24.5-Inch
Kitchen Supply 8 Inch Square Glass Baking Dish
Paula Deen Signature Porcelain Nonstick 1-Quart Saucepan with Spouts, Red Speckle

No chocolate for me. But the first two layers – OMG! they’re like sooo good! even with out the chocolate it’s a 5 paw recipe!

If you enjoy our site and are thinking of purchasing anything from Amazon, please use the link to Amazon from our site. It doesn’t cost you anything and we profit from the ads and purchases .

Please help us keep our blog going by letting your friends know we’re here and by checking out the links on our front page.

Millionaire's Shortbread

2014-01-19 18:18:34

Yields 16

Write a review

Save Recipe

Prep Time

4 hr

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

5 hr

Prep Time

4 hr

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

5 hr

For Shortbread

1 cup sugar
1 pound butter softened
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups all purpose flour
For the caramel
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbs corn syrup
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
For the chocolate topping
4 oz semisweet chocolate
1/4 butter
1 tsp corn syrup

Instructions

Take a 8 X8 inch baking pan and line it with aluminum foil.
Preheat oven to 325°.
In a mixer place the butter and sugar for the shortbread and cream. Once breamed add the egg yolk and continue to mix until completely combined. Add the vanilla, the with the mixer on low add the flour and mix until a ball begins to form. Take the dough out of the bowl and form into a round, and cut into 3 equal parts.
On a silpat or a lightly floured surface take 1/3 of the recipe and roll out to about a 7 1/2 inch square, it should be 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Place the square of dough into the foil lined pan and press into the corners and edges. Place into the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 50 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Remove pan to a wire rack and let the shortbread cool completely.
Once the shortbread has cooled go to step 2 the caramel.
Put the butter, sugar and corn syrup and the condensed milk in a sauce pan and on medium heat melt the butter stirring as it melts. Once the butter is melted bring the heat up and while continually stirring bring the mixture up to a boil. Constantly stir until the mixture turns a light caramel color (be careful not to over cook or it will taste burnt). Once it reaches the proper color take it off the heat and very carefully add the vanilla and stir in ,watching out as the cool vanilla can cause the mixture to bubble up.
Pour on top of the shortbread and rotate the pan to get the mixture to cover the shortbread completely. Put into refrigerator for at least 2 hours, over night better.
Once cooled and firm go to step three.
In a small saucepan put the chocolate, the butter and corn syrup and on low heat melt and stir to combine. Once fully melted and combined pour over the caramel and rotate the pan to completely cover. Refrigerate for a few hours until chocolate is firm.
Once the recipe is firm carefully pull out of the pan and loosen from the aluminum foil. Place on a cutting board and cut into 2 inch squares, will yield 16 squares.

Rants Raves and Recipes https://www.rantsravesandrecipes.com/