Valentine’s Treat: Cream-Cheese Sugar Cookie Conversation Hearts
I wanted to make a festive weekly treat for the kids a bit before the sugar rush of the actual holiday…so here they are, and a week early…our cookie Conversation Hearts!
You’ll want to save this sugar cookie recipes. It’s one of the best I’ve ever come up with. And the icing…let’s not even get started on the heavenly icing!!
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie Conversation Hearts
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
Makes 3 Dozen
Ingredients
1 c butter
3 oz (6 tbsp) cream cheese
.5 c sugar
1 egg
.25 tsp salt
1 tbs vanilla
3 c flour
Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter
Butter Icing [Below]
Script Icing [Below]
Method
Cream the butter, cream cheese & sugar in a mixer or by hand.
Add the egg, salt, & vanilla until combined.
Add the flour by the .5 cup until a soft dough forms.
Refrigerate for 2-24 hours.
Heat oven to 375.
Roll cookies on a floured surface or between parchment or waxed paper ~.25-in thick.
Cut into heart shapes.
Place onto parchment or silpat lined pans.
Bake for 7-10 minutes or until slightly brown at the edges.
Cool cookies completely.
Make Base Icing & Script Icing
Ice Cookies with Base Icing.
Allow icing to firm up for at least 30 minutes before applying Script Icing.
Apply words to your cookies with the Script Icing.
Phrases to try: LOVE, BE MINE, FRIENDS, URGR8, LOL, SAY YES, MARRY ME, SWEETHEART, FATE, KISMET, XOXO…
Butter Icing for Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
3c icing sugar
6 tbs butter, slightly softened
1 tbs vanilla extract
2+ tbs milk
gel or liquid food colouring to suit
Method
Blend the butter, sugar, milk & vanilla in a mixer, starting on low speed and moving to medium-high as the icing comes together.
Add additional bits of milk by the tablespoon until the icing just reaches a spreadable consistency.
[Optional] Divide icing into several bowls.
Add gel or liquid food colour [to each batch] to suit.
We used pink, purple, blue, and green
Script Icing [3 Options]
1) Small gel decorator icing tubes from the grocery store, or a larger tube fitted with a small circular icing tip.
2) Reserve left-over base icing, add additional icing sugar [and food colouring] if necessary to get to a pipe-able consistency.
3) Add small amounts of milk by the tablespoon to 1 or more cups of icing sugar until you achieve a thick, pipe-able consistency. Colour as desired.
Options 2 and 3 should be placed in a piping bag fitted with a very small circular tip for writing.
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Summer of Funner : The Lunchbox Season : In Defense of Burning
Our Best Chewy Granola Bars, A Flexible Recipe
Welcome back to The Lunchbox Season! |
We’re looking forward to another school year full of family fun, featuring art projects, writing workshops, math craziness, canning bliss, advent calendar and march break olympics, and recipes galore.
Here’s a “weekly treat” to get things rolling.
For the first full week of school, I sought to improve upon a treat I’ve had in my bag of tricks for some time…Granola Bars. I make these at least once a month in my rotation of lunchbox treats for the kids. Then why didn’t I post them on last year’s edition of The Lunchbox Season? Well, about half of the way through the school year last year, my son started complaining that his bars were a bit crumbly and sometimes difficult to manage at his desk. So, over the course of last spring, I took my time reformulating the recipe and getting it into tip-top shape. In fact, I came up with several variations of a chewy bar that the kids absolutely loved. So, here you have it, our best ever recipe for a nut- and seed-free (i.e. school-friendly) Chewy Granola Bar.
Our Best Chewy Granola Bars, A Flexible Recipe
makes 16 bars or 32 small squares
INGREDIENTS
First, choose the Delightful or Decadent dairy-sweet combo:
Delightful
.5c unsalted butter, softened slightly
.5 c brown sugar
.5 c honey, corn syrup, molasses, rice syrup OR a 50:50 mix of any two of these
Decadent
.66c unsalted butter, softened slightly
.5 c brown sugar
.66c honey, corn syrup, molasses, rice syrup, OR a 50:50 mix of any two of these
Along with the Delightful or Decadent combos will go:
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
.5 tsp salt
[optional] 1 tsp cinnamon
[optional] .25 tsp ground ginger
Next, choose any ONE of the these flexible grain combos: The Chewy, The Luscious, or The Kookie
The Chewy
our chew-chewiest bar, with a slight bit of crumble, but nothing a kid can’t handle
.66 c quick oats, pulverized in a blender or food processor
2.33 c additional oats & 1 c rice-krispie/other puffed-type cereal OR 3.25 c additional oats
The Luscious
a chewy bar with a super-soft-baked cookie consistency
.75 c quick oats, pulverized in a blender or food processor
2.25 c additional oats & 1 c rice-krispie/other puffed-type cereal OR a very full 3 c additional oats
The Kookie
our most cookie-like but still chewy bar – the least likely to crumble
1c quick oats, pulverized in a blender or food processor
2 c additional oats & 1 c rice-krispie/other puffed-type cereal OR 1 scant c additional oats
Finally, Choose Two Cups of Mix-ins!
choose 2 c of any of the following in any ratio you choose
Chips: milk, butterscotch, dark or white chocolate chips, [we almost always use at least 1 c of some sort of chip in our bars], toffee bits, M&Ms, busted pretzels, raisins, dried currants, cranberries, cherries, or small bits of any other dried fruit, unsweetened coconut, mini-marshmallows, smashed candy canes or pretty much any other smashed candy, …go wild!
METHOD
Heat your oven to 350.
Grease a 9×13-in baking dish or pan with butter or baking spray.
If you are using a metal pan, line the bottom of the pan with greased parchment. [The bars are sliced in the pan.]
In a mixer, combine butter and sugar until extremely fluid.
For an easy pour, spray your measuring cup[s] with oil or baking spray or wipe them with your empty butter wrapper before measuring out your honey or syrup.
Incorporate honey, syrup, molasses or your preferred mix of these sticky sweets into the mix.
Incorporate eggs, vanilla, [spices], and salt.
Incorporate pulverized oats.
Incorporate additional oats and blend well.
Incorporate [additional cereal] and blend until just barely mixed.
Incorporate 2 cups of Mix-ins.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until slightly brown on the edges.
[The center of the pan may still be soft, especially with Decadent option.]
Place the pan on a wire rack.
COOL COMPLETELY in the pan before slicing.
If it’s particularly warm, or if you have a shaky hand, of if you’re just set on perfection, you may also wish to refrigerate your pan for an additional 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Slice and serve the bars or wrap and store for future consumption.
Enjoy!
The Decadent Chewy with Chocolate & Butterscotch Chips
The Delightful Kookie with Chocolate & White Chocolate Chips
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Summer of Funner : The Lunchbox Season : In Defense of Burning
Kale Chips: Basic + 4 Flavours, Sweet to Spicy
This weekend,we found ourselves with two very large bunches of Kale. Having already prepared a very large drawer full of salad greens, we thought that the best idea would be to make kale chips for the pantry. Since we had so much kale on our hands, we were able to mess around and come up with four original twists on our basic kale chip. First, read our Kale Chip Essentials for all of the basic instructions. Then, choose from one or more of the five Flavour Profiles below: Basic, Honey Cinnamon, Garlic & Pepper, Soy Nut Sesame, & Spicy Chile Nut – and get baking!
Kale Chip Essentials
Measuring
1 bunch of kale provides 14-16 cups of torn leaves.
Each of the flavour profiles below uses 8 cups of torn leaves and produces a large soup bowl (3-4 cups) of chips.
Preparation
To prepare the kale for baking, wash each bunch thoroughly.
Remove the green ruffly leaves from the stem and ribs. (Use the stem and ribs for compost or soup.)
Rip and tear the ruffled leaves into medium sized pieces.
Dry the kale with towels, or, preferably, use a salad spinner to dry those pieces out in large batches.
Flavouring and Baking
Mix 8 cups (half of one bunch) of torn kale leaves with one of the flavour profiles below.
Spread flavoured kale onto parchment lined pans. 2-3 pans per 8 cup batch.
Make sure kale leaves are spread out and barely touch one another. Do not overlap.
If you use more pans and spread the kale further apart, kale takes less time to cook and will not take on a burnt taste.
You can use old tin cans or raised cooling racks to stack more than one pan on top of each other on a single rack in an oven.
The thicker/more developed the flavour profile (below) the longer it will take your chips to bake.
Cool on parchment-lined pans for 10 minutes before removing to a bowl or air-tight container.
Hold the Salt!
We recommend that you do not add salt until after the chips are baked.
Kale shrinks significantly in the oven.
What looks insignificant in terms of flavouring an 8 cup bowl of fresh kale leaves becomes quite significant when that bowl shrinks by more than half in cooking!
Flavour Profiles and Cooking Times
Plain Kale Chips
Pour 2 tbs olive oil over 8 cups of torn Kale and stir thoroughly.
Spread Kale onto 2-3 parchment lined pans
Bake 25-30 minutes at 275.
Add salt to taste.
Honey Cinnamon Kale Chips
In a Small Bowl, Mix:
3 tbs honey
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
Drizzle this Mixture over 8 cups of torn Kale and stir thoroughly.
Spread Kale onto 2-3 parchment lined pans.
Bake 30-35 minutes at 275.
Garlic & Pepper Kale Chips
In a Small Bowl, Mix:
3 tbs olive oil
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Drizzle the Mxiture over 8 cups of torn Kale and stir thoroughly.
Spread Kale onto 2-3 parchment lined pans.
Bake 30-35 minutes at 275.
Soy Nut Sesame Kale Chips
In a Small Bowl, Mix until thin, smooth and wet:
3 tbs natural peanut or other nut/nut-substitute butter
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
Drizzzle the Mixture over 8 cups of torn Kale and stir thoroughly.
Spread Kale onto 3 parchment lined pans.
Bake 35-45 minutes at 275.
Spicy Chile Nut Kale Chips
In a Small Bowl, Mix until thin, smooth, and wet:
3 tbs natural peanut or other nut/nut-substitute butter
2 tbs Sriracha chile sauce
2 tbs balsamic vinegar (more if the mixture is too thick)
Drizzle the Mixture over 8 cups of torn Kale and stir thoroughly.
Spread Kale onto 3 parchment lined pans.
Bake 35-45 minutes at 275.
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The Lunchbox Season : Summer of Funner : In Defense of Burning
Valentine’s Lunchbox Treats: Caramel Kissed Chocolate Thumbprints and Mini-Kissed Chocolate Hearts
Sunday, February 12, 2012
It’s been a long time since we’ve shared one of our Weekly Lunchbox Treats!
This week, we’re adding a bit of Valentine’s flair to the mix!
The kids were enthralled by the bag of Caramel-filled Herskey’s kisses that made its way into the house last week. So, I decided to come up with a special thumbprint cookie to incorporate the rest of the bag! Since we didn’t have quite enough kisses to finish our batch of dough, I also uncovered a bag of mini-kisses from the cupboard and used those in a heart-shaped riff on the original! After tonight’s simple Sunday supper, the kids tested them and approved!! Lunchboxes here we come!
Caramel Kissed Chocolate Thumbprints
and
Mini-Kissed Chocolate Hearts
Ingredients
1 c unsalted butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 - 1 c coloured sprinkles, mini chips, flaked coconut, or sanding sugar
1 bag Hershey’s Caramel Kisses, unwrapped
and/or
1 bag Hershey’s/Chipits Mini Kisses
The Method
Heat oven to 375.
Make the Dough
Cream butter and sugar.
Beat in eggs and vanilla.
Gradually add salt, cocoa powder and flour until dough begins to form a ball.
If dough is too soft to work with, refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Using your hands, roll the cookie dough into 1-inch diameter spheres.
Roll the spheres in ramekins filled with coloured sprinkles, mini chips, or other delectables to coat.
For Caramel Kissed Thumbprints
Place candy coated cookie-dough spheres on parchment lined pans.
Press your thumb in the center of each sphere.
Bake for 11-12 minutes.
Make sure to unwrap your kisses before the cookies are finished baking!!!
Remove pan from oven.
Immediately press an unwrapped Hershey’s Caramel Kiss in the center of each cookie.
Cool on wire racks.
For Mini-Kissed Hearts
Press each cookie-dough sphere between your hands to flatten to approx 1/2 in thick.
Free-form the flattened dough into a heart shape.
Use your index finger to indent each heart in 3 places.
Bake hearts on parchment lined pan for 11-12 minutes.
Remove pan from oven.
Immediately press 3 chocolate mini-kisses into each cookie.
Cool on wire racks.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S WEEK!
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The Lunchbox Season : Summer of Funner : In Defense of Burning
Our Sister Site: Summer of Funner
- The Lunchbox Season is Back
- Summer of Funner 2012 Film Festival
- Peach Day! Amaretto Peach Jam, Brown Sugar Vanilla Jam, and Giant Peach Butter
- A Movable Mural
- The Imaginary Beasts of Riverdale Farm
- Mad Scientist Day 2012: Ten “Sweet” Experiments
- The Kids Make Street Eats (with Beer!): Pilsner Pretzels & Hops and Robbers Mustard
- Glam Cans 2012: Kid-Designed Canning Labels DIY
