Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups shortening
1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring (careful with amounts as it can really turn the flavor from good to bad quick)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (use clear extracts to maintain true white)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 lbs confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons meringue powder (if you're unfamiliar with this ingredient, you can find it at Hobby Lobby, Michaels and Walmart in the baking sections under the Wilton brand)
Heavy whipping cream (add this a tablespoon at a time to start and then in lesser amounts until you get to the desired consistency)
Directions:
1. mix butter, shortening, and salt with stand mixer on low for 5 minutes
2. add vanilla, almond and butter extracts and mix on low for 1 minute
3. Add 1 pound of confectioner's sugar and the meringue powder and mix until smooth
4. add 1/2 cup of confectioners' sugar at a time until you get the consistency you want
5. add whipping cream and mix for 5 minutes
*note if you plan to add coloring to your icing it will thin the consistency. Keep this in mind when adding liquid
6. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate.
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Pan Release
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup vegetable oil
*you may prepare a smaller batch by decreasing ingredients to smaller equal parts
Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients together completely.
2. Thoroughly coat the sides and bottom of baking dish or pan using a pastry brush.
3. After the cake has cooled for 5 minutes, gently turn over onto a cooling rack.
Note: do not allow cake to cool more than 10 minutes before removing from pan.
The original recipe can be found here.
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Soft Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
5 cups all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
Directions:
1. Mix shortening, sugar, sour cream, vanilla, almond extract and eggs together.
2. Stir flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder together in a separate bowl.
3. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients mixing until incorporated.
4. Cover and refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
5. Cover flat surface with confectioners sugar.
6. Roll dough into a ball and pat with confectioners sugar to ensure it won't stick to your rolling pin. Roll out cookies and cut as desired.
7. Bake for 5-6 minutes at 400 degrees. (Remove from the oven before the cookies begin to brown. You will notice the surface of the cookie will just begin to take on a cracked 8. texture.) Cool for 2 minutes before removing to cooling rack.
9. Cool fully before frosting.
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Decorator Sugar cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter softened
1 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 egg
2-3 tsp flavoring (pick what you like, I prefer almond)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (add 1/4 cup more if your dough is too sticky)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Directions:
1. Cream together softened butter and confectioner's sugar.
2. Crack the egg into a separate bowl and add the flavoring.
3. Add egg and flavoring mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and mix until the egg is thoroughly incorporated.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then add little by little to the wet mixture.
I can tell the dough is ready when most of it sticks to the paddle. When I touch it, it has a little give, but does not stick to my fingers.
5. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
6. Roll out on parchment to about 1/4 an inch thick, use flour for dusting as necessary and cut cookies as desired.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes.
makes 2 - 2 1/2 dozen cookies.
Notes about her recipe:
• The dough does not need to be refrigerated.
• The recipe doubles well
• Baking times are approximate. You must know your oven. Watch them the first few times you bake them. If the cookies are browning you've gone too far.
• This dough can be flavored any way you'd like.
• The cookies freeze well.
• There is a lot of leavened in these cookies. This is not a typo. The general rule is less leavener so they don't spread.
• This recipe does spread a little. If you don't like that add a little flour.
• If you don't like salt, leave it out altogether.
• If you only have salted butter, use that and don't add salt.
• I prefer decorating day-old cookies. They are less likely to leach oil back into your icing if they have had a day or two to "dry out". They are still soft however.
I got this recipe here.
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Royal Icing Recipe
Ingredients:
6 tbs warm water
3 tbs meringue powder (you can buy this at Michaels or Hobby Lobby. Walmart has it in the decorating section near the crafts)
1 tsp cream of tartar
4 cups (1 lbs) powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)
1 tsp clear vanilla extract (regular will tint your frosting off white)
1 tsp almond extract
Directions:
1. in mixer bowl, pour in the warm water and the meringue powder. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low until it is frothy and thickened...about 30 seconds.
2. Add the cream of tartar and mix for 30 seconds more.
3. Add the almond and vanilla extracts.
4. Pour in all the icing sugar at once. (if you're not careful the powdered sugar will go EVERYWHERE when you turn on the mixer. I hold a damp towel around the mixer while doing this step)
5. Mix on medium for a full 10 minutes. The icing will get thick and creamy.
6. Cover the bowl with a dampened tea-towel to prevent crusting and drying out while storing.
7. Separate and tint with coloring as desired.
8. Once colored, thin with small amounts of warm water (I use a spray bottle to ensure that I'm only adding a little water at a time) until you reach the desired consistency.
For flooding work on a cookie you want to be able to use a knife to slice a line through your frosting and have it close in 15 seconds. I find that somewhere between 15 and 20 seconds is ideal to insure that you can smoothly flood your cookie.
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Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls
1 (1/4 oz) package dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup margerrine
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 cups flour
Filling
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tbs cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened
Icing
8 tbs butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 (8oz) package of cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
Directions
1. For the rolls, dissolve yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.
2. Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and flour. Mix well.
3. Dust your hands lightly with flour and knead the dough into a large ball.
4. Put in a bowl, cover, and place in a warm spot for about an hour until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. (approx 21 inches long by 16 inches wide).
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
7. To make filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
8. Spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture evenly over the butter.
9. Slowly roll the dough from the longer edge to the bottom of the longer edge forming a roll.
10. Cut the dough into 1 3/4 inch slices and place in a lightly greased baking pan. (you may also choose to cut your slices so that they fit nicely into paper baking cups for easier transporting and serving).
11. Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
12. While the rolls are baking combine the icing ingredients.
13. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy.
14. When rolls are done, spread generously with icing (or you can microwave each roll before serving and top with icing so that they are freshly warm).
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Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
1 cup softened unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
4 cups flour
melting chocolate as desired
Directions:
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix softened butter, vanilla, and sugar until incorporated.
3. Add flour and mix until dough is well mixed and forms a ball that pulls away from the paddle.
4. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface and cut into desired shapes.
5. Place cut cookies about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet and bake for about 16 minutes... just until they have set and you notice they start to go golden on the bottoms.
6. Allow cookies to cool on sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to cooling racks to fully cool before melting your chocolate and dipping cookies as desired.
The cookies themselves have a really nice texture, but I chose a milk chocolate and think I would really prefer something darker as it's just way too sweet on the cookie. I also have no idea how you get the chocolate smooth. As you can see I had lots of bubbles.
