Whimsical Swirl Cookies Dee Dees Food

BUTTERFLY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Combine the granulated sugar, butter and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat until fully combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through with a spatula.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk in 2 batches; mix until the dough comes together.
• Divide the dough in half and flatten each portion into a disk. Place each disk into a separate resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate the dough until firm, about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out both pieces of dough until about 1/4 inch thick.
• Using 2 different sized butterfly cookie cutters (2-inch and 3-inch), cut out as many cookies as you can. Use the 2-inch cutter on one portion of dough and the 3-inch cutter on the other portion of dough. Be sure to dip the cutters in flour every other cookie or so while you are cutting them out to prevent the dough from sticking.
• Transfer as many of the cookies as will fit onto the prepared baking sheets and bake until they're just set but not browned, about 7 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then remove to racks to cool completely before decorating. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
• For the icing: Combine the powdered sugar, milk and egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until thick and glossy. Add more powdered sugar if the icing seems too thin. Add more milk if it is too thick. You may need to play with it until it is just right. The icing should be loose enough to stick to the cookies in an even layer, but not too loose to slide off.
• For decorating: Divide the icing among 3 or 4 smaller bowls. Add 2 to 3 drops each of red and orange food coloring to each bowl, scattering it over the surface of the icing. Drag a toothpick through the drops a few times to make swirls.
• Dip the top of each cookie in the icing and let the excess drip off over the bowl. Transfer the dipped cookies to a rack and allow to dry completely. When the colors in the first bowl of icing become too muddled, move on to the next bowl of icing and so forth until all the cookies are iced. Let the icing dry completely, about 1 hour.

HOLIDAY SWIRLED SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Increase the mixer speed to medium high, add the vanilla and egg and beat until incorporated. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture in 2 batches and beat until just combined. Shape the dough into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Generously dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/2 inch, dusting with more confectioners' sugar as needed. (Return the dough to the refrigerator if it gets too soft.) Cut out shapes with a 2-inch round cookie cutter and arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. Refrigerate the cookies until firm, about 1 hour.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Bake the cookies, rotating the pans halfway through, until lightly browned around the edges, 9 to 11 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.
• For the royal icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 7 tablespoons water and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until soft glossy peaks form, adding up to 8 tablespoons water if necessary to make a smooth icing that thickly coats the back of a spoon.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment and set a cooling rack on top.
• Put 1/4 cup icing into each of 2 small bowls. Add 9 drops red food coloring to one bowl and stir until evenly combined. Add 2 drops green food coloring to the second bowl and stir until evenly combined. Pour the remaining white icing into a clean rimmed baking sheet and spread or shake to evenly coat it. Drizzle the red icing all over the white, then drizzle the green icing over both. One at a time, put the cookies face-side down in the baking sheet icing. Take the cookies out one at a time, shaking gently to let excess icing drip off, and place right-side up on the prepared cooling rack. Decorate with edible glitter or sprinkles if desired. Let the icing harden completely before serving, about 1 hour.

CHRISTMAS SWIRL COOKIES - DEE DEE'S

Steps:

• 1. In a batter bowl or a bowl of your liking, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside.
• 2. In a large mixer bowl using paddle; cream the butter until it's smooth; stir in the sugars and vanilla extract until they're evenly blended.
• 3. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture one third at a time, mixing well after each addition, until the dough is evenly blended.
• 4. Divide cookie dough in to 4 equal pieces. Take 2 pieces and incorporate the food coloring of choice into each piece or add cocoa to one or both pieces. Don't add both! NOTE: I will be making 1 green and 1 red piece to go with the 2 vanilla pieces.
• 5. Place each quarter piece on a large piece of plastic wrap, pat it into a 1/2-inch-thick square, and then wrap it in the plastic. Refrigerate the 4 squares until firm, about 1 to 2 hours.
• 6. Unwrap one piece of the chilled vanilla dough, leaving it on the plastic. Cover it with a second piece of plastic wrap, then roll it into a rectangle measuring about 9 by 7 inches. If the dough gets too soft and difficult to roll, slide it onto a baking sheet and refrigerate it until it's firm again, about 5 to 10 minutes. Unwrap a piece of the colored dough, cover it with another piece of plastic, and roll it into an 8- by 7-inch rectangle.
• 7. Remove the top piece of plastic wrap from both rolled doughs and invert the colored dough on top of the vanilla dough, lining up 3 sides and leaving about 1 inch of vanilla dough exposed on one side. Starting at the opposite side, lift the vanilla dough by the plastic wrap underneath it and snugly roll up both layers into a log, peeling away the plastic wrap as you go. Gently roll in sprinkles coating log. Wrap the log in the plastic and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours. Repeat the process with the 2 other pieces of dough.
• 8. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap one of the logs and slice it into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Arrange the slices on the parchment about 1 inch apart and bake for about 13 minutes. The cookies will still be a little soft to the touch. NOTE: They will have a better texture if you don't allow the edges brown.
• 9. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet; transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.

ORANGE MARMALADE MONKEY TAILS - DEE DEE'S

Steps:

• 1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
• 2. Cream butter and sugar, beating well on a medium speed of an electric mixer. Add egg and flavoring; beat well.
• 3. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture. Shape dough into a ball; wrap in plastic and chill for 2 hours.
• 4. While dough is chilling, prepare filling: Combine marmalade, coconut and walnuts; mix well. Store in refrigerator unitl ready to use.
• 5. On floured wax paper, roll chilled dough to a 12 x 9-inch rectangle. Spread filling evenly to within 1/2-inch of the edge of the dough. Carefully roll dough, jellyroll fashion, starting at the long end and peeling wax paper from dough as you roll it. Pinch side seam to seal, leave ends open. Sprinkle 1/2 cups of finely chopped walnuts on wax paper, roll log in walnuts to coat log. Wrap dough in plastic and chill for 1 hour or until dough is firm enough to slice.
• 6. Unwrap roll, and slice 1/4-inch slices. Place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets.(I used parchment paper in stead of greasing cookie sheet). Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or just until cookies begin to slighly brown aroun the edges. Cool on a wire rack. (using parchment paper, I was able to slice the whole sheet onto the wire rack and cooled the cookies on the parchment paper).
• 7. NOTE: Ovens vary, so watch closely. It took 11 minutes in my oven.

DEE'S OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• With beaters at med-high speed, cream the butter, and the two sugars together.
• Add the eggs and vanilla, continue beating until well blended.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, soda, baking powder and salt.
• On low speed, add the flour mixture about 1/2 cup at a time into the butter mixture, mixing until smooth.
• Stir in the rolled oats and chocolate chips.
• Spray cookie sheets with cooking spray, drop dough by teaspoons onto sheets.
• Bake for 8- 10 minutes, then cool on racks for 5- 8 minutes before removing from pan.