BakeAwayGirl

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet.  It could be argued that this recipe is what kicked off my obsession with cooking and baking.  I loved baking and cooking, but it was about how it tasted, and it didn't usually look all that great.  My parents bought me some cake decorating stuff for Christmas, and my cousin asked me to take a cake decorating class with her. I was hooked. Problem was, the recipe the class gave me looked phenomenal... and tasted like plastic.  So I did some research and discovered that the problem was the shortening.  I needed butter.  Be real, people, butter makes everything better. Now, I've done my research.  The general consensus, along with my own experience, is that the butter makes it softer, so it doesn't hold up for much real decorating.  If you're trying to make flowers or something along those lines, you're going to need a straight up shortening/confectioners sugar concoction.  However, fo...

I don't have enough adjectives to describe these.  Just trust me, they are awesome. What drew me to these were (of course) the Pinterest pictures.  Who doesn't want food that tastes delicious and looks amazing too?  Problem is, I'm no artist.  I'm not patient enough or steady enough to make things look as nice as they do on Pinterest, and the fancy camera is currently in my father's possession, so my little digital camera has to do. But something miraculous happened with these cookies... they came out beautifully!  I think it's the dark cocoa powder in it.  They were just stiff enough that they held the cookie cutter shape perfectly.  Even before refrigeration, they were stiff enough to cut out (but I didn't).  It turns out that I didn't have the heart-shaped cookie cutter I needed for a perfect Valentine's Day treat.  So my cookies refrigerated overnight, and it didn't do any harm.  They have almost the consistency of an Oreo. ...

After about 9 years of searching and experimenting, I have found the ideal decorating sugar cookie.  A few years ago, I plopped myself down on the floor of my local library in the middle of the baking cook book aisle and poured over book after book until I found the perfect recipe.  I've tweaked quite a bit and have played with it a couple of times since.  Here is the recipe, along with some pictures of the different cookies I've made with this recipe since discovering this gem. 4th of July Treat Deliciously Soft Sugar Cookies 11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar 1 tsp baking powder 1 egg 1 tablespoon 2% milk 1 tsp vanilla 2 cups all-purpose flour Mix butter alone until creamy.  Add sugar and baking powder.  Beat until thoroughly blended.  Stir in egg, milk, and vanilla.  Add flour one cup at a time, mixing completely before adding the second cup.  Chill dough in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.   Sprinkle...