frankie's foods

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

This challenge was an excellent opportunity for me to try out glace icing. I've used royal icing to decorate sugar cookies countless times in the past but I was curious about glace icing which is supposed to taste better, not set up as hard, doesn't require 7 minutes in the mixer and doesn't use any meringue powder. I used the recipe below and it was gorgeous- easy to work with, easy to pipe and tasted great. To make a chocolate version I just threw in about 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and it yielded a rich, fudgy frosting that was just as easy to work with. This will definitely be my new staple sugar cookie icing!

The basic sugar cookie recipe we were provided with was also fantastic. I'm glad this challenge forced me to try a different recipe because I absolutely love this one! It created cookies that were chewy, sturdy, and held their shape perfectly. I wouldn't be afraid to use this recipe with a really intricate cookie cutter because I know it would hold its shape. Also going to be a new staple recipe!

As for the shapes and decoration, Mandy asked us to create sugar cookies that reflected what September meant to us. As I was looking in my cupboard for some cutters and inspiration, I had a whole slew of ideas that I couldn't resist trying.

The first idea (my personal favorite) was donut sugar cookies. I happened to find my donut cutter while I was rummaging around and I knew I had to use it! Who doesn't love a dessert that has frosting and sprinkles?

And then of course I had to include the dreaded jelly donut....

September also means trying out my new cookie cutter...that I bought in September ;) Ice cream sundae cookies!

September is...hanging out with my amazing boyfriend!

September is...Thanking someone.

This month a friend of mine has been helping me a lot with the grueling job hunt. She's been giving me endless tips, advice and help! Right now she's a fashion designer and she's giving me the opportunity to model one of her looks in an upcoming fashion show. I wanted to thank her for all of her help so I decided to make cookies based on the themes that her designs are inspired by- water, fire and nature.

This cookie here is a layer cake cookie- I saw an example of it somewhere and I thought it was the cutest thing ever! I also wanted to do several flavors (boston cream pie, rasberry, etc) but I ran out of cookies!

Overall this was a fantastic challenge that allowed me to get super creative! Love the recipes and the cookies! Happy September!

Basic Sugar Cookies:
Makes Approximately 36x 10cm / 4" Cookies

200g / 7oz / ½ cup + 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
400g / 14oz / 3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose / Plain Flour
200g / 7oz / 1 cup Caster Sugar / Superfine Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
5ml / 1 tsp Vanilla Extract / Or seeds from 1 vanilla bean

Directions
• Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavourings you’re using. Beat until just becoming
creamy in texture.
• Tip: Don’t over mix otherwise you’ll incorporate too much air and the cookies will spread during
baking, losing their shape.
• Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms.
• Tip: I don’t have a stand mixer so I find it easier to switch to dough hooks at this stage to avoid
flour flying everywhere.
• Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces.
• Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm/1/5 inch (0.2 inch)
• Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins.
• Tip: Recipes commonly just wrap the whole ball of dough in clingwrap and then refrigerate it for an
hour or overnight, but by rolling the dough between parchment, this shortens the chilling time and
then it’s also been rolled out while still soft making it easier and quicker.
• Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife.
• Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour.
• Tip: It’s very important you chill them again otherwise they’ll spread while baking.
• Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.
• Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Assisted) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
• Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies.
• Tip: Bake same sized cookies together otherwise mixing smaller with larger cookies could result in
some cookies being baked before others are done.
• Tip: Rotate baking sheets half way through baking if your oven bakes unevenly.
• Leave to cool on cooling racks.
• Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.
• Tip: If wrapped in tinfoil/cling wrap or kept in airtight containers in a cool place, un-decorated
cookies can last up to a month.