Holiday Cheer

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Well, not really - it's 70-80 degrees out and not to make you Northerners too envious but I sleep at night with the windows open.  Such a nice reprieve from the brutal heat and humidity of summer.

Anyway, what's a holiday season without cookies.  Every year, my knitting group holds a cookie swap.  This year, I made Yarn Widower's favorite: Gourmet Magazine's Basic Butter Cookies decorated with rainbow non-pareils.  Recipe can be found  here.

I make them with Plugra butter (higher fat content than regular butter; Whole Foods usually stocks it) and I have to admit, they are some mighty fine cookies.  I would make them more often but I always make a mess of it.  Flour everywhere. 

Where is that dang sous chef when I need him?

 On my second batch, I had a eureka moment.  I loosened the beater from the mixer and manually stirred in the flour to combine it just enough before reattaching the beater to do its job.  And voila, no mess this time.  I don't know why that has never occurred to me before.  Maybe it's because I don't bake very often - too fussy, too messy, too highly caloric.

Messy crumbly deliciousness

Highly caloric cookie log

Before

 

 

 

 

 

After

Yum

More to come...