Sweet Bird's Nests

It's almost Easter! Time for sweet treats. I'm bringing these bird's nests to Mya's class for her "Easter party #1." They're super simple to make. Mya even helped me with them.

Ingredients:

Chow Mein Noodles (the cracker-like stuff - not real chow mein)
Butterscotch Morsels
Cadbury Mini Eggs (yes, we got into our bag before making this)

Step 1: Melt the butterscotch morsels. I use the double boiler method since I don't get good results with my microwave oven. But if you're comfortable with your microwave oven, by all means, go for it.

Step 2: Add chow mein noodles. We added about half a package (or 8 oz.) of noodles.

Step 3: Mix. It's more like folding. You don't want to break up the noodles too much.

Step 4: Make nests. Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. Using a tablespoon, scoop the noodles into little piles on the lined sheet. Using your fingers, manipulate the noodles so that they become nest-like.

Step 5: Add eggs. Add the candy eggs while the butterscotch is still melted and they will stick to the nest when it's cooled.

Step 6: Allow to cool and harden. You can either leave them out or do what I did and stick them in the fridge.

And that's it!! Easy peasy. I've got more to make this week–Treats for both kids and adults.

NO... WAY...

Microwave cookies... WHAT?!

I had some leftover pre-cut chocolate sugar cookie dough from Mya's Halloween goodie bags for her classmates. There were only 5 pieces in the fridge that didn't make it in the oven (didn't want to waste energy for 5 cookies). So in desperation for a cookie, I threw one in the microwave oven on top of parchment paper for 45 seconds on high. I stopped the microwave when I started smelling something burning. I pulled out the cookie and sure enough, the center was a bit charred but the outside was perfect. So I ate it anyway.

I experimented again (in the name of science, of course). I threw another in the microwave for 45 seconds at 70% power. I had to stop it after 40 seconds because I had a feeling that it might burn again. It didn't burn, but it did cook a bit more in the center than on the outside. I ate that one as well.

My last attmept (remember, this is for science - not hunger), I threw another one in at 40 seconds, 60% power. I think it came out just right. Just like regular sugar cookies, I had to let it cool off before it hardened. It tasted just fine.

I think I may have to experiment more with microwaving cookie dough. It might be a nice trick to have when I need a cookie. I seem to always have cookie dough in the fridge or freezer.

What happened to the other 2 pieces of cookie dough? Leave it to Thom to eat it raw.

Easter/Spring Cookies

I did another batch of cookies. This time it's for my church's bake sale. Mya helped by cutting out the cookies. With little kids, you kind of have to guide them as to where to place the cutters on the dough with the least waste. In my case, I placed the cutters and Mya pushed them down and popped them out. She also helped me roll out the dough using my nifty dowel guide system. Usually, she helps with the sprinkles but it was late at night when I decorated. Plus, she had a cold and I didn't want her licking the sprinkles off her fingers then touching the cookies.

I donated 8 sets of 3 cookies, nicely packaged in cello bags filled with Easter grass. All the money goes to the church to pay for their eucharistic supplies. Luckily, I didn't have to sit and sell these - the ladies at the Women's Guild took care of that.

I was stuck as to how much I should price these. Thom, being the sales guy that he is said to price them at $6/set. But there's a fine line between what they're actually worth and what people at our church would pay. Honestly, the bake and craft sales have been dotted by middle of the road tasting and presented baked goods. It's basically a bunch of quick-breads and cookies placed on a paper plate and wrapped in colored saran wrap. So cakes and breads were normally priced at around $2-$3. A plate full of cookies would go for a buck or two.

So I posted this pic on a message board I belong to and asked how I should price the cookies. I got ranges between $3-$5 —Which was pretty accurate in my mind. So I priced them at $5 per set.

Thom dropped the cookie bags off at church this morning. He said that they were the best looking cookies and the best presented items on the table. (I'll get photos of the table later.) We didn't stay for mass at our parish since we were going to the Mission (where we were married) for mass. So we couldn't see the sales progress. Instead Thom called one of the volunteers after the bake sale to see how well they sold.

The verdict...

1. They've never had cookies that looked so good or were well presented.
2. They usually sell cookies for 50-75 cents a piece
3. All the bags sold at the $5 price
4. Everyone at the Women's Guild were SHOCKED they sold for that much
5. We just made $40 for the church :)

It goes to show, putting your time and effort to make things nice will pay in the end. I'm glad I got to do my part in helping. Plus, I got to buy some fun cookie cutters out of it!

Next up... St. Patrick's Day cookies! I'll be baking about 150 shamrock cookies for a Lenten Fish Dinner this Friday. Whoo hoo! More cookie baking - more frosting!!

My redesigned blog!

I quickly put together this template in Photoshop, placed the images where I wanted them in Dreamweaver and inserted Blogger codes to make it work.

Sounds easy, right?

Well, Blogger recommends that you copy one of their templates and just modify it - rightly so. I didn't have enough time to actually learn how blogger works. Plus, I'm a "learn-by-doing" kind of gal. So this seemed like the way to go. I had my template sitting on my computer for a week before I even attempted to attack this monster. But while modifying and testing code, I found it surprisingly self-explanatory (but quite messy).

I'm sure there's more fancy schmancy things I could do with this but I'm all programmed out this week. I think I've programmed websites and databases all week long and my brain needs a rest.

On a baking note...

I regret that I didn't take photos of the Valentine's day cookies I made for Mya's Preschool. Mya helped put on the sprinkles and I was quite happy (and almost giddy) with the way they turned out.

My nephew, Brandon, came over the other day so I busted out the cookie dough and Mya, Brandon and I made some mini-heart cookies. I piped, they sprinkled. I did a little sprinkling as well. Here's the fruit of our labor:




I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Easter Cookies

I enjoy making sugar cookies because it can suit any occasion, it allows me to be creative, it's portable and gosh darn it, people like them!! I've tried a few recipes but the one that I keep going back to is a recipe from Joyofbaking.com. I also use the Royal Icing recipe with Meringue Powder and substitute almond extract for vanilla extract.

Every Easter, my sister and close family friends make Easter baskets for all our kids (a total of 9). This year, we all made a pact to NOT put candy, particularly jellybeans, in the baskets. So I decided on making cookie pops.

I searched high and low for cute (cheap) cookie cutters and I found a 4-piece set at Wal-Mart for $1.88. They were cheap alright... the cutters were plastic and a little flimsy. If I could quote my father-in-law, "whoever designed this should be shot." Well, I'm exaggerating. They were flimsy and there were sections that were so narrow that the dough would break when you removed them from the cutter or the board. Bottom line, I bought them without really looking at them and for the most part, they worked.

Since I was planning on making these cookies into lollipops, I needed sticks. I was in a rush while at Wal-Mart and got 50 Wilton lollipop sticks without really thinking it through. What's that you say? Yes, I'm a mom and I've lost some brain cells due to pregnancy. Plus, I had my 2-year-old with me whining, "I'm hungry." So you take what you can get when you need to hurry up and get out, right? But I digress... Lollipop sticks, the kind you use for candy, shouldn't be put in the oven because they are made out of paper. There are sticks made especially for cookie lollipops that are pretty much wooden dowels. You can also use popsicle sticks. But I had what I had and I crossed my fingers that I wouldn't set my house on fire.

Rolling the dough
I usually experiment with different techniques when making sugar cookies. The recipe calls for refrigerating the dough before rolling it out. I've done this in the past and have found the dough awfully hard to roll out without cracking. But, cutting out cookies is very challenging when the dough is very soft. My solution - roll it out on parchment paper then refrigerate it.

I worked with 1/4 of the dough at a time. Because these cookies have to be thick to insert the sticks, I needed to have something to make sure that the dough is rolled out evenly and at the perfect thickness. I found two 1/4-inch dowels leftover from a cake project and placed them on opposite sides of the dough. The dowels worked as guide to keep the dough at 1/4 inch thickness while the rolling pin does it's job. There was some sticking - a good tip I learned from Alton Brown is to use powdered sugar instead of flour to prevent the dough from sticking to your rolling pin. Adding more flour to the dough will make it tough. I have a powdered sugar shaker that puts just the right amount on the dough.

Once the dough is at the proper thickness, I place it on a cookie sheet, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it. I work with the rest of the dough, stacking them on top of each other in the fridge when I'm finished with them. After an hour, the dough is ready to be cut.

Cutting and Baking
Preheat the oven to 350°F (sorry, I don't have any high-altitude settings) and start cutting. Cutting is pretty straightforward. But there is a little technique to inserting the sticks. It's simple, really. When you insert the sticks, the dough will shift and create a bump. All you do is tap the dough where it bumps up as you insert the sticks to flatten it out. No need to worry that your once-flat dough is a little buckled. You're going to cover that with icing anyway. Gently place the cookie dough pops on a new parchment-covered cookie sheet and place them in the oven when filled.

Bake at 350°F - ovens vary but start out with 10 minutes. Because my oven always takes a little longer to get good results, my cookies turn out perfect after 14 minutes. I usually cut more cookies as I bake and place them in the fridge until they're ready to go in the oven. Keeping your cookies cold will prevent them from spreading and losing their shape.

Icing
Allow the cookies to cool completely and then start icing. As I said, I make the Royal Icing using the Powdered Meringue recipe and vanilla extract. There are some purists who say NOT to use regular vanilla extract but to use clear vanilla so that it doesn't discolor your white icing. I haven't had any complaints that the icing is slightly off-white. I don't even notice it myself! Besides, I'm usually adding food coloring so it doesn't matter. I think almond extract gives it a little bit of a chemical taste and I just like the flavor of vanilla.

Start out by piping the outline of the cookie. If you're using several colors, one tip I have is to use plastic zip bags to pipe icing. That way you're not constantly cleaning your reusable piping bags. I still use my small round piping tip to make the outlines just because cutting the tip of the bag gives me unexpected shapes and results when I pipe the outline of the cookies.

After the outlines have dried, thin out the icing with a LITTLE bit of water. I emphasize "little" because it's easy to make it too runny and unmanageable. Place in another zip bag, cut the tip and pipe it inside the outline. Don't put too much, you can get an offset spatula and spread out the frosting. It will come out smooth if you thinned it out enough. While you're doing all of this, cover the unused icing with a wet towel so it doesn't dry out.

If you're going to add more details (like the eyes and nose on the bunny) wait until the icing has completely dried or the colors will run. My bunny has as sort-of anime look to it with it's wide tiny eyes.

Allow them to dry completely before transporting or wrapping. And there you have it! Cookies on a stick. My house didn't burn down, by the way. The sticks worked out perfectly and I didn't feel bad about disposing them. I hate wasting things and feel more guilty disposing real wood vs. paper. So I think I'll stick to paper next time. I guess as long as my oven temp stays at 350°F it won't burn.

I made a double batch of this recipe for Easter and gave out cookies to the choir at church and some of the kids. Even the adults became like kids when they got these cookies... they were fighting over the bunnies.