Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Handy helpers



When I was a kid, my mom made a bunch of the ornaments on our tree.  One year she painted a bunch of wooden ones, including some Disney characters.  Another year, she made a bunch of "stained glass" ones, where you had to fill a metal outline with different colored bits and then put them in the oven to melt into the finished ornament.  Again, there were a bunch of Disney ones, as my mom was a big fan of Mickey and Minnie.  For as long as I can remember, she had a Mickey or Minnie Mouse watch. =)

For Brianna's first Christmas season, she was about eleven months old, and was already walking.  So when we thought about putting up the Christmas tree, we were understandably concerned about what ornaments were in her reach.  That year my mom sent me a bunch of the old ornaments that she had made.  They have the handy feature of being non-fragile if they get knocked off. =)  As it turned out, I don't think Brianna really paid that much attention to the ornaments that first year.  But a couple years ago she started wanting to help decorate, and those ornaments were the first ones I let her put on the tree.

Fast forward to this year.  We managed to get the tree put up and put the lights on on Sunday night.  That took longer than expected, so I told Brianna that we'd wait until Monday to put ornaments on so she could help.  So when we got home last evening, I got out the wooden and stained glass ornaments for her.  Of course, Gillian wanted to help, too.  There was quite a bit of debate over who got to put which "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" ornaments on the tree.  I told them to stick to the bottom part of the tree (which is the only part that Gillian can reach anyway).  I'm sure you can guess what happened...










I'm glad that they wanted to help, since it's fun to build holiday memories like this.  But sometimes I wish I had more patience with my children.  Like when it comes to cookie baking and decorating.  They love to do it (well, Brianna does and I'm sure Gillian will, too), but I just get so frustrated with the whole mess sometimes.  I learned something last year, though.  Even though Brianna would really like to help cut out the cookies, it's better if I do that part.  That way I can get it done quickly and get the cookies in the oven.  Then she can have fun with the sprinkles, which is really her favorite part anyway.

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe will be a great one for that.  Ulrike of Küchenlatein chose Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies for us to bake this week.  I mentioned last week that I'm not a big fan of cut-out cookies.  Mostly that's because I find it hard to concentrate on what I'm doing with the two girls in and out of the kitchen and interrupting me constantly.  I was going to let them help anyway, but I ran out of time (which is why I'm writing this on Tuesday afternoon).  


I actually made the dough on Sunday, so it had ample time to chill in the refrigerator.  And I made it by hand rather than with my mixer.  Since this is a softer dough (even chilled), I rolled the dough pretty much right after I took it out of the fridge.  I divided it in half so I could keep some of the dough chilled while I was cutting out the shapes.  I made sure not to roll the dough too thin, as well.  I didn't have any trouble, but I was trying to work as quickly as possible so the dough wouldn't warm up too much.  The scraps from each round of cutting went back into the fridge to get cold again.  They're still there at the moment, and I may just make thumbprints or something out of them.  I ended up baking my cookies for 12 minutes, but that may vary depending on the size of the cookies.

I like icing on my cookies, so I mixed up a simple glaze of powdered sugar (3 ounces or 3/4 cup), milk (a tablespoon) and vanilla (a splash).  I used the back of a spoon to spread the icing on the cooled cookies.  As I iced each one, I sprinkled it with sparkling sugar, gently shaking off the excess.  You can use a variety of colored sugars and sprinkles, but I went with plain white this time.

The verdict?  I sampled one of the cookies plain to see what I thought.  I liked it.  With the baking time I used, the edges were crisp, but the middle was a bit chewy still.  I haven't tried one of the iced ones yet.  And I'll have to come back and give my taste testers' feedback later this evening.  Over all, this is a recipe I'd make again.  And I may be doing it sooner than I think, since I volunteered to make cookies for Brianna's class holiday party next week.  =)

If you want to give these a try, head on over to Ulrike's blog for the recipe.  She is kind enough to post in English as well as German.  And check out the blog roll for more delicious cookies!

16 comments:

  1. I am always amazed when I look back that my mom didn't strangle me when we make sugar cookies every christmas growing up - I was spastic :) I applaud any patience you have, because it's 10 times more than I have. And I absolutely love the sparkly cookies, they're just so pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  2. These are so adorable! I love how you are making special memories with your family. One day your daughter will be writing about it on her blog! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I remember making cookies with my mom and always being corrected about where the cookie cutter was positioned to maximize the dough and rolling. Looks like you guys did a wonderful job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, what fun...to hear about your girls and their Christmas cookie making experiences as they are growing up...so cute and charming. LOVE the cookies...the white really is elegant and beautiful. Great job.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like how the cookies sparkles. Your cut-outs are so perfect. I couldn't really lift the cut cookies out from the rolled dough without them sticking to my fingers. It's just so warm here.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love the sparkly sugar on your cookies! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful post. And your cookies look great!

    ReplyDelete
  8. These are really precious looking cookies, love them =)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh I LOVE the way yours look. So delicious looking. Love the sugar on top!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the story of your daughter being old enough to knock off a couple of ornaments off of that tree! Thank goodness for indestructible ornaments, no? Your cookies look great!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I can relate so well to everything in this post. Especially the part about wishing that I had more patience with the kids! Before a certain age, kids really can't cut these cookies out -- the sprinkles are definitely a better job for them (although mine bury the cookies in sprinkles -- do yours?) Anyway, your cookies look beautiful -- I love the icing and the sparkly sugar!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Did you ever make cookie ornaments. They didn't last long, but they looked good on the tree for about 2 hours. Then came the party, and BAM all gone. Yours look really good. Glad you can do this with your babies. They grow up so fast....

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love the way your sugar looks so sparkly! This will make a great memory for your kids, maybe even a new tradition!

    ReplyDelete
  14. The other day, the boys were helping me cut out more sugar cookies. They mangled the dough beyond recognition and then immediately squished the shapes they did cut out in their hands. And then Christian dumped a whole cup of flour ON to the dough.
    Yep...good times. :o)
    They'll remember it as great times, though...right?
    Nice job on the cookies. They look fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I am not a fan of cutting our cookies either, so I used the slice and bake method. But your icy snow flakes are very elegant.

    Thanks for joining TWD and baking with me

    Ulrike from Küchenlatein

    ReplyDelete