Easter cookies

For this Easter I made some cookies and cakes in 'spring theme' to share with some wonderful kids, neighbors and friends. I chose bunny, doggy, tulip and butterfly shapes from the wilton's cookie cutter set that hubby presented me recently.

Flower bouquet cookies.

While googling I learned that glazed icing work the best with sugar cookies for stacking (not sticky). Thanks to the sugar cookie recipe and cookie icing recipe authors, I got a bunch of successfully made soft sugar cookies. I was amazed at the glossy finish after icing these cookies. These icings dry within 3 hours (or overnight in humid weather) and can be conveniently stacked up. Our friends too appreciated the outcome along with my hubby:) This recipe is surely a keeper for me and I will be doing it again and again:)

I love these flower cookies very much, so I made them in more number:)

Easter bunny is the main attraction for kids:)

Cookies for  a garden party.

Kids love these cute bunny cookies:)

Doggies for my hubby dear along with a cute bunny:)

I simply rolled these cookies on my roti maker. Prepared them after supper on Thursday.

Cookie before baking.

Ingredients: (5 dozen)
sugar - 2 cups
All purpose flour (maida)- 5 cups
unsalted butter - 1 1/2 cup
vanilla essence - 1 tsp
egg - 4
baking powder- 2 tsp
salt - 1 tsp

Method:

Bring butter to room temperature by keeping it out of fridge.
Mix the butter and sugar using a fork.
Beat together egg and vanilla essence.
Sift together AP flour, salt, baking powder.
In a large bowl combine sugar, butter with the beaten egg mixture. Blend well.
Add flour, baking powder and salt to the mixture and make it into a dough.
Manual kneading is the best here.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour for easier handling.
We can prepare the dough and refrigerate overnight for better cookies.
The dough can sit in fridge for a week.
Preheat oven to 350 - 375 deg F (175 deg C) for at least 30 minutes .
Make small balls and roll them into 1/2 to 1/4 inch sheet and cut into desired shapes.
(I did on a chapati rolling base with lot of flouring).
 Place each cookie 1 inch apart on the baking sheet.
Bake at 350 F for 6 - 7 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
Immediately remove from cookie sheets and let cool completely.
Decorate as desired.

Note:

While baking one batch, keep the dough in fridge. Stiff dough is the best for rolling.
Cool them on wire rack overnight or at least for 4 hours before storing in air tight containers.
It can be refrigerated before icing.
Makes 5 dozen cookies.

Sugar cookie icing recipe

Tools for icing.

Ingredients:

confectioners sugar - 1 cup
milk - 2 tsp
light corn syrup -  2 tsp
almond extract (or) vanilla - 1 tsp
water - 1 tbsp
food color - pink, lilac, blue, yellow, green

Method:

Sift the sugar and remove the lumps. Mix everything except color.
Divide into required portion and add a drop of color to each bowl.

Note:

Prepare this just before icing. If hardened, add a tsp of milk and mix well.
If we want more shine, add tbsp of more corn syrup.
Stir before each coating to get the shine.
Use a (new and separate) paint brush for icing.
Dipping the cookies in icing also works fine.
Never refrigerate the cookies after this type of icing, as it will not be this much shiny again.
Enough to decorate 30 cookies.

Frosted Sugar cookies

I prepared this frosted sugar cookies for the Christmas feast.
I chose to make butter cream icing in advance and refrigerated it for easy handling.
It is like an easy breeze to make and great for kids.

Ingredients:
granulated sugar - 1 cup
unsalted butter - 1 cup
milk -3 tablespoon
vanilla essence -1teaspoon
egg-1
all purpose flour-3 cup
baking powder-1 1/2 teaspoon
salt 1/2 teaspoon
sugar a little to sprinkle.

Method:
Beat the egg , milk, and vanilla essence .
In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter with the beaten egg mixture.Blend well.
Add flour, baking powder and salt to the mixture and make it into a dough.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour for easier handling.
Preheat oven to 400 F .
Make small balls and flaten them on silverfoil or ungreased cookie sheet over the oven tray.
( place each cookie 1 inch apart)
sprinkle sugar over the cookies before baking.
Bake at 400 F for 5-9 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
Immediately remove from cookie sheets and decorate as desired.
Makes 6 dozen cookies.


Frosting:
Unsalted butter - 1/2 bar (5 tbsp)
confectionery sugar - 2 cups
milk - 1 tbsp
cookie sprinkles - 1/2 cup
vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Cool the cookies completely before frosting.
Mix softened butter with confectionery sugar, milk and vanilla essence.
This can be of a thick consistency like a chapathi dough.
Spread the white icing uniformly all over the cookies by using a knife or icing tool.
Then decorate the cookies with sprinkles .

Frosted sugar cookies is ready!
Store them in air tight box and it will last for a month.

Frosted sugar cookies goes to FIC : White event in Yummy food.

Malar of Kitchen Tantra has tagged me for this baking event. Thanks for tagging me for this noble cause dear.

The following is quoted from the Breadline Africa Bake-Off site:
On 15 October, we launched The Breadline Africa Worldwide Blogger Bake Off. The Blogger Bake Off is an online campaign that challenges blogger to get involved by baking bread, and then acting by donating to end poverty. And then, challenge their readers and five other blogger to do the same.With the money raised, we will be supporting grass roots community projects aimed at ending poverty and hunger in Africa. We’ll be placing container kitchens, vegetable gardens and more in poor communities, sending emergency food relief where needed
and helping these poor communities to help themselves.

The rules for blogger are outlined below:
If you are tagged, copy and paste the rules into your post.
Bake bread, do something you would’t normally do, and blog about it. Upload your picture and recipe.
Give dough, donate to Breadline Africa and help us end poverty.
Tag five blogger, and ping us so we know you’ve done so.

The person who raises the most funds will get to name a Breadline Africa community kitchen and win $500 Amazon Vouchers.
There are also three minor prizes of $250 Amazon vouchers for people who receive the most votes in the following categories: Most Unusual Recipe; Most Nutritious Recipe and Most Traditional Recipe.
Breadline Africa is a registered charity in South Africa that is seeking to put an end to poverty in South Africa and further afield in Africa. Their aim is to break the cycle of poverty and help communities to achieve long term self-sustainability. Breadline Africa was founded in 1993 by social workers and communities in South Africa with minded colleagues in Europe, (who were well placed to source out donations). They are geared to help fund small ground level projects in Africa which are most likely to succeed with financial help.

On Blog Action Day Breadline Africa launched their Worldwide Blogger Bake-Off campaign. The aim is to raise $1 million in funds for a project to convert shipping containers into locations for food production and distribution in Africa. It is hoped that these sustainable community kitchens will not only provide food such as bread and soup to those in need, but also opportunities for skills development within poor communities.This bake-off gives us baking blogger the power to make a difference in this world. What do we do? Bake bread. Give Dough. Feed Africa. Vals says, "You can sign up for the campaign, make a donation, upload your bread recipes and document your culinary adventures in the media center to spread the word. You don't have to donate money but simply just mention the campaign and create awareness."

I am tagging 5 of my friends for this event.
Premy
Saraswathy
Usha Nandhini
Akal's saapadu
Shama
Best wishes my friends!