Rainbow Cookies

I think, by now, you guys are aware that I like making rainbow baked goods.
I have an unhealthy obsession with food coloring, and what better way to use it than in rainbows?

So, in my neverending quest to make enough rainbow food to drown my home state, I decided to go back to my baking roots: cookies!

I made these pretty much in the same way I made the rainbow bread; 7 unequal lumps of dough, colored and layered...though this was much much easier.

They're pretty simple, and you can flavor them any way you like...and I think your friends would find them cute (I do, at least, haha)






Rainbow Refrigerator Cookies: Makes 4 dozen
2.5 cups of flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
16 tablespoons of room temperature butter (2 sticks)
1 cup of sugar
1 tbsp of any extract or flavoring (vanilla, lemon, mint, whatever!)
1 egg
pinch of salt.

Cream together the butter and sugar. When that's light and fluffy, add in the egg, and the extract/flavoring.

Add in the rest of the ingredients, and mix until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough into 7 parts, but not equally! To make sure the layers of the rainbow are the same thickness, the portions have to get progressively larger (from purple to red)

Color the smallest portion purple, and so on, and the largest red.
Cover and chill the doughs in the fridge for an hour. (or in the freezer for 15 minutes if you're a lazy bum like me)

Roll the purple dough into a snake, about 1 1/2 feet long. (for cookies the size of mine, about 1 1/2 inches across. If you want bigger ones, make the snake shorter and thicker)
Roll out each color, in order to fit perfectly over the color before it, and trim any excess before adding the next color.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Return the log to the fridge and chill until stiff enough to easily slice. (or the freezer again ;] )

Slice the log into 1/4 inch pieces, and places on a lined baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, and let cool completely on a rack.

Enjoy :)

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Chocolate-Dipped Peppermint Meringues

So I'm back, sort of.
I got the urge to bake yesterday, and since meringues are so simple, I figured I'd made some more. :)

Not much of a story this time, I'm a bit under the weather, but I'm going to be making dinner tomorrow consisting of DUCK, duck fat fried potatoes, and an apple pie...so stay tuned for an in depth post on those, probably Monday. :)





Chocolate-Dipped Peppermint Meringues:
4 egg whites
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 tsp of cream of tartar (or lemon juice, if you prefer)
1 finely crushed candy cane

1 cup of melted chocolate (for much much later :) )

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit
Please please please do not whip these by hand, unless you have the arm strength of a thousand men.
Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar together until soft peaks form.
Add in the sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, with the mixer going until it's all incorporated. Whip until stiff peaks form. (dip the whisk in the whites, and the whites on it should stand straight up when you hold it up )
Mix in the candy cane powder, and put the meringue in a piping bag.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and pipe the meringues out in whatever shape/size you want.
Bake them for 2 hours
If you don't have as much time, or a short attention span, make them on the small side, and bake them for less time,but be certain to check them after an hour. (take one out, and let it cool for a bit on the counter, then check the doneness by snapping it in half)
(mine are fairly large, and browned because I spaced out while they were in the oven XD )

After letting them cool for a few minutes, dip the bottoms in chocolate, and set them back on the parchment paper until the chocolate sets up.

Enjoy! (and hide them from your relatives :3 )

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Pumpkin Pie Spice Meringues!

You know, every time I go to type "meringue", I always want to type "merengue" instead.

Interesting Kiara Tidbit o' the Day! XD


Anyhoooo. Last night, I whipped egg whites by hand for an hour while watching TV, because my mixer bowl was dirty and I figured I could use the exercise.

I have poor decision-making skills, obviously.

Anyway, here are pictures, and the recipe! :)



I couldn't decide which I liked better XD



Pumpkin Pie Spice Meringues:
1 cup granulated sugar
3 egg whites
1 tsp of vinegar (or cream of tartar. You need acid, that's all :) )
1 tbs pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger)
Tiny dab of orange food coloring.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. This won't take long, so I'd do it when you're almost done whipping the egg whites.

Whip the egg whites until frothy, then slowly add in the sugar.
Then add the vinegar and spices, and continue to whip.
When it gets to soft peaks, add in the food coloring.
Whip whip whip whip whip until they're stiff, glossy peaks. (they'll hold their shape when you lift the whisk straight up, the tip should curl over , but it should be a defined peak)

You can either just put the meringue into a sandwich baggie and cut the tip off and pipe little blobs, or put a nice tip in a pastry bag. I used a Wilton 1M for mine.

Now the baking time really depends on your oven and the size of the meringues, so the first time you make them, I'd suggest making a small test batch (if you have time), or to at least make more than you need, so you can break a couple open and check if they're done.
For me, personally, these needed about an hour. Generally, they'll take between that and 2 hours, but like I said, it depends on their size, and your particular oven. :)

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Mini Fall Cookies!

So the muffins were good...still not exactly what I was looking for in a muffin, so I'll hold off on posting those for now.

Buuuuut, I do have more cookies to share!

These are mini cookies shaped like oak leaves, maple leaves, pumpkins and acorns.
I have learned, through a couple of days of decorating mini cookies, that they are 5 billion times more work than regular cookies. So much less room to work on, and just so /many/ to do in the first place.

But they're so cute! So I think I'm going to have to get mini cutters for every season...like I don't have enough cookie cutters as it is...my storage drawers are almost full, haha.








Just like the Halloween ones, you can make 'em yourself
or I can make them for you :)


I am worn out. Hahaha.

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Mini halloween cookies

I know, I know, I'm horrible.

T_T

I've been so busy with school and my etsy store that I hardly have time (or money!) to bake for myself, or for the blog.

I apologize...and I bring you an offering!
Yummy mini Halloween cookies!






Recipe is here, if you wanna take a stab at them yourself.


Iiiiiiiif you're not up to that, you can buy them from me!
Mini Halloween Cookies @ flour on her nose on Etsy

I should have a post about blueberry muffins (yuuum!) up tomorrow...sorry I've been such a bum, hahaha. :P

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Cookies with hazelnut filling.

I really felt like making something cute and adorable.
Logically, that leads to using little heart and star cookie cutters :)

Few things make me happier than tiny, shaped food. Haha.

I don't actually have much to say today, just trying to get through this summer of work and tiredness before I start my fall of school and tiredness. XD
I'm baking some cupcakes for my friends' birthdays, we're having a little get together tonight, and I figured I'd bring something. It's how I roll. :)

I was trying to figure out how to make some sort of cream filling made with hazelnuts, but I ended up whipping the cream and stuff so much, it turned into butter! Which, honestly, was not a bad result. :)







Simple butter cookies:
1 cup of flour
5 tbsp softened butter
3/4 cup of fine granulated sugar (run regular granulated sugar through a blender/food processor)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp of vanilla

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and yolk, one at a time, mixing completely, then add the vanilla. Afterwards, add in the flour and salt, and mix until a dough forms.
Let the dough chill in the fridge for about an hour, and then roll it out (very thin) and cut out shapes. Bake them for about 8 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.

Let cool while making the filling.

Hazelnut "butter" filling:
1 cup of hazelnuts
1/4 cup of sugar
2/3 cup of milk
1/2 cup of heavy cream
2 tbs nutella (optional. you can also add melted chocolate)

Cook the hazelnuts, sugar, and milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat until the hazelnuts start to become translucent, and the milk takes on a light brown color (from the hazelnut skins)
Blend the hazelnuts and milk until slightly chunky.
Whip the mixture with the heavy cream and nutella until the butter separates from the liquid. (it'll take a while, but you'll see when it happens). Strain out the liquid using cheesecloth, or layers of paper towels.

To assemble, sandwich a bit of the butter between two cookies, and use your finger or the dull side of a knife to make the edges nice and clean.
I let mine sit in the fridge for a bit, so the butter wouldn't be as soft, but you can eat them right away if you want. :)

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Kiara's Rotten, Awful, No Good, Very Bad Day Cookies

So lately, I've been feeling rather down.
The stress of school and my personal life are taking their toll on me.

Today, in the midst of cleaning my horribly messy room, I said, in much harsher words, "Screw this!" and I went to make cookies.

What kinds of things does one want to see when one is down? Smiley faces and rainbows, of course!

So I made the cookies, and made the bazillion colors of icing and all was good.

Until I really looked at the kitchen and realized that I had a huge mess to clean up.

Welcome back, stress! Haha, it wasn't that bad, but the situation was kind of ironic. :)

Anyhoooo, here we go!


Messed up a little bit, but for the most part, a decent rainbow :)


it's not happy that I bit it in the head XD

This is the happiest cookie I've ever seen :P





Buttery Sugar Cookies:
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tsp of vanilla
4 tbsp of butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp of baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in the vanilla and egg and beat until fully incorporated.
Add the flour and baking powder, and mix until the dough comes together.
The dough might be a little dry, so if you need to, add some water until it comes together better.
Chill the dough for about a half an hour, it probably won't need it, but chilled dough is always better than room temperature dough. :)
Roll it out (whatever thickness you want, they'll only rise a little bit) and cut out your shapes.
Bake them for 15-20 minutes (the edges should start to get a little bit brown)
Let them cool completely before decorating.
Decorate with royal icing (recipe here!)



Oh and I secretly borrowed my father's camera, so I'm back...for now...until he notices...hehehe.

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Cookies and bad news

Like I mentioned in my last post, I went home last weekend so I could buy my new camera.
I did. (yay me)
So when I got back, I decided to make cookies, so I could share something with you guys...I know you've been feeling incredibly neglected, and I apologize XD
So I made the cookies, and I started to photograph them. I don't have a nice set up here like I do at my house, so I just decide to hold the plate of cookies up to the light and take the pictures like that.
Well, in my old age (lol), clumsiness has overcome me.
The plate slipped out of my hand, and crashed to the floor. It broke. Unfortunate, but just a plate.
HOWEVER
So did my BRAND NEW CAMERA.
The lens was fully extended, and that's exactly what it landed on.

D:

Luckily, my dad shelled out the 80 bucks for the extended warranty.
Also luckily, my roommate's boyfriend was going back home that day, and so he's supposed to drop it off to my dad who can go get it fixed. (I got it at Penn Camera and there aren't any down here D:)

:sigh:

I can't believe I managed to do that!

Anyway, I made these GIANT (on accident) oreo-like cookies.

They're pretty awesome, but I'd suggest making them a lot smaller. XD

DON'T MAKE YOURS THIS BIG.


This is how huge they get. Ooh man

Creaaaaam

Step one!

Step two!

Sandwich!

Sean and Moria sharing a cookie (after which, Moria looks at me and asks if she can eat it XD )

I have a history of taking pictures of Sean eating

The last picture I took before I broke this plate and my camera XD


Giant sandwich cookies:

cookie:
1 1/4 cups of flour
1/2 cups of cocoa powder
10 tbsp of unsalted butter, a little soft, but not room temperature
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
dash of salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg, and mix until fully incorporated
Add in all the dry stuff. Be careful, and go on a slow speed XD
Make balls of dough (smalllllllllll, unless you want my crazy monster cookies) and place them on a lined or greased tray. Flatten them slightly. Space them out 'cause they spread during baking.
Bake for about 9 minutes
While they're baking...make the cream!

Cream filling:
4 tbsp slightly softened unsalted butter
4 tbsp shortening
2 cups of powdered sugar
2 tsp of vanilla

Slowly beat everything. Once the sugar's all in, turn up the speed and beat until the filling's fluffed up a bit.
Put it in a piping bag or a sandwich bag with a corner cut off.

Once the cookies are cooled, assemble the sandwiches.

ENJOY.
And if they're huge...share it with someone. XD

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Way overdue Christmas cookies!

Wow. I am "epic fail", as the kids say. In my effort to hide the secret of these cookies (surprise gifts), I entirely forgot to post, or even write about them. Luckily, they're a previously posted recipe, so I'll just link to those, but they were so cute (and so much work!) that I have to post them.

While looking for better pictures of my ginger cookies to update here and to try and post on foodgawker, I discovered the pictures of the xmas cookies! So, here I am. :P

Cookie Recipe
Royal Icing Recipe


So. Many. Cookies. Oh. My. God.

Pretty star :P

Richard's Superman cookie :D


Stars!

More stars!

Zi's Ninja

The boys' initials, before.

The boys' intials, after. In bad lighting. :) Yes, the PG is decorated like Joker.

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Cheesecake Cookies

Oh yes, you read correctly. It's an adapted recipe for Kifli, this Hungarian cream cheese cookie.

Amusingly enough, a friend and I attempted this exact endeavor over a year ago, and failed. Why, you may ask? Simple. My halfwit self forgot to add the sugar, and they just didn't taste very good without it :/
Anyway, I decided to try again, with a few minor adjustments. (Like using Jam instead of Strawberry Topping) and trying a different method of making the graham crackers stick to the dough. I think it turned out rather well :)











Cheesecake Cookies:
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 Cup of Butter, plus another half a stick to melt.
3 Egg Yolks
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
2.5 Cups of Flour
1 Cup of Sugar
1.5 Cups of Crushed Graham Crackers
Jar of Strawberry Jam (you won't even come close to using the whole thing, no worries :D )

Per usual, cream together the Butter, Cream Cheese, and Sugar. Add the Yolks and Vanilla. Once that's all together, add in the Flour and Baking Powder. Chill. (very simple dough!)
While that's going on, go ahead and heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and smash up the Graham Crackers into a relatively fine powder, and put it on a plate. Before you go to roll out the dough, melt the butter and pour it onto a plate (one that's got a raised edge, or you could use a bowl, but the plate was easier for me). Roll out the dough and out circles using a very small cutter (1 inch? 1.5 inches?). dip the bottom in the melted butter, then press the buttered side into the graham crackers. once the whole pan is full of cookies, add a tablespoon or two of jam to the top of each cookie. (the thicker the cookie, the more jam you should add). Bake for 10 minutes, or until you can see the edges brown slightly.
BE VERY CAREFUL taking these off of the sheet. The hot jam can and will burn you, so watch out!

The cookies themselves should be soft, with a nice crunch from the butter/cracker crust. Enjoy!



And for fun, here are the pictures from our first attempt!

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