Cookie Cutter Cookies

I'll admit, I've only ever ventured into the world of cookie cutter cookies around Christmas. There is nothing like going home and crowding around the counter with my mom and my brothers cheerfully baking Christmas cookies or ummm.... more realistically, arguing over who makes the best cookies, who will be stuck with the toy soldier cookie cutter (that darn cookie burns every single time) and who used the last of the red sprinkles. Either way - a totally awesome time :)

But this time I had something a little more creative in mind. My cousin M is pregnant and due in late November. Super exciting as this is my first cousin to have a little nugget. Sadly, I was unable to make it home to RI for her baby shower but I still wanted to send her a little something to let her know I wish I could have been there. And then it came to me - baby themed cookies! Naturally I used it as an excuse to go to Sur La Table to browse the cookie cutter section - they seriously have great cookie cutters, usually under $1 each! Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself here. Also my cousin C's new show Pictureka! premiered this week on the Hub Network. So... I also had to make some celebratory cookies to ship out to LA.

Cookie Ingredients

3 cups of all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup of sugar
2 sticks of butter
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract (Optional)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350*

My prep!

Combine the flour and baking soda in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Add the egg and extract (s).

The butter, sugar, egg and extract doing their thing!

Slowly add the flour mixture.
Once combined roll dough out onto a well floured counter. (It helps to coat the cookie cutters in flour as well).

Bake for 10-12 minutes or just until the edges are just golden brown.
Allow cookies to COOL COMPLETELY and then frost to your liking :)
(Also, you can decorate with sprinkles and colored sugar prior to baking)

I decided to go with royal icing for the cookies. I'll be posting that recipe on Friday so check back!

The baby themed cookies for M!

The Hub and Pictureka! themed cookies for C

Close Up!

M is for Muffin

Growing up I was a pretty picky eater. There were tons of foods that I would not even consider trying and would just push away... onions, blueberries, gravy, mashed potatoes, bananas... just to list a few. Fortunately, these days, I can proudly say that I have grown out of most of my food aversions :)

One thing I have always LOVED is a warm, homemade corn muffin. There is something about those golden little muffins that I cannot resist. Personally, I prefer my muffins to have a little bit of sweetness to them, not sugary or candy-like, just a little sweet from a touch of honey. I know that this immediately will make my version of corn muffins a "no go" for any southerners. Traditionally southern cornbread is not sweet and you will very rarely see a southern corn muffin. You will sometimes hear the sweeter kinds referred to as "Yankee cornbread".

Obviously, corn meal is the most important ingredient in the corn muffin and in my opinion it just comes down to personal preference. There is yellow or white corn meal and for the recipe below it is really up to you. In the south, you will normally see white corn meal, but I grew up on corn muffins made from the Jiffy box so I'm partial to the yellow corn meal. One thing you want to avoid picking up while shopping for corn meal is a "corn meal mix". This is not referring to the boxed muffin or cornbread mixes but rather a blend of corn meal and flour with a touch of a few other ingredients. Make sure you read the packaging closely and pick up one that is plain corn meal :)

And my last quick note before the baking starts. This recipe calls for 1 cup of milk and you can actually use any kind! For a more tender muffin stick with whole milk. You can certainly use skim milk (I have!) but beware that they might have a bit of a dry texture so pull them out of the oven a minute earlier than recommended :)

Enjoy!

Honey Corn Muffins
Ingredients

1 cup corn meal (yellow or white) 
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of milk
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons of butter, melted
1/4 cup of honey

Preheat oven to 400*

In a large bowl, combine corn meal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
In a second bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, butter and honey.

Wet and dry ingredients

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
Stir just long enough to combine all of the ingredients, this is a batter you do not want to overwork.
Let rest for 5 minutes.
Place muffin liners in a 12-muffin pan.
Evenly divide mix to make 12 muffins.

Filled muffin pan :)

Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Yummmm

Let cool for a few minutes and then enjoy!

The final product, just waiting to be enjoyed!