Chocolate Cutout Cookies With Orange Glaze

Currently it is like 50 degrees outside and raining buckets of cats and frogs and what not. I live in Vt for a few reasons, and one of them is winter, so the warm rain is just not nice. Apparently these cookies are the closest thing to snowflakes I will be seeing for a little while…(sad face inserted here) But I am hoping that juuuust maybe it will turn, and all of a sudden it will be snow coming down and not rain. And that it snows and snows and snows, like a foot or 2 of it. I want so much snow that I am stuck in my house for a least a solid 24 hours (of course with the power still on and all the necessities I would need) and the only way out being by foot or sled. And you know what I would do if I was snowed in? Lounge around in my pj’s all day (or at least until like 10 am), have a never emptying cup of hot coffee in hand, play around outside and make a snow fort, and definitely make cookies. Doesn't that just sound so nice?

But I am not snowed in, and wasn’t snowed in and probably will not be snowed in for the foreseeable future. But I can still, and did make cookies so there is that. Chocolate cut out snowflakes with orange glaze to be exact. A good all around chocolate cookie jazzed up with a citrus kick. Simple, elegant and perfect for all of your holiday cookie needs. Plus it is just a really pretty cookie. I just might make a few more batches and liter the front yard with them. I’ll make my own freaking snow, even if it is out of cookies. Then I really wouldn’t be able to leave my house due to the crazy fat squirrels attacking the lawn. That would be something. HA.

To the snowflake cookies! (They can be any shape really, but snowflakes are so nice)

The stuff. Sugar, vegan butter, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, canola oil, brewed coffee, grind chia seeds, vanilla extract, an orange, and some powdered sugar.

First, mix the ground chia seeds with the coffee for caffeinated chia eggs.

Beat the butter with the sugar to give it a good fluff, then add in the oil, vanilla, and chia eggs to the mix.

Beat until combined.

Place all the dry into a bowl and whisk together until fully incorporated.

Dump the mixed dry into the were and grab a wooden spoon. Start mixing.

Cookie dough is a-formin.

Collect the dough in some plastic and smash into a disk. Place in fridge to rest for at least a few hours, but a day is good too.

Chilled dough, flour, a cookie cutter, and a rolling pin. I think you know what to do. Just really make sure to keep the counter and rolling pin floured or else the dough will stick and that is just so annoying.

Yes this dough is a little delicate, but not in a bad way. It might tear or slightly crumble but you just smoosh it back in there and you are all set. Anyway, after rolling dough out to about 1/2 inch thick, cut cookies out with a well floured cutter.

Cookies on the baking sheet ready for the oven.

Cookies on a baking sheet right out of the oven.

Now those cookies got to cool so get them on a rack.

While cookies are cooling, fix yourself some glaze. The powdered sugar, zest of orange and juice of orange will do the trick.

A good looking glaze. Thick put drizzable consistency.

And to finish. Drizzle the cookies with glaze, dunk the tops in the glaze, or do a little of both (I say both). The glaze does harden after a few minutes so these are very much stackable cookies.

And then what you do with the finished cookies is up to you. I let the mr eat a good few, saved a few for Christmas and dropped some off to some peps. They were well received for sure.

Hope you are enjoying the weekend and are able to get in on some cookie making.

-C

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Chocolate Cutout Cookies With Orange Glaze

makes about 3 dozen cookies

• 2 1/2 cups flour

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup vegan butter

• 1/2 cup oil

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 2 tablespoons ground chia seeds

• 6 tablespoon coffee or water (coffee brings out the chocolate flavor more)

• 1 orange

• 1 cup powdered sugar

In a large bowl, cream together the white sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add in the oil, vanilla, and coffee chia eggs. Mix until incorporated. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, cocoa. salt. and baking powder. Dump dry into wet and mix until a dough forms. Gather dough into a ball and place in plastic and flatten into a disk. Place in fridge for at least an hour or overnight.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350

Take dough from fridge and unwrap. Place on a well floured surface and roll until it is about 1/4 inch thick. The dough is delicate and a little crumbly, but don’t worry to much, just squish it back together and keep rolling it out. With a floured cookie cutter, cut your shapes and gently place them on a cookie sheet. Gather remnants of dough back into a ball and re-roll out and cut more cookies until you have used up all the dough. Place cookies into oven and bake for 11-12 minutes or until the cookies have puffed up a bit and the bottoms are slightly browned. Once cookies are cooked, let cool on a wire rack.

While cookies are cooling make the glaze. Mix about a tablespoon of the zest of the orange with the powdered sugar and add in a few tablespoons of the juice of the orange until the glaze is slightly runny. Once cookies are cooled either dip the tops in the glaze or drizzle the glaze on top of cookies (or do some of both). Then eat. If you wait a little while, the glaze will harden and then you can stack them and then if you want, maybe wrap on a few in little packages to give to someone you like. Either way, place uneaten cookies in a airtight container. Should last about a week, but can you not eat them for that long?

Sunday Happy

Happy Merry Christmas Eve you guys. I hope today and  tomorrow brings rest and relaxation and excitement for all the fa la la las la to come. 

I am excited. And really tired, and maybe a little stressed, but still really excited. We are doing the family Christmas tomorrow at our house, all 23-25 of us. Our house is officially the sponsor of all family gatherings. And because of this, I think that my family should all chip in and buy me a robot vacuum because I think I finally have gotten to that point where I am sick of constantly vacuuming (and the mr is sick of me constantly vacuuming too)  

 We started off  the week strong, with a sense that I had everything done, covered, planned, and no stress. There was a bit of running around, especially for the mr, who was finishing up some jobs, but we got things done. I even got the loft cleaned (again) for Jeff when he gets here (he is coming the day after Christmas) I did a morning of gift wrapping for HANDs, finished up my Christmas shopping, picked up the farm share and made it to the  grocery store before all the food was gone. Things were going smoothly. And good things happened too. I made a chocolate babka wreath for fun. Shannon got the news of a New Year hip (but the mr fixed it with his bandaid and gave her a little penis to boot(see photo below)) Barb got excepted to a college, and I ended up with the most fantastical tree skirt that I have ever seen. A panda bear Christmas. If you new me as a little you would know that I was obsessed with pandas and that this tree skirt is perfection for my young self and gives me all sorts of happy feels. 

And all the snow. I think that we got about 5-6 inches of the most fluffy fun warm stuff that makes the world glow. That was the best. 

Yesterday was a nut of a day. It started out slow but by 11, we had the three littles (Coco aka Emersion, is walking now which makes things a littler more interesting to say the least) over for lunch/christmas present making /newspaper snow flakes. It couldn't have been any more crazy and messy. We started out  painting on fabric to make pillows (the coolest pillows ever) for them to give to their mother. (she doesn't read my blog so she I am not spoiling anything here) That was a mess in itself but we topped that off with trying to eat lunch at the same time. Three starving littles with paint all over, we rushed to get them some food. The mr was making the sandwiches and accidentally smashed the bowl of egg salad on the floor. It was eveywhere, glass and egg, and all sorts of gross, and the kids were starving and the baby was walking. But we were still all ok. Then I burnt the grilled cheese very badly while a little spilled the soup all over the table and the iPad.  They finally ate carrots and apples and cheese quesadillas, but they definitely were starting to get a little toody and crazy themselves. Paint and egg, and wetness everywhere (going in and out of the house and it started to rain) the mess was just getting bigger and bigger. And I didn't even mention the soccer net the mr is making that is hanging in the middle of the living room. To top it all off, my mom dropped off enough food to feed an army for the shenanigans on Christmas so there was bags of food everywhere. But she brought me flowers so everything was good. After that we figured what the hell and just made a shit ton of newspaper snowflakes and really just committed to trashing the house. Then they left and I spent the evening cleaning the fuck out of everything. 

I am hoping today goes a little more smoothly, although I am pretty freaking tired  because I spent most of the night tossing and turning over the things that I need to do today. (white chocolate chip or oatmeal white chocolate chip cookies? Do I have a empty recycling box for wrapping paper? Is there enough toilet paper in the house?) I know I am going to have to spend at least 15 minutes removing the sheet of ice that has accumulated over the car last night before I can leave for the gym, but the then that it's, the rest of the day I am going to be spent in the kitchen.  My plan all week was to spend yesterday baking and to spend today relaxing with a book but yesterday did not happen as planned. Todays schedule is now  to make all the cookies, a birthday cake, (Cameron's birthday is tomorrow too) and last minute Christmas things to finish up (doesn't involve shopping!) At least my house is clean for the time being. I know it will be short lived but hopefully someone brings that vacuuming robot with them tomorrow.

True story. The mr likes to pick me up and tell me he wishes I wonuld fit in his pocket so he can carry me around with him everywhere. So sweet right? Yesterday in the midst of my crazy (I was going crazy) he picked me up and said he wished I was tiny enough to stick me in his pocket so I would shut my mouth and be quit. Hahaha.  That is love.

Some internet looking for you browsing enjoyment. 

-11 weird and wonderful Christmas tree patents. These are all amazing, 

-Mary Berry Shares Advice on Getting Party Guests to Leave. Normally I just tell people that they need to get the F out.

-On their way to Vermont to give the gift that keeps on giving.  Elderly Couple Stopped In Nebraska With 60 Pounds Of Weed 'For Christmas Presents'

-How To Host A Hygge Holiday Party: Get Cozy, Embrace Imperfection  This is what I need more off.

-Are they laughing at us? Comedy Wildlife Photos of 2017

-I love this idea to set up a ritual or custom based on what works for your family. Science experiments instead of church. Sundays at the Altar of Science

-Never Too Late To Learn An Instrument. I hope the to be true because I really want to learn how to play the cello or the mandolin. I told myself after I graduated college I cud pick one of them up. I need to get on it. 

-On my list of things to do this coming week. Taffy Vinegar Candy Recipe

The search for Santa. Kinda like where is Waldo, but with santas. 

-5 Tips for Keeping Houseplants Alive This Winter. Got to keep the plants happy

And some pictures from the week.

Enjoy the season and Happy Merry Christmas!

-C

Make Your Own Snow.... Wax paper Snowflakes

I think of myself as a problem solver. I see a problem and I look for a solution. And not to sound like a broken record, but the problem that I am having now is that it is winter here in Vermont, but you wouldn't know it cause it's 50 degrees and there is no f-ing snow. Yes, this is a problem for me. I don't think its just me, everything around here is acting weird.  My plants are not going into winter mode and are starting to droop and be sad. My fall allergies are coming back, plants are starting to bud again, Washer is shedding like crazy, and my snowshoes have not left the barn. It's just weird and it makes me sad.Vermont is suppose to be cold ans snowy right now. Sure, there are people that might like this wonky weather, think they are getting a little extra treat, but not me. NOT ME!  So this is the problem. And the solution that I have come up with, short of moving, is to cover all the windows with wax paper snowflakes.

See. Problem solver.

We have been spending a good amount of time over at the new house working away so this is where I decided to plaster my flakes. In between cleaning up pieces of broken wall and moving 500 lb bags of trash out of the house, I sat down at the little table, plugged in the Christmas lights, turned on some Christmas music, and totally zoned out. Sipping coffee and sniping away..it felt so right. And the results were quite good if I do say so myself. A window full of flakes that made me smile. Maybe the snow gods will see my effort and grace us with a huge ass storm. Wouldn't that be so lovely!

All you need to make some flakes is

• wax paper (mine is slightly tan because it's not bleached)
• scissors
• tape

Optional things

• glitter/glue
• paint/brush
• Christmas music
• A hot beverage such as coffee or cocoa

Note. Why wax, well wax paper is really thin and makes cutting through all the folds easy. It also lets light shine through rather nicely and best part, the wax keeps the paper from getting soggy and gross from window condensation. But if you want, use paper. I don't mind.

This is how learned to make a snowflake... Start with a square piece of wax paper (any size you like) and fold it in half on the diagonal. Then fold that in half at the point.  And fold old again at the point. One more time after that. (from start to finish, 4 folds) You end up with a little dart like triangle with a little extra point at the top. Cut that extra bit off.

And snip away.. It can be thought-out or random (I like random snips)  Just make sure that you don't cut off all the folded paper parts cause that is what is holding it together.

Now for the most exciting part. Open (very gently) and see your snowflake creation.

Note. This is important to remember.. No snowflake is the same, and no snowflake is ugly.

Now tape the flake to where ever it should land (the window)

Stand back and enjoy all of the snow you can handle. I have gotten to one window, just 10 more to go!

This one is my favorite.

Happy weekend full of snow!

-C

(mini snow storm!)