Monday, March 16, 2020

Soft sugar cookies with marshmallow cream frosting


The compulsion to bake on a grander, more multifarious scale is purely the result of our newfound quarantine propagate. When the home is full of its members, adult, semi adult alike and nowhere for anyone  to go, all those "ones' cluster around the kitchen and consume copious amounts of food. Included in the isolation bred consumption is the certainty of ceaseless on- demand baking. For example, when your adult kiddo begs for a familiar sprinkle- frosted cookie she's stealth eating like a champion at the dorm, you cede to the request. Purely for the reason that yes, you can better up the whole shortening and forty ingredient store package with your cupboard's supply of a handful of basics.  Plus, mandated social distancing has led to your social circle being the three, and only the three people you do life with. Which isn't bad, but when one is the child that towers over you and believes you are the solution to her weeklong college diet woes... wherein is the freedom of choice, please?

And seriously, those of you claiming millions of hits on Oreo biscuits and gravy - ugh, in the wake of mega viruses and toilet paper rationing, demanded my good self to interrupt, for the sake of sanity. In all, it helps me forget lapses in judgement and especially grace, example in point: morning gym time, now replaced with Bollywood dance workouts that bring me to a daily realization that not all of us Indians can gyrate like an Indian. 

The probability of a homemade cookie with an inferior outcome in my house is near nil. Especially when those cookies par in a fine ratio of butter, which we all know are of higher caliber to those without. Taking it one step further and adding sour cream can unquestionably bring batch after batch to unrivaled heights, with soft bellies and deep, supple bites.

It's quite insane how sour cream makes a definitive difference in the number of cookies you eat. 

The marshmallow frosting completes it, a delightful fluff, draped green, in time for St. Patrick's Day. The one day I pretend I'm Irish. 

Quick and easy, cookie dough makes two dozen. With enough sprinkles, baubles and sugared gems, I believe it can festive up the dullest of days.

Ingredients:
For the cookie~
  • ½ cup salted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • ⅓ cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ tbsp cornstarch
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ baking soda
  • ¼ tsp cream of tartar
  • 1 tsp orange rind
For the marshmallow frosting:
  • ½ cup butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 7 ounces marshamllow creme
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ tbsp heavy cream

Directions:
For the cookie~
  • Place butter and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale in color.
  • Add egg and sour cream, vanilla. Beat until well combined.
  • In a separate bowl sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar and orange rind.
  • With the mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for an hour, or pop in freezer for 10-15 minutes.
  • Preheat over to 375°F.
  • Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. Take dough out of fridge/freezer.
  • Roll one tablespoon of dough into a ball. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Flatten each ball with slightly damp hand.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes, until center is lightly puffed, and begin to get  light golden around the edges.
  • Cool cookies on sheet for five minutes, then transfer to to wire racks.
  • Frost or serve as is.
For the marshmallow frosting:
  • Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat in powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula until combined.
  • Stir in marshmallow creme, vanilla extract and cream. Continue to beat until fluffy. Add more cream if you desire a thinner consistency.
  • Add food color of choice and pipe or spread onto cooled cookies. Top with sprinkles if desired.
March:

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"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 

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