Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookie dough is the best dough to use when cutting out shapes with a cookie cutter. When you make the dough, you need a recipe that will make the cookie keep its form, and not rise or expand. *Important*: Do NOT use Pillsbury ready made sugar cookie dough if you want to cut your cookies into shapes. They will expand and lose their shape. You need a dough with more flour in it! I tried taking the short cut and found out the hard way. I cut out 30 cookies with Pillsbury dough only to find that the dough did not keep its form. This was for my best friend's bridal shower, and boy can you say I was stressed out. Good thing I started 3 days ahead of time.


Here is the recipe the cookie cutter shop gave me: (Check out their cookie cutters, they are amazing!)

Ingredients:

2 Cups Flour
1/4 Tsp. Salt
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
3/4 Cup Butter
1 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla


1. Combine flour and salt, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.

2. Add egg and vanilla, beat until well mixed.

3. Add flour, blend on low until combined, do not overmix.

4. Form dough into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour until firm. If dough is too sticky or flimsy to form a log, stick it in a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

5. On floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4" thickness. It may help to sprinkle dough on the rolling pin as well.

6. Cut dough with your favoritecookie cutters. The theme of the bridal shower was diamond rings and bling, so I used a diamond ring shaped cookie cutter.

The dough needs to stay cool while you work with it, or else it'll become too soft and flimsy to pick up off the counter and put onto a baking tray. Keep the dough in the refrigerator and take out a small portion at a time to work with. You need to be able to work fast before it starts getting too warm, so if you feel the dough is not solid enough, put it back in the fridge and take out a fresh portion.

7. Place dough onto ungreased cookie sheets. The cookie cutter didn't have a hole in the middle to cut out a hole for the ring, so I used a plastic medicine bottle cap of just the right size to cut it out. I cut out the hole after placing it on the cookie sheet, otherwise it would have been too flimsy to transfer.

8. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 12 -14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack immediately.

If you roll out the dough nice and thin, this recipe can make about 60 cookies. I made about 50 cookies for the bridal shower, and I used the rest of the dough to make football helmet shaped sugar cookies for football sunday. It was Eid, the Giants and Ravens won, and the men loved it!

Stay tuned for the next post: Icing Sugar Cookies!

Quinoa with Tomatoes and Chickpeas

Queen WHAT?




Click here if you missed my intro to Quinoa.

Ingredients:

1 cup raw quinoa
1/8 teaspoon salt (if you are not using chicken broth)
1 3/4 cups water or chicken broth
1 cup canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
1 tomato, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons lime juice
4 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pinch salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley



1. Bring the quinoa, salt, and water to a boil in a saucepan. You can also boil it in chicken broth, which will add a lot more flavor to the dish. If you are using the chicken broth, you do not need to add the salt.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Once done, stir in the garbanzo beans, tomatoes, garlic, lime juice, and olive oil.

4. Season with cumin, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley to serve.

Quinoa and Black Beans

In an attempt to eat healthier, I've been experimenting with quinoa recipes. Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah") is a great alternative to rice and pasta. It's low in carbs and high in protein, which is good for your muscles. Its also a great source of fiber. People often categorize it as a whole grain but its really the seed of a leafy green plant.

The great part about it is, its also delicious. I haven't eaten rice in the past four days and I don't even miss it! It tastes better than brown rice and takes much less time to cook. You can buy quinoa at the local grocery store but it's pretty expensive. You can also find it at Costco where its a lot cheaper and comes in bulk.

Ingredients:

1 tsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.

2. Mix quinoa into pan and cover with vegetable broth. I buy the chicken broth from the local halal market and follow directions in box (boil 2 cups water and dissolve one chicken stock cube). The most common brands are Maggie and Knorr.

3.  Add cumin, cayenne pepper,salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Stir in corn and beans, and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes until heated through.

5. Mix in the cilantro and remove from heat.

Fettuccine Alfredo

This one has loads of butter and cheese, which is why I only make it a few times a year.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint heavy cream
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 box Fettuccine pasta
1/2 pound chicken, cooked and chunked


1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat.

2. Add the garlic, cream, pepper, and bring to a simmer. Turn heat on low if it starts to boil.

3. Add cheese and continue to simmer for 8 minutes or until thick, and the cheese is all melted, stirring constantly. Grating a fresh block of Parmesan cheese is always better, but is also more time consuming.

4. As the sauce cooks, cook fettuccine as per package instructions. I always snap Fettuccine in half before boiling for easier cooking and eating.

5. Add chicken to the sauce and let it sit for about 5 minutes to absorb the flavor.

6. Pour Alfredo sauce onto noodles. Top with parmesan cheese.