Frosted

With all the snow that fell overnight on Friday everything outside was frosted, as were the cookies I made that day. It reminds me of the song in White Christmas where the four main characters are singing about snow on the train. It would have been the perfect movie to watch today except I have a rule about not listening to or watching anything with a Christmas theme until after Thanksgiving. (It's similar to seeing bathing suits in the stores in January. Right, I know that many people go on spring break trips and are in need of a new swimsuit each year, but unlike them I don't want to think about summer while I'm still enjoying the snow. I might be alone on that.)

These sugar cookies are soft and somewhat chewy, sort of like the kind you see at the stores that are iced, but these taste much better. Since the recipe calls for oil instead of butter you can bake a batch of these on a whim. Better yet, you can make the dough by hand.

Freshly grated nutmeg goes into the batter, and although it's not pronounced it comes through enough to pair well with the flavor of the frosting, a brown butter buttercream. The frosting was quite sweet, but the cookie itself wasn't intensely sweet and made the perfect platform. On the other hand, it's sweet enough to top with a chocolate icing, or just melted chocolate.

(Recipe at the end of post)

Soft Sugar Cookies, recipe below

For an added touch, I sprinkled the tops with edible gold glitter flakes and orange-colored sugar (keeping in the theme of fall, of course).

If you ever are in need of a quick treat that tastes delicious, this is the perfect recipe to turn to. But you don't have to take my word for it!

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Sugar Drop Cookies with Oil
Recipe from Joy of Cooking
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Makes about 32

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Granulated sugar
Your favorite icing and/or decorative sugar

Directions:

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, then whisk in nutmeg in a medium-sized bowl.


2. Combine the sugar and the oil together in another bowl and whisk together for a minute. Add to this mixture the egg and vanilla, and beat well. Add the flour mixture all at once and beat well. Transfer the dough to a container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. You don't have to, but the dough is sticky and a short chilling time helps. (Preheat the oven to 375° 15 minutes into the cooling time, or before preparing the dough if not chilling.)


3. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Measure out 1 tablespoon portions of dough and scoop out with a spoon onto the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart (I was able to get exactly 16 cookies.) The dough will still be sticky, so you need to plop out the dough balls on the exact spot you want to place it. Wetting your fingertips a bit will help keep the dough from sticking to your fingers. Lightly coat the back of a drinking glass with cooking spray, then dip it into a bowl filled with with a few tablespoons of granulated sugar. Press the cookies out 2½ inches in diameter, dipping the glass back in the sugar each time. (Sprinkle again with colored decorating sugar now if that's all you want to do.)


4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the top of the cookies are set but still look pale. Remove sheet from oven and let cookies cool for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.


5. Once cooled, frost with your favorite frosting and decorate the tops with colored sugar or sprinkles.