‘Sugar Cookies’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Recipe: Lofthouse-Style Cookies

March 28, 2012 · Narrative

This has been one of those weeks at the office where we are all, nearly literally, crawling to Friday.

That we were all supremely disappointed to find out that it was only Wednesday.

That a liquid lunch sounded like just the thing to take the edge off.

Except that it’s generally frowned upon.

The type of week that can only be saved by nearly three sticks of butter.

And a quick count to see just how many hours are left until Friday.

Have you heard of Lofthouse cookies? Funny. Every person that tried these had never heard of them before. I thought they were a little more widely known than that.

They are the giant, frosted, soft sugar cookies you can find in plastic clamshells at your local grocery store or Wal-Mart. Lofthouse got its start in 1994, and as it gained in popularity, it had added more items to its line, including gingerbread kits.

I found a copycat recipe for the cookies last week and, of course, pinned it to my cookies board on Pinterest.

Monday night, despite a very full day of work, school, CCD, and scouts, the recipe got made. Nick was out of the house for 12 and a half hours. Cookies make things like that better.

The recipe is super simple to make, and I even followed the directions enough to allow for an hour of dough chilling. Truth be told, I usually skip that step.

No patience whatsoever.

Especially with primadonna recipes.

Let alone primadonna people.

The recipe said 24 cookies. I eeked out 22. I also needed to let mine cook for a good 6-8 minutes past the suggested cooking time.

But they were good.

Sweet. Without being too sweet. Big. Almost too big.

We wrapped up a single cookie for three of the kids’ teachers. A plate full of them went into work. And a few more went to neighbors.

Just a few left at home for us.

Which is perfect.

When you want to eat your troubles away or give away a sweet treat just because.

Lofthouse-Style Cookies. You can grab the recipe right here.

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Celebrating the Letter M and Madeline

January 19, 2011 · Narrative

I’ve heard it said that when you have kids, it’s like taking your heart and letting it reside on the outside of your body. Truer words were never spoken. I fully understood that sentiment when Nick was born, and ever since, and again with Madeline. Oh Madeline.

A few weeks ago, she was lying in my bed, snuggled up all warm and cozy next to me, letting me watch an episode of Olivia with her, one of her favorites, before bed.

“I miss you.”

But Madeline, I’m right here.

“No, I miss you when you’re gone,” she said.

Like when?

“When you go to work or I go to Daddy’s.”

My heart instantly broke into a thousand little pieces. She has this incredibly soft side of her that comes out here and there, a sharp juxtaposition to her Ramona Quimby ways. And it melts me. Every time.

But honey, I always come back. And look… see this necklace I wear? It has your name on it, and your brother’s, and the day that you were born. Your birthday. You’re always close to me.

She leaned in and gave me a kiss.

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The Only Sugar Cookie Recipe You Need

November 3, 2009 · Narrative

Shortening. I virtually never use it. The last time I did was about two years ago. But in the past week, I’ve used it twice.

Sugar Cookies. I virtually never eat them. They just don’t do anything for me. I’m much more of a salty girl myself, with barely a sweet tooth to begin with, so perhaps they are just too, well, plain.

Until now.

When we made the Cowardly Lion Cookies on Sunday night, the original recipe called for using store-bought peanut butter cookie dough. Because I was sending in a tray of them to Madeline‘s class, although it’s not a peanut-free school, I know there are a few kids with allergies there, so thought it better to swap it out. Instead of going the store-bought peanut butter cookie dough route, I searched online for a simple sugar cookie dough recipe. One that doesn’t need lots of chilling. Or fiddling. Or crazy ingredients. Just something simple.

I found just what I needed on AllRecipes and Nick went to work. Once he had all the Cowardly Lion Cookies made, there was a little bit of dough leftover, so I grabbed some sparkly pink sprinkles and just made some basic cookies at the end. When they came out and cooled off, I couldn’t resist a bite. Quality control and all that.

Slightly thin, slightly crispy, slightly sweet and more than slightly good. This is the sugar cookie recipe to stop your search. Easy to make, using basic ingredients you have on hand, quick with no chilling time and it makes a nice quantity. What more do you need in a sugar cookie recipe? Given it’s nearly sugar cookie season, the timing couldn’t be more perfect.

For those that asked about the Cowardly Lion Cookies via email and here, they’re super simple to make. I used the below sugar cookie recipe for the actual cookie. The mane? You’ll never guess. Chow Mein noodles. You can easily find a bag of them at your local grocery store for two or three bucks. And since the bag is way more than you need for the cookies, they’re perfect for a 20-month-old whirling dervish to snack on while racing in and out of the kitchen. Madeline loved munching on them. The eyes and nose are Mini M&Ms that I swiped from Nick’s trick-or-treating stash. Super simple. My kind of recipe….