Easy Holiday Sugar Cookies from ATK

 SERVESMakes about forty 2 1/2-inch cookies

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Our holiday roll-and-cut sugar cookies taste as great as they are easy to make. For a crisp and sturdy texture with no hint of graininess, we made superfine sugar by grinding granulated sugar briefly in the food processor, and we added small amounts of baking powder and baking soda to the dough. We skipped creaming softened butter and sugar in favor of whizzing cold butter with sugar in the food processor, which let the dough come together in just minutes. The just-made dough was cold enough to be rolled out immediately. We then chilled it after rolling. For an even, golden color; minimal browning; and a crisp, crunchy texture from edge to edge, we baked the cookies at a gentle 300 degrees on a rimless cookie sheet on the oven’s lower-middle rack. 

GATHER YOUR INGREDIENTS

Cookies

1 large egg 

1 teaspoon 

vanilla extract

¾ teaspoon salt 

¼ teaspoon 

almond extract

2 ½ cups (12 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour 

¼ teaspoon 

baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda 

1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar 

16 tablespoons 

unsalted butter,

 cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled

Royal Icing

2 ⅔ cups (10 2/3 ounces) confectioners' sugar 

2 large egg whites 

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

For the dough to have the proper consistency when rolling, make sure to use cold butter directly from the refrigerator. In step 3, use a rolling pin and a combination of rolling and a pushing or smearing motion to form the soft dough into an oval. A rimless cookie sheet helps achieve evenly baked cookies; if you do not have one, use an overturned rimmed baking sheet. Dough scraps can be combined and rerolled once, though the cookies will be slightly less tender. If desired, stir 1 or 2 drops of food coloring into the icing. (USE SOME FOR AN OUTLINE THAT HAS THE ICING IN A DECORATOR BAG)  For the pourable icing, whisk in milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.  Using a spoon ladle in the icing and allow to firm up before adding other layers and candies. You can also decorate the shapes with sanding sugar or sprinkles before baking.

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR THE COOKIES: Whisk egg, vanilla, salt, and almond extract together in small bowl. Whisk flour, baking powder, and baking soda together in second bowl.

Process sugar in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add butter and process until uniform mass forms and no large pieces of butter are visible, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add egg mixture and process until smooth and paste-like, about 10 seconds. Add flour mixture and process until no dry flour remains but mixture remains crumbly, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Turn out dough onto counter and knead gently by hand until smooth, about 10 seconds. Divide dough in half. Place 1 piece of dough in center of large sheet of parchment paper and press into 7 by 9-inch oval. Place second large sheet of parchment over dough and roll dough into 10 by 14-inch oval of even 1/8-inch thickness. Transfer dough with parchment to rimmed baking sheet. Repeat pressing and rolling with second piece of dough, then stack on top of first piece on sheet. Refrigerate until dough is firm, at least 1½ hours (or freeze for 30 minutes). (Rolled dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 5 days.)

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Line rimless cookie sheet with parchment. Working with 1 piece of rolled dough, gently peel off top layer of parchment. Replace parchment, loosely covering dough. (Peeling off parchment and returning it will make cutting and removing cookies easier.) Turn over dough and parchment and gently peel off and discard second piece of parchment. Using cookie cutter, cut dough into shapes. Transfer shapes to prepared cookie sheet, spacing them about ½ inch apart. Bake until cookies are lightly and evenly browned around edges, 14 to 17 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely. Repeat cutting and baking with remaining dough. (Dough scraps can be patted together, rerolled, and chilled once before cutting and baking.)

FOR THE ROYAL ICING: Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip all ingredients on medium-low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip until glossy, soft peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed.

Spread icing onto cooled cookies. Let icing dry completely, about 1½ hours, before serving.

½ teaspoon 

vanilla extract

⅛ teaspoon salt

Bell Pepper soup

Serves 6...great with Peasant Bread

 2 tablespoons olive oil

4 medium  bell peppers, diced   Green peppers if you want bitter taste

1 large yellow onion, diced 

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

1 pound ground beef 

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped 

1 teaspoon dried oregano 

4 cups low-sodium beef broth  

One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes 

One 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes  

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 

1 cup cooked white rice 

Shredded Cheddar, for serving 

Chopped fresh parsley, for serving Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the bell peppers, onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 7 minutes.

1. 
   
2. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon and stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes.  
3. Add the garlic, thyme and oregano. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the beef broth, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until flavors are blended, about 5 minutes.  
4. Stir in the rice and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

Sweet and Sour pork chops

If you're looking for the sweet and sour sauce they serve in Chinese restaurants, no need to buy bottled when our freshly made version tastes a million times better. We bet you'll agree our Sweet and Sour Pork Chops are amazing!

What You'll Need

• 1 (20-ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained, with liquid reserved
• 1 1/4 cups ketchup
• 1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 3 carrots, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into chunks
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 to 6 pork loin chops, 1 inch thick

What to Do

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    
2. In a large saucepan, combine reserved pineapple juice, ketchup, brown sugar, and vinegar; cook 5 minutes, until hot. Add pineapple chunks, carrots, and green pepper; remove from heat.
    
3. In a large skillet, heat oil; add chops and brown.
    
4. In a shallow baking dish, arrange chops; spread pineapple-vegetable mixture over top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 25-35 minutes, until chops are done and vegetables are crisp-tender.
   
    

Notes

For that extra authentic feel, serve this one up over white rice!

Gladys Osborne's SECRET and famous Potato Soup

 When I realized that my mom didn't have a recipe for this, a number of years ago, I stood with her as she made it and measured everything so often I wasn't sure if we were going to ever get the soup made but finally we did.  I kept her secret recipe secret until she died and then I didn't want the wonderful soup lost. I compiled her recipes and this had to be in the cookbook which has been given to her friends and some of mine

25    potatoes, peeled and cubed

6    onions, finely chopped

3     sticks margarine or butter

2 t    salt

2 t    pepper (I'd suggest starting with 1t til you decide how much you want..my mom loved pepper

16 T flour

2qt    milk

1. cook the cubed potatoes in salted water til BARELY soft.  Drain

2.  Use 2 pans using half the ingredients. Put 1-1/2 stick of butter in each pan and melt   Add the onions and cook. Add salt, pepper Turn off heat

3.  Add 8 T. flour per pan and still til thickened

4.  Add 1 qt milk per pan. Stir.  this will be soupy til it thickens,  Turn ON heat. Simmer and watch as it starts to thicken (need to cook the flour).  You will notice steam rising.  Do not allow to burn.

5.  Taste - add salt and pepper as needed.

6.  Add the drained potatoes to the milk roux. See if you need to make more roux. Do this in a separate pan and add to the main soup.

SERVES 10