From Daryl aka Avery:
OH, YAY! A HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY BELOW...
Sometimes it's fun to try new recipes. Last week, I found a great looking, multifaceted recipe in my Ralph's Supermarket flyer that I thought would be perfect and easy for kids to make. It's a basic butter cookie that you can dress up in lots of ways. The recipe showed how to make cinnamon pecan pinwheels, chocolate peppermint cookies, apricot button cookies, all using the same butter cookie recipe.
Well, I had my grandsons over the other day, and one of them is really into cooking. He has a burn on his arm to prove it - he showed me. It's minor. Got too close to the stove at home. We were VERY careful to keep him away from hot stuff this time around.
He chose to make the cinnamon pinwheels!
Now, talk about a mess! Oh my. Kids just can't seem to keep the flour from going everywhere, but that's another story. I'm a good floor cleaner-upper (once they are out of the kitchen and settled at the art table).
The recipe uses regular flour, but you know me. I need to make things gluten-free. This made it difficult. Gluten-free flour dough just doesn't "roll" the same as regular flour dough. Sigh. It breaks. The "stretch and give" of gluten is vital. I've proven this multiple times when making my quiche or pie shells. But the wonder of baking is that things "melt" together and ultimately taste great, so if you can get over cookies not being "beautiful," then you are ready to start celebrating.
Sugar cookie found in
Ralph’s Supermarket Flyer
Basic Butter Cookie Dough
1 ¾ sticks unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 cups all purpose flour (*gluten-free flour substitution is
equal)
In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla until
smooth (but not fluffy). Beat in egg.
Add flour (*or GF flour) and mix until incorporated.
[forgot to take this picture; it's basic]
Chill dough for 1 hour. (I only refrigerated ½ hour. I think
that was fine. And I had eager little boys.)
On floured parchment (*or GF floured parchment, if making GF
cookies), set half the dough. Press down and flour the top. Cover with another
piece of parchment and roll out into rectangle about 10 x 8. Then trim edges
straight. Repeat with second half of
dough. Slide rectangles (on parchment paper) onto a baking sheet.
OOPS. I misread this last direction when doing it,
and it was difficult to move the dough – I did it, but it was messy. So pay
attention. Keep it on the parchment paper.
Refrigerate another 20 minutes. (*GF version refrigerate about 10 minutes;
otherwise it can get “firm”).
For cinnamon
pinwheels:
Meanwhile mix 3 tablespoons softened butter, ¾ cup brown
sugar, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon in small bowl until well combined. Crumble half
of the mixture of each of the rectangles and pat to distribute. (Ralph’s recipe
also included ¼ cup chopped pecans; we elected not to use nuts.)
With long side facing you, using the parchment paper, roll
rectangles into logs. Chill until firm.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut logs crosswise into ¼” slices. Transfer to
parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until barely browned, about 12
minutes. Let cool on sheets or wire
racks. Makes 3-4 dozen.
**My pinwheels spread a lot and then turned out sort of
rectangular. I think this was because the gluten-free version was a little firm
and didn’t roll into a nice round “log.” C’est la vie!
No matter what, consider setting cookies on two baking sheets.
Note: I used the
trimmed edges for regular sugar cookies. I rolled the dough together, set out walnut-sized
rounds. Pressed them down, and one of my darling helpers covered them with
sprinkles. COVERED THEM. LOL!! Delicious!
AND NOW...A HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY!
LEAVE A COMMENT ABOUT SOME COOKING MESS
(OR CREATIVE MESS) YOU'VE MADE
(OR CREATIVE MESS) YOU'VE MADE
AND REMEMBER TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL.
ONE COMMENTER WILL WIN A BOOK LATER ON THIS WEEK!
GRILLING THE SUBJECT, the 5th Cookbook Nook Mystery, is out!
The Wild West Extravaganza has come to Crystal Cove.
Click here to order.
FOR CHEDDAR OR WORSE, the 7th Cheese Shop Mystery is out!
Finally there's going to be a cheese festival in Providence!
Click to order.
GIRL ON THE RUN, a stand-alone suspense is out!
When a fairytale fantasy night becomes a nightmare,
I love to make mud balls. They are basically melted chocolate, almonds, marshmallows and butter, put it in the freezer for a couple hours then roll small balls of the base into graham cracker crumbs and toss back in the freezer. The chocolate has a tendency to stick the my fingers then the crumbs then more chocolate, more crumbs.... until I can barely hold my fingers up because they are so heavy. That is probably the messiest recipe I know. Everyone loves them. So fun to have children that like to bake. Happy holidays to all! konecny7(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun mess to make! ~ Daryl
DeleteFabulous cookie varieties! My cooking mess = when I was 8 years old and trying to learn how to bake, I mistakenly added 1/2 CUP instead of 1/2 TSP of baking soda to a batch of peanut butter cookies. Yikes. Needless to say, the cookies were gigantic and went right into the trash - this is my definition of a major cooking/baking mess, haha. EMS591@aol.com
ReplyDeleteLOL. I added baking soda to baking powder biscuits one year. Ugh. Toss. ~ Daryl
DeleteI had decided to try and make a real spaghetti sauce. The recipe called for cooked tomatoes and all I had were the little cherry ones so I decided to try and make pulp in the microwave...set the timer and left the room...a loud "Kaboom" later I had blown up a whole bowl of tomatoes...it was a mess.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the contest and for the chance.
Marilyn ewatvess@yahoo.com
Oh, yuck. That is a mess. Perfect for a murder mystery. ~ Daryl
DeleteRight off I can't remember a major cooking mess as described by the two previous posters but I know I've burned the potatoes by letting the water boil out, I've had messes from canning tomatoes and making spaghetti sauces. There have been major clean ups from making sugar cookies (flour every where). When you cook, there will be messes, no matter how good of cook you are. I'd love to see some of the messes, those famous chefs make. dbahn(at)iw(dot)net
ReplyDeleteOh, burned potatoes are hard to clean up! I know. ~ Daryl
DeleteThe kids are so cute! Thanks for sharing! Isn't that funny how you never know where your next great recipe will come from. Who would have thought the store ad would be inspiration!! I can't wait until my little boy is old enough to help in the kitchen. I see at least a few kitchen disasters in my future...
ReplyDeleteBec
Rlewis11797 (at) yahoo (dot) com
Bec, I know, a store ad! Go figure! Enjoy every moment of your little one. ~ Daryl
DeleteWhen I first started cooking I decided to make a vegetable soup recipe that was in the local paper. I had never made soup before and didn't know that the fact that it was using all water instead of stock was going to be an issue. I wound up with a pot of tasteless soup that I didn't know how to fix. It wound up in the trash.
ReplyDeletesgiden at verizon(.)net
Sandy, tasteless soup. Almost nothing worse. LOL ~ Daryl
DeleteCooking with kids is messy but oh so fun! Your grandsons are darling and it's wonderful how you're creating special memories with them while baking! When my granddaughter was four she helped me mix up cookies in my stand mixer. After dumping the entire amount of flour in she turned the speed on to HIGH...and ended up being covered from head to toe with the flour :) Eight years later she still talks about how hard we laughed that day. You can excuse me from your giveaway since I already have your books but I just had to say your grandsons are adorable!
ReplyDeleteHa-ha! High with flour. So funny. I can picture that! ~ Daryl PS Thanks for the compliment. They are cutie pies. I have 5 boys to enjoy.
DeleteWonderful photo and great recipe. What sweethearts your grandsons are. When I started cooking for the family my attempts were pretty bad and I burnt more food since the temp was too high and there was no moisture so the chicken etc. was inedible. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteTraveler, thanks! They are sweethearts! ~ Daryl
DeleteI've made my fair share of messes but the one I really remember is the one my husband made while I was at work. He made chili for a club chili cook-off. I can home and had to remove chili from the ceiling. :-0
ReplyDeleteChili on the ceiling? Oh, my!!! LOL ~ Daryl
DeleteI've never been able to make a decent pie cdrust. I can remember the time that I tried making one, it turned out awful, I put it out for the birds----even the crows didn't like it and picked up pieces then flew just a bit and dropped them.
ReplyDeletesuefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
Even the birds didn't eat it. Yipe! LOL ~ Daryl
DeleteNot a mess. But was a disaster. Was trying to make a big batch of hot chocolate for the kids and their friends. Went out to greet them when they came in after the game. Forgot that I had already put in the vanilla, add