Hershey's Kiss, Kiss "Dah-ling" Cookies

I must be watching too many episodes of the Real Housewives Franchise because, while putting these together, "Kiss, Kiss, Dahling" (in the voice of Lisa Vanderpump or LuAnn De Lesseps) kept going through my head.  Despite this, I had so much fun making these!!  I first spied the idea on Pinterest here at Munchkin Munchies.  They looked so adorable I had to try them myself.  Since we are fast approaching February 14th, I decided to mimic the hues of the Kiss wrappers found in the Hershey Kiss Valentine's Day packages.  So cute.

I have an absolutely favorite cut-out cookie recipe that I always use, but it contains lemon juice and zest.  I planned to use melted Kisses for some of the cookies instead of icing, however, which didn't seem to appealing to combine with lemon.  Also, I wanted to flavor some of the dough with almond (to create a faux Hershey Kiss Almond candy) and some with cherry (for Hershey Cherry Cordial Kiss cookies).  Neither would be tasty with a lemon based cookie.

For a new sugar cookie dough recipe, I turned to The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle, since she makes some of the most amazing cookies I have ever seen.  It only stood to reason that her basic cookie recipe must be delicious, too, right?  I made a few slight changes but was VERY happy with this recipe.  I will most definitely be using it again.

Before baking the cookies, be sure you have your decorating supplies ready:  Unwrapped Hershey Kisses (save the "Hershey Kiss" tag from each), food coloring in the shade of each wrapper you are turning into a cookie, and edible sprinkles in the corresponding icing colors.

Basic Sugar Cookies

adapted from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle

1 cup (2 sticks) of real butter (I used salted)

1 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons flavoring extract (I used Almond)

2 1/2 - 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream together butter and sugar.  In a separate bowl, combine the egg and flavoring.  Combine butter and egg mixtures and beat until fully incorporated.  In another separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients and add to butter an egg mixture in three intervals.  Mix until dough is pliable but not sticky.  Roll out dough* and cut into desired shapes.  Bake for 7-8 minutes.  Let cool completely before icing.

To make the Kiss shape, I used a small heart cookie cutter.  I tried to smooth out the top of the heart into a straight line for the bottom of the Kiss.  Some were more successful than others.  Last night I picked up a small metal heart cutter and flattened the cutter itself for the future.

Next, I mixed up some icing - confectioner's sugar mixed with water to a thickish consistency.  To test the thickness I run a knife through the icing and count to five.  If the line disappears before 5 seconds, I add a bit more sugar.  If it takes 5 seconds for the line to disappear, it's exactly how I want it.  I just eyeballed the amount of icing, making as much as I thought I'd need for the amount of cookies I had.  Then, I split the icing into three parts dyeing the first one gray, the second light pink, and the third red.

Working with one color at a time, I poured the icing in a plastic piping bag fitted with a #3 tip.  Outline the Kiss with icing and fill the inside.  You can use a toothpick to nudge fill out the icing completely inside the outline.  Immediately after icing a cookie, take one of the Hershey Kiss tags and, again using a toothpick, push it into the icing so it will be secure once the icing sets.  After the tag is applied, immediately pour the sprinkles that match the icing color onto the cookie.  (TIP:  Pour the sprinkles over a coffee filter.  When you are done sprinkling, use the filter to pour the unused sprinkles back into the container.  Not my original idea, but it's genius and works like a dream!)

I started with gray icing and sprinkles:

Then I rounded out the Valentine collection with pink and red:

Once I completed the icing/tagging/sprinkling process, I melted down the unwrapped Hershey Kisses in the microwave in one minute increments at 30% power until they were melted.  I poured the melted chocolate into a piping bag, snipped off a TINY bit of the end, and made a triangle of chocolate on each cookie:

 

Using a toothpick, I pushed the chocolate into a kiss shape and did my best to create that iconic swirly flourish at the top!  I can definitely use more practice with that:

They are not perfect, but I *love* them.  :)

I think these might be a new favorite of mine.  I will make them for every Holiday and event coming because WHO doesn't love a Kiss?  Happy Valentine's Day!

Something To Turn My Frown Upside Down - Pink Rainbow Cupcakes

Oh, so it's been a tough couple of days baking!  Sometimes it happens that I have a stretch of bad luck and recipes that don't turn out.  It can be a bit maddening, but I know it's part of the process of learning and trying new things.  There's are a few recipes I'm very practiced at, ones that turn out perfect every time.  I can continue to make those, or I can choose to challenge myself.  So, chin up!  Smile!  Keep baking!

Now can I admit I made something today that I knew would turn out just fine to make myself feel a little better?  It can be just our secret!  ;)

I made a Valentine's Day version of Rainbow Cupcakes.  So have a lot of other people, and theirs look better, but they made me happy.  I love pink and working with pinks and reds makes me smile.  

Scratch Vanilla Cupcakes

from Martha Stewart

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners; set aside.  In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  In a large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time,  mixing until incorporated.  Scrape down sides of bowl and mix in vanilla.

Add flour and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour.  Scrape down sides of bowl.  Add whole raspberries to batter and use mixer to incorporate.  The berries will break up into pieces but will not alter the color of the batter.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about 2/3 full.  

Bake until cake springs back, approximately 18-20 minutes.  After removing pan from over place on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.  Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely on rack.

After mixing up the batter, I split it into four equal parts, dyeing each portion into different shades of pink.  Using the Rainbow Cake/Cupcake technique (click here to see) I filled the liners, careful not to go over 2/3 full.  If you are overzealous filling the liners you will end up with this:

Not ideal.  Not pretty!

While the cupcakes are cooling, mix up the buttercream:

Vanilla Buttercream Icing

2 sticks of butter

4 cups of confectioner's sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3-5 tablespoons half and half

Using a mixer, beat butter until it is fluffy.  Add 3 cups of sugar - one cup at a time - mixing until it's completely incorporated.  Add vanilla and half and half along with last cup of sugar and mix, adding more half and half until the icing is the desired consistency.

I split the buttercream into four bowls and added the gel dye in the same colors of the cupcake.  When she was done mixing, I spooned a small amount of each color, one on top of the other, into a pastry bag.  When the cupcakes were COMPLETELY cooled, I piped on the buttercream.

Having one of the three recipes I made work out gave me a boost to try, try again.  Sometimes that's just what you have to do.  I would not have posted these since they're kind of redundant for my blog.  But, it's Valentine's Day tomorrow and probably the last pink treat for awhile.  Time to go green for St. Patrick's Day...I'm donating 150 items to a fundraiser so I'll be making lots of fun stuff!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

"Conversation Hearts" Cherry Pies with Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

I've absolutely loved the adorable individual heart cherry pies I've been seeing on blogs and Pinterest.  I knew I wanted to give baking them a try and was excited when I remembered the conversation heart stencils I bought a few months ago.  How cute would conversation heart cherry pies be?  Pretty cute, as it turns out!

I began by making cherry pie filling.  I feel awful about this, but it was my first time making pie filling outside of  pie and I'm not 100% sure of the measurements I used because I kept adding things - a bit more cornstarch, a little more sugar, a few more cherries.  I can tell you how I started and how you can begin and tweak things to reach the consistency you want.  I learned an important lesson along the way, too, about cornstarch.  Did you know that it will NOT dissolve in hot liquid, instead it will clump in little bits?  You did?  Most of my friends knew that, too.  Me?  I learned the hard way.  Here's what happened:

I started with 2 - 24oz. jars of pitted sour cherries.  I strained them reserving the juice, setting the cherries aside.  I measured a cup and a half of the juice and poured it into a small sauce pan along with 1 cup of sugar.  After bringing it to a boil, I added 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.  It thickened nicely, but I could not get rid of the cornstarch clumps.  I dumped it out and started again.  Cherry juice, sugar, and this time I heated up a splash of water in the microwave adding the cornstarch to it.  I waited for it to dissolve in the hot water.  Nope.  Clumps.  I did not add it to the juice and sugar mixture.  I just stirred and thought about what I could do.  I did not have pectin and didn't want to go to the store.  I wanted to come to an understanding about cornstarch.  I'm not sure why I didn't just Google the answer, but eventually I had the bright idea to try and dissolve the cornstarch in room temperature water.  VOILA!  Completely dissolved.

So, here's where we are at (a.k.a. How to begin the process of making Cherry Pie Filling): 

1 1/2 cups of sour cherry juice

1 cup cup of sugar

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in room temperature water

Bring to a boil and let thicken.  Add 1 1/2 cups of cherries.  Let simmer until thick enough to spoon onto pie crust without making a mess.  Real scientific, huh?

I tasted the filling and found it was still too sour.  So added more sugar.  1/3 cup.  And then a little more until I thought it was sweet enough.  However, this made the filling much runnier.  So, I had to add more cornstarch to thicken it, without using too much water to dissolve it so it wouldn't make it thinner while trying to thicken it.  Are you following all of this?  This is the point where I lost the measurements since I was adding amounts at random.  So, I suggest one of two things:

1. Relax and experiment, you're only making pie filling and not  performing surgery.

2.  Just buy some canned stuff.

Either way, the pies will be cute and delicious!  Here's my finished filling (verys tasty, too!):

Conversation Cherry Pie Hearts

1 can of cherry (or other) pie filling (or homemade filling)

pie crust dough, homemade or store bought

edible color dust in pink and red

powdered sugar to dust pies, if desired

To assemble the pies, either make your own favorite crust or buy pre-made ones (I bought crust.  I admit it).  Roll out the dough and cut out heart shapes.  You will need two hearts for each pie.  Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  On the top heart, use a small craft paintbrush to brush edible color dust over a stencil placed on top of the dough., You can see this technique by clicking here.  You can buy the color dust at craft stores such as Michael's or online.

Gently lift the stencil off of the dough:

Next, place a spoonful or so of filling on the bottom heart:

After running your fingertips through water, trace around the edge of the heart with filling on it, making sure it's wet enough to create a seal after placing the top heart over it.  Press firmly around the perimeter of the heart:

To complete the process, use a fork and pressing the tines around the heart.  Lastly, use a toothpick to poke a few holes in the pie crust.

Now they are ready for baking!  I followed the instructions, preheating my oven to 425 for baking for 15 minutes, but it didn't work out:

So, I tried again baking for less time (10 minutes) and keeping an eye on them, ready to remove the pies from the oven at the first sign of light browning:

Yay!!  Exactly everything I hoped for *sigh*.  I don't mean to be dramatic, but it was a long morning of trial and error for something I thought should be pretty easy.  Don't let me scare you away from trying these.  They are easy.  Really!  My husband loved them and I did, too.  :)  

Sprinkling some powdered sugar on them makes them even sweeter, though I haven't found a way to do it in an aesthetically pleasing way with the stenciling.  I'll work on it.  In the meantime, Valentine's Day is next week and these are a pretty quick and delicious way to let someone know you love them!

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Things that make you say MMMMMM....Mondays

Cherry Shortbread Hearts Dipped in Chocolate

I am leaving in a few minutes for vacation.  While I am gone I have attempted to schedule two automatic posts on cupcakes.  This is my first time doing it this way, so I hope it works!  If not, I'll post them live when I'm back in a little over a week.  Please bear with me!  Now, onto the cookies....

I'll get right to it....these didn't turn out exactly as I had planned.  I've made this shortbread cookie before and it's heavenly.  This time I forgot to skim the recipe beforehand (have I mentioned it's so important to read the recipe before beginning!) so I rolled the dough too thin.  When that happens they  brown past the edges.  When that happens the don't taste great.  Trust me.  Not that they were AWFUL, just not what they could and should have been.  Here's the recipe, which, if you follow correctly, will produce wonderful, buttery shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate.  Promise!

Shortbread Cookies

Adapted slightly from Ina Garten

3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon maraschino cherry juice

1/2 cup maraschino cherries, chopped

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

A few drops red food coloring (to desired hue)

6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together butter and one cup of sugar until they are just combined.  Add the vanilla, cherry juice, cherries and food coloring..  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt and add them to the butter/sugar mixture.  Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together.  Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a disk.  Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough 1/2 inch thick and cut with chosen cutter.  Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and sprinkle with sugar.  

Bake 20-25 minutes or until edges begin to brown slightly.  Allow to cool to room temperature.

When the cookies, place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Put 3 ounces of chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Stir with a wooden spoon.  Continue to head and stir in 30 second intervals until the chocolate is just melted.  Add the remaining chocolate and allow to sit at room temperature , stirring often, until it is completely smooth.  Stir vigorously until the chocolate is cooled and smooth and slightly cooled.  Stirring makes it glossier.

Drizzle each cookie half way with enough chocolate to coat it.

I also have a difficult time with achieving glossy chocolate.  Still working on that.  The chocolate was too thick for me to drizzle, so I dipped, but the line is uneven and trying to fix it made things worse.  I will definitely make these again and try to improve on it.  The cherry flavor was nice and I like the bits of cherry throughout the cookie.  I thought about skipping posting these cookies altogether, but I promised I'd show the good, bad, and the ugly.  These cookies are a combination of the three, I think!

If you try your own version and have success, let me know!

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Black Velvet Cupcakes - Take 2

So, I've been wanting to try Black Velvet Cupcakes again to make up for the last terrible result I had baking them.  At that time I was happy with the deep black color of the cake but they had a horrible "black dye" aftertaste.  Yuck.  They looked pretty, but that's not really the point of a cupcake now, is it?

In the meantime of trying again I've done quite a bit of reading up on "velvet" cakes and there seems to be many schools of thought on their taste and texture.  Some say there should be a hint of chocolate, while others insist there should be an obvious chocolate taste.  As for me, I would like deep chocolate flavor.  I guess it's personal preference.  With this recipe was very, very happy with the deep black color of the cakes.  AND, they did not have that horrible black dye aftertaste. 

Also, there seems to be difference of opinion whether or not velvet cakes should be light and airy or more on the dense side.  This is a more dense cake.  As I said, I really liked it, but I would also like to try a version with a lighter crumb for comparison.  Okay, so enough with my comments, here is the recipe!

Black Velvet Cupcakes

Adapted from Java Cupcakes

Makes approximately 12 cupcakes

4 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tablespoons black food coloring

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On medium speed cream together butter and sugar for about 3 minutes.  Turn mixer to high and add the egg.  Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl, mix together cocoa, vanilla and black food coloring until it forms a thick paste.  Add to the batter and mix until completely incorporated.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure it's completely combined.

Turn mixer to low and add half of the buttermilk.  Add half of the flour and mix.  Add the other half of the buttermilk while mixing on low.  Mix in remaining flour and beat on high until batter is smooth.

Turn mixer to low and add baking soda and white vinegar.  Mix on high for a few more minutes.  Fill cupcake liners 2/3 and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.

After cooling for 10 minutes in the pan, place cupcakes on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Since February will be here before we know it, I decided to dress up these cupcakes for Valentine's Day:

White Buttercream Icing with Edible Pink Hearts

Valentine's Day M&M's

Silver disco dust, very sparkly and pretty!

Pink and White Icing Swirl

Heart Cut-outs

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