Perky Peppermint Penguins by Sandra Entrican

This cute little guy was entered into the Dallas Morning News Cookie Contest in the decorated category. Of course he won! The lady who made him enters this contest every year and~surprise she wins every year. Here is the recipe if you would like to make a fun bunch of penguins for yourself.

Perky Peppermint Penguins

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder and salt. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and flavorings. Gradually add flour mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. Wrap and chill dough until firm, at least one hour. Roll out dough on floured board and place on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 12-16 minutes. Cool. Frost with glaze.

Glaze

4 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Enough water to make a spreading consistency.

Decorate as desired. (She made a recipe of white chocolate "plastic" or as some people call it-modeling chocolate and cut the pieces from that to decorate the penguin)

White Chocolate Plastic

9 ounces Wilton candy melts

4 ounces glucose or corn syrup

Melt chocolate and add slightly warm glucose. Mix until combined and wrap in plastic. Let set overnight. Knead dough and roll. Cut into desired shapes.

Swedish Dala Horses

Here is another entry in the Dallas Morning News Cookie Contest (decorated category). This cookie didn't win but I thought they tasted good. Here is the recipe:

Swedish Dala Horses

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs-beaten

2 tablespoons almond paste-cut into small pieces

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

2 1/2 cups flour-sifted

1/2 cup ground almonds

2 teaspoons baking powder

Royal icing

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, almond paste, and orange peel. Combine sifted flour, ground almonds and baking powder and add to wet ingredients. Stir to combine. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour. Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into desired shape. Dala Horse cookie cutters are available online or at Scandinavian shops. Simple shapes are best for this cookie as they do spread when baking. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Frost with royal icing.

Here is the link to the origin of the Dala Horse:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalecarlian_horse

Tarragon-Sesame Crisps

Here is another cookie recipe from the Dallas Morning News Cookie Contest. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of them but they are a light, nutty quarter sized cookie.

Tarragon-Sesame Crisps

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds

1/2 cups chopped pecans

1 teaspoon finely minced fresh tarragon

3/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cream together butter, brown sugar and vanilla. Beat in egg and add sesame seeds, pecans and fresh tarragon. Add to this a sifted mixture of flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well and drop in small mounds 3 inches apart on greased baking sheet. Bake about 9 minutes. Cool and remove from pan. Makes 4 dozen

No Deal! :(

I'm so bummed! The Dallas Morning News Cookie Contest was today and when I first got there I thought to myself I have a chance at winning, then some of the other contestants came rolling in and my confidence just kept going down farther and farther. But the winner was a cookie that I had cancelled out completely thinking "There is no way that one is going to win". I sound like a bitter old cookie maker huh? Well here are the nominees and you be the judge. (Don't forget my little guy)

The fifth one down from the top won. I think it is supposed to be a Lord a Leaping?

A troop of cookie men

Well one of my entries for the Dallas Morning News Cookie Contest got picked. Can you guess which one? I have to bring 7 of them to Central Market on Thursday to be judged. I'm nervous and excited all in one. I entered last year and didn't win so I'm hoping that my luck is better this time. Having been through the process once I have a better understanding of how it all goes down. Wish me luck!

Blueberry Hill Cookies

This is a recipe for blueberry cookies. Sounds weird huh? Well they taste really good. Every year in June my family picks blueberries at Blueberry Hill Farms in Edom, Texas. We get several large basket fulls of them so we came up with this recipe to help use some of them up.

Blueberry Cookies

2 Cups all purpose flour

2 Teaspoons baking powder

1/2 Teaspoon salt

1/2 Cup shortening

1 Cup sugar

1 Egg

1/4 Cup milk

1 Teaspoon almond extract

1 1/2 Teaspoon lemon zest

1 Cup blueberries (I use frozen)

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. In an electric mixer cream shortening and sugar. Beat in egg. Beat in milk, almond extract and lemon zest.

Gradually blend in dry ingredients. Fold in blueberries. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Drop spoon full of dough an inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. (Helps if you line it with parchment paper. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until light brown around edges.

Lemon drizzle icing-lemon juice and powdered sugar. Add together until you get the consistency you want and when the cookies are cool drizzle over the tops. So Nummy Num!

Cookie Man

This little guy is my entry for the Cookie Contest in the Cookie Man division. The cookie man is kind of the mascot for the contest. Last years winner appears on all the contest forms for this years contest. I will be entering in 3 categories: Cookie Man, Decorated and Family Recipe. I'll add the family recipe cookie later. It's a blueberry cookie that is very nummy-num!