My mom is my true inspiration. From the first time she sat me down with food coloring-dyed macaroni and some glue, I was hooked on everything crafty. My mom is my best friend and biggest fan! Mom, this is for you.

Friday, March 7, 2008

One day, last fall...




Just a short post today - I just came across these photos that I took last fall and thought they were beautiful, so I wanted to share!

Lime Meltaway Cookie Recipe

SO, I feel terrible because I haven't posted in my blog, listed on my etsy site, or uploaded into my flickr account in weeks. So, last night, I posted a new card I have created (I have been working, even though I have been scarce online....) and in honor of it, I am posting this morning. Check out my new card! Its on the left, the first pic on the top!

I was looking though an old blog that I had through yahoo and found this post I did on Lime Meltaways and my experience making them. It was a great receipe, and so super easy. Here it is for all of you...mmmmmm

The best part of this receipe is you can make a whole ton of the dough and keep it in your fridge or freezer and then when you get home from work, and you've had a crappy day, you can pull them out, stick 'em on a tray and have fresh baked cookies in time for desert!

Lime Meltaways
www.marthastewart.com

Ingredients
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Grated zest of 2 limes
2 tablespoons freshly squezzed lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Add lime zest, juice, and vanilla; beat until fluffy.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.

3. Between two 8 by 12 inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch diameter logs. Chill at least one hour.

4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Remove parchment from logs; slice dough into 1/8-inch thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.

5. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag; toss to coat. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.


Experience:

So, first things first. Most of baking that you will do will require you to follow the directions completly and exactly. This recipe is not that way. When I read the ingredient for sugar, I read granulated sugar, not confectioners sugar (blame it on the 300 chocolate covered pretzels I just made). So I used granulated sugar in the mixture and to toss them. It wasnt until after I baked, tossed and happily ate them when I re-read the recipe and realized my mistake. It was a yummy mistake however, because I really liked them. They were still chewy and sweet and the granulated sugar added a nice crunch (you know, the nice rotting your teeth crunch). I will have to see how they come out if you follow the recipe exactly.

Also, baking these cookies is tricky, because with most of my batches, if I waited until they were slightly golden, they were already too cooked. You really have to keep an eye on them, and don't bake them for long. They are very delicate.

These make great Christmas Gifts. I put them in a cookie tin stacked in piles of 4 in cupcake papers.