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Soft Frosted Vanilla Sugar Cookies and a Review and Giveaway of Pure Vanilla

Posted in Cookbook Reviews, Cookies, Dessert, Giveaways, Holiday, purim, tagged , , , , , , on February 14, 2013 | 144 Comments »

Frosted Vanilla Sugar Cookies 2

I know it’s been a while since I did a book review, but this one is super fun, and I love this recipe for Purim (or pretty much any time. Ever.) The frosting is vanilla flavored, but add in some food coloring to match your color scheme and you’re all set.

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for a giveaway of this book!


Pure Vanilla by Shauna Sever is a super fun and creative book that aims to change your impression of vanilla from a minor side ingredient to a star of the show. Here’s what I thought of it.
At a First Glance:
I never thought of vanilla as such a starring ingredient before. To me, vanilla means no other flavor. But this book spotlights it in the most amazing ways! There’s a breakfast section, a cake section, a cookie section and a candy section. Pretty much every kind of sweet treat…highlighting vanilla!

Some Features I Liked:
This book features lots of recipes, but also tips, tricks and even history surrounding the amazing flavor of vanilla which I enjoyed reading.
This is a beautifully done, hard covered book with clearly laid out recipes and gorgeous pictures. It’s an all-around pleasure to read and enjoy!
Most importantly, this book has an astonishing variety of recipes featuring vanilla in all it’s forms.

Some Recipes I Can’t Wait To Try:
Twinkie Bundt Cake: we all know that I adore bundt cakes, but the cream filling on this one is calling my name…loudly!

Ultimate Vanilla Cupcakes: because there’s no such thing as “good enough” when it comes to a vanilla cupcake!

Vanilla Bean Marshmallows: I’ve been wanting to try my hand at marshmallows for a while -and these look fabulous.

Vanilla Cloud Cake: the author says everyone who tastes this cake proclaims it’s the best they’ve ever had. How can I not try it for myself?

Who This Cookbook is For:
This is a really fun book with lots of great ideas for anybody who enjoys baking and being creative in the kitchen.
And while everyone can enjoy these delicious recipes, this book is especially good for anyone who doesn’t like (love?) chocolate. For the rest of us, yes. People like that exist. I’ve met them.

Who This Cookbook isn’t For:
Firstly, people with special dietary needs such as gluten or sugar free will not find many suitable recipes in this book.
Also, if you’re looking for an all-around dessert cookbook, this isn’t your best option. While there’s a wide variety of ideas, they mostly have the same flavor.

What I Didn’t Like About this Cookbook:
As I’ve written so many times in the past, this is a niche cookbook, which by default means there are limitations. In this case, (obviously) everything is vanilla flavored.
Another thing (which I know I’ve mentioned many times before as well) is that many of the recipes don’t have pictures. Call me spoiled, but especially with some of the more visual recipes that’s important to me.
Lastly, while I’m okay with it, some people may not find these recipes very easy or quick.

Lastly, many of the recipes in this book use forms of vanilla which are either hard to get, expensive, or both. The author does include a substitution chart, but for some recipes she specifies that subs aren’t a good idea.

Conclusion:

This book is fun, interesting, creative and most importantly, has a bunch of great looking recipes! If you love to bake, consider purchasing it …or buy it for the baker in your life as a gift!

And here’s a recipe from the book. I am not sure what to say about this other than it’s delicious. And it so elevates the “plain” sugar cookie with all of the intense vanilla flavor!

Frosted Vanilla Sugar Cookies 3

Big Soft Vanilla Sugar Cookies:

Adapted from Pure Vanilla

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

2 Tablespoons vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 Tablespoons corn syrup

Instructions:

Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter/margarine and vanilla until creamy. Add the sugar and beat on high until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs and corn syrup until blended. Reduce mixer speed to medium and beat in the oil mixture. Beat until fully combined.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually mix in the flour, beating until just combined.

Cover the dough and refrigerate until firm, at least two hours (up to overnight).

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and bake as follows (depending on the size cookie you desire.)

For extra large cookies: scoop the dough onto the cookie sheet using a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Bake 3 per sheet for 15-17 minutes, until the cookies are just turning pale gold around the edges.

For regular sized cookies (pictured here) : scoop the dough using a medium cookie scoop. Bake 9 cookies per sheet for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are just turning pale gold around the edges.

Remove cookies from the oven and set aside to cool.

Vanilla Frosting:

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk or soy milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste*

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together all ingredients until fluffy. Frost the cooled cookies. Top with sprinkles or colored sugar, if desired.

*Note: if you don’t have vanilla bean paste, you can sub additional vanilla extract, though the taste won’t be quite the same. You may need to reduce the milk by a teaspoon or two to make up for the extra liquid.

Frosted Vanilla Sugar Cookies 1

And now, the giveaway!

For your chance to win a copy of Pure Vanilla:

Please note: Each entry requires its own comment! Multiple entries in one comment will only be counted once!

Entry #1 – Leave a comment on this post telling me what flavor you would like to see an entire cookbook of!

Entry #2 – Follow @OvertimeCook on twitter and leave a comment on this post telling me that you did.

Entry # 3- Like Tales of an Overtime Cook on Facebook and leave a comment on this post telling me that you did.

Entry # 4 – Follow @OvertimeCook on Pinterest and leave a comment on this post telling me that you did.

Entry # 5 – Subscribe to OvertimeCook via email (link is on the right sidebar of the blog). and leave a comment on this post telling me that you did.

Note: if you already like/follow etc, that’s fine. Just leave a comment letting me know that!

Giveaway Details:

Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM on Thursday, February 22nd. A valid email address or twitter profile must be provided.

Prize can be shipped within the US and Canada.

Giveaway is sponsored by the publisher.

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me for review by the publisher. All opinions are my own. There are affiliate links within this post.

Thanks all for stopping by! Good luck with the giveaway and enjoy the cookies! Have a fabulous weekend and come back soon! Next week I have some super delicious treats to share with you all! -Miriam

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Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Marshmallow Fluff Frosting

Posted in Dessert, Muffins/Cupcakes, tagged , , , , , , , on November 25, 2012 | 17 Comments »

It’s funny how certain things work out at times. Take writing for example.

Honestly, it’s always come very easily to me. My 12th grade English teacher once commented that I’m lucky she enjoys reading my essays so much, or she would probably fail me for turning them all in two weeks late.

When I started this blog, I put a lot of thought into the food and recipes (obviously!) and of course, as you know, I thought a lot about the photography. But the writing? It was always an afterthought, just something I did in the last few minutes of my posting.

And I guess it worked. Because suddenly in the last few weeks I’ve gotten a ton of comments from readers, both of my magazine column and my blog, all telling me how much they enjoy my writing.

And suddenly my writing went from something I never thought about to something I need to stress over at least as much as my pictures. And that’s what led to me sitting in front of my computer, staring at an empty blog post for twenty minutes.

Isn’t it strange how pressure turns something effortless into something you just can’t do?

Speaking of pressure- this cupcake recipe is of the no-pressure variety. It doesn’t use any unusual ingredients, so you’re likely to turn to this recipe when you need a good dessert in a pinch. PS- they are absolutely delicious!

Also, I think I just wrote a blog post. Pressure and all!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes:
Adapted from Martha Stewart, via Brown Eyed Baker
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour *see below for note on subbing all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk, soy milk or rich’s (non dairy) whip
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Decide if you want to make mini or full size cupcakes and line the correct size pan with paper liners. (I made some of each!)
Sift together the flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter or margarine and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Turn the mixer to low, and add the flour 1/3 at a time, alternating with the milk, 1/2 at a time. Mix until just combined. Don’t over mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake pans, filling them 3/4 full.
Bake in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes for mini cupcakes or 20 minutes for full size cupcakes.
Set aside to cool, then frost cupcakes with marshmallow fluff frosting when they are completely cooled.

*Note: to replace the cake flour with all-purpose flour, use 1 1/2 cups minus 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour. You can use it as is, or you can replace those three tablespoons of flour with corn starch.

Marshmallow Fluff Frosting
adapted from How Sweet It Is
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
3 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon milk or soy milk
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, vanilla, marshmallow fluff, powdered sugar and milk until smooth, creamy and stiff enough to pipe. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle over frosted cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by folks, and enjoy these lovely cupcakes! Psst! Did you enter my cookbook giveaway? You totally need to win this one! -Miriam

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Blueberry Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Posted in Cake, Dessert, Muffins/Cupcakes, Seasonal, tagged , , on June 4, 2012 | 15 Comments »

I’d like ramble about two things today. I hope you will bear with me, as these ramblings end in…cupcakes.

Do I have your attention? Awesome, let’s start. With blueberries.

Is there anything that really screams out “summer” like sitting down to snack on (read: completely devour) a bowl of juicy blueberries? I don’t think so either. I tried to cheat the system a couple of months back, and bought myself a package of blueberries. Many dollars later, I discovered the disappointing truth: for the real goodness of juicy, summery, deliciously plump blueberries, you gotta wait for the summer.

Here’s my second rambling. (Patience my friend, we’re getting closer.) Where’s the line between a muffin and a cupcake. I once mentioned that Jim Gaffigan refers to muffins as “bald cupcakes.” And when you think about it, that’s kind of true. Obviously some muffins are barely sweet and definitely not a cupcake, and some cupcakes are so overly decadent that nobody that is of sound mind would ever call it a muffin, even without the frosting, but then there’s all that grey area in the middle. Muffins with frosting, cupcakes without frosting…it starts to get really confusing.

Say, for example, you’re my friend or coworker and you love my blueberry muffins. But then I pull out the mixer, make a batter, add in some blueberries, and tell you I am not making muffins. I am making cupcakes. You scratch your head in confusion. “What’s the difference,” you want to know. “As long as you make the delicious things you made last summer!”

Then I pull the cupcakes out of the oven, wait for them to cool, and pipe a layer of dreamy frosting on the top of it.

At that point, you give up. Let’s say for argument’s sake that frosting is the defining line between the two. Why do you care? You’re too busy burying your face in the fluffy layer of cream cheese goodness.

Blueberry Cupcakes:

Cupcakes adapted from Kristine’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour (minus 2 Tablespoons reserved for blueberries)

1 Tablespoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups milk

1 pint fresh blueberries

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper cupcake liners. Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour (reserve 2 Tablespoons), baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter or margarine with the sugar until creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and beat to combine. Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine.

Turn the mixer to a low speed and add in a third of the flour mixture, then half the milk, and repeat with remainder. Stir until just combined.

In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the reserved 2 Tablespoons of flour to coat. Gently stir into the batter, using a rubber spatula and not the mixer.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling them about 3/4 of the way.

Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Set aside to cool while you prepare the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Frosting Adapted from i am baker

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

1 8 oz package of cream cheese

4 cups confectioner’s sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (heaping) teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, combine all ingredients and beat until fluffy. Spoon or pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Note: The frosting recipe won’t make enough to pipe a super high layer of frosting on all 24 cupcakes. Either stick to a smaller amount like I did in the picture above, or 1 and a half times the recipe.

 

Thanks for stopping by folks! Hope you love these cupcakes, I know everyone ’round here did! Have a great day, and come back soon! -Miriam

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