Sugar Cookies with Apple Cider Glaze

I live in a small town. A very small town. I was reminded of this fact when I set out to buy a leaf shaped cookie cutter to make autumnal sugar cookies and came up short. I think I tried three grocery stores and one specialty baking store that existed on Yelp but didn't exist in real life before I settled on a huge box of 100 cookie cutters from Walmart that turned out to not have leaves. So. There you have it. How do you know if you live in a small town? No cookie cutters. Only Walmart.

In the end I just made sugar cookies with this delicious little glaze. I am always on the look-out for a good sugar cookie recipe (as is cousin Abby) and I thought this one was pretty good. I liked it better than the Spider Cookie Sugar Cookies I tried a couple weeks ago. And the glaze was pretty tasty, if I do say so myself. I came up with it on the what-should-i-do-with-this-leftover-cider spot.

Sugar Cookies with Apple Cider Glaze

Sugar Cookies

2 sticks butter

1 and 1/3 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 and 1/3 tsp. vanilla

1 and 1/3 tsp. baking powder

3 and 1/3 cups cake flour

dash salt

In large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Chill dough until easier to work with, about one hour. Roll cookies on well floured surface. Cut into desired shape. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes until just lightly browned on the bottom (do not overbake!). Allow cookies to cool on wire rack

Apple Cider Glaze

Powdered sugar (about 2 cups)

Apple Cider (about 3-4 tablespoons)

1 tsp. vanilla

Here's the thing about glaze. You just do it by feel; I don't know exact measurements. I started with about 2 cups powdered sugar and added apple cider in small increments, about 1 TBLS at a time until it reached the proper consistency. To check if it's done, dip a knife into the glaze; if the glaze holds on the knife without running off, you're probably done.  If you add to much cider, don't worry, just add a little more powdered sugar. 

Dip cooled sugar cookies into glaze face down and place onto wax paper or tin foil. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Allow cookies to sit until glaze sets. Enjoy!

Sugar Cookie recipe adapted for quantity from Cutler's Bakery

Cookies 'n Cream S'mores Cups with Nutella

I was hoping to fit three apostrophes into the title, but two will have to be sufficient. Regardless, these cookies will blow your mind.

Let me start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. Husband and I were planning a little overnight camping trip with some friends. Husband was giddy with excitement. But lo and behold, little James got sick the day we were supposed to go! He was wheezing and his breathing was awful. Took him to the doctor and ended up with a nebulizer, steroids and some antibiotics for the bonus ear infection he had. Needless to say, we didn't go camping. No wait...not needless to say. Let me be more specific. Husband thought we should still go camping because James "wouldn't stop breathing, would he?" Both my instincts and my years of nursing training told me that breathing cessation was a poor threshold for staying home. Anyway, we didn't end up going.

Which left me with a bag full of s'mores ingredients and no campfire.

Which led me search the internet for indoor s'mores.

Which led me to a recipe to S'mores Cups.

Which, upon pondering the merits of replacing white chocolate with milk chocolate, led me to this little creation...

Cookies 'n Cream S'mores Cups with Nutella

7 graham crackers

1/4 cup powdered sugar

6 TBS butter, melted

2 King size cookies 'n cream chocolate bars

12 large marshmellows

Nutella for dipping (about 1/2 cup)

Place graham crackers in ziplock bag and crush with hands or rolling pin until resembling fine crumbs. Place in bowl and mix with powdered sugar and melted butter. Press graham cracker mixture into miniature muffin tin, about 1TBS per cup. Bake at 350 for 4-5 minutes or until edges become bubbly. Meanwhile, break up cookie bars into pieces (along score lines). Cut marshmellows in half. After taking graham cracker cups out of the oven, place 1 piece of chocolate into each cup followed by one half marshmellow. Return to oven for 1-2 minutes until marshmellow is softened. Remove from oven. Let cool. Carefully remove cup from tin with spoon. If they are breaking, they may need to set longer before removing. Melt nutella at 15 second intervals until it reaches the consistency of melted chocolate. Dip marshmellow cup into nutella. Eat them. Love them. Make them again. They took under 30 minutes to make, so there really are no excuses.

You'll notice that there is no picture of a sea of S'mores cups. That is because Husband and I ate the whole pan in about four minutes flat, before we even remembered to take a picture.

Happy indoor camping!