Good Things by David

Living in Pennsylvania, it's only imperative that I make some Groundhog Day cookies for the coming holiday. If you have followed the blog over the years, you know that we have resident groundhogs on the property which we look forward to seeing every single year.   These charming creatures are naturally skittish and solitary (Marmota monax), so we leave them alone and observe them from a distance. The holiday itself comes from Pennsylvania Dutch (in reality it is the Pennsylvania German's observance of Candlemas) lore, which tells us that when the woodchuck comes out of hibernation, if the creature sees its shadow, we will have six more weeks of winter.  If the marmot does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early.   Since people around the country celebrate the holiday in some way or another, even if it's just to tune in to see what Punxsutawney Phil predicts, I thought it would be fun to make some cookies in honor of those adorable rodents. Use whatever cookie cutter ...

Cookies in the shapes of cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day are now yours.  All you need is a cupcake-shaped cookie cutter, baked & cooled cookies, and some tinted royal icing.  If you happen to have green nonpareils or some shamrock candies to attach to the cookies, even better.  As you probably already know, I like to keep cookie designs simple because it makes my job of creating dozens upon dozens much easier. Set in jadeite glass boxes, an array of cookies can be displayed for your family's St. Patrick's Day dinner. St. Patrick's Day Cupcake Cookies The colors of the Irish flag became the inspiration for the cupcakes pictured above.   Royal Icing Technique On a baked cookie, outline and flood the white "cupcake liner" using white royal icing and a #4 piping tip as shown.  Using orange royal icing and a #3 piping tip, outline and flood the swirled section of frosting as shown.  Outline and flood the section of leaf-green royal icing as shown using a #3 p...

You can surprise your sweetheart with a few envelope-shaped sugar cookies this Valentine's Day if you plan a few days in advance.  Even if you don't have a cookie cutter in this shape (I don't), you can still create a few of these cute edibles.  Very simple and easily accomplished by anyone. The Valentine's Day hearts above, are ones that I've created in the past.  They are customer favorites, so I make dozens upon dozens of them every single year.  Those are easy to make too. For the envelopes, cut out as many cookie dough squares as you can, and then slice off the top two corners of each square to create the shape of the envelope right before baking.  That's all there is to it!  If you have a house-shaped cookie cutter, you can try using that for the envelopes. For the royal icing colors:  mix Chefmaster 'Super Red' until you get the desired shade of red.  For the pink, mix a couple of drops of Chefmaster 'Fuchsia' until you get a light pink (u...

If you're looking for some Christmas cookies that are very much of the holiday, but are also holiday neutral images, look no further.  Wreaths, snowflakes and snowmen can be made for any winter occasion.  They can be given as gifts to friends, family and neighbors no matter their religion, and they can be shipped anywhere in the country or across the pond if they're made thick enough and packed well.  Holiday Sugar Cookies Can you believe that I don't actually own a wreath cookie cutter?  How utterly embarrassing, I know.  This, by no means, should prevent one from cutting out beautiful wreaths as long as there are fluted rounds and/or plain round cookie cutters on hand.  These are a must for any baker of any baking skill level.  The snowflakes and snowmen cookies do require you to have cutters in those shapes, but they can be found just about anywhere baking supplies are sold.  Online is best these days! Christmas Wreath and Snowflake Sugar Cooki...

This year's Thanksgiving will undoubtedly be different in many ways for everyone.  Small gatherings of immediate family members that live in one's household only is what we should be doing.  Let us follow proper guidelines now so that we can gather with our loved ones to celebrate many more holidays in the future.  I want everyone to be safe and healthy. Thanksgiving Sugar Cookies Sitting here on this L.E. Smith Caramel Glass cake stand is a set of Thanksgiving-themed sugar cookies that are absolutely easy to make.  No intricate designs that require skill.  Perfectly baked sugar cookies, a bit of tinted royal icing, a few tools to help you along, and you're good to go!   Make a small batch of sugar cookies in the shapes of turkeys, acorns, adorable foxes and some apples to have at the dessert table for your family.  Get the kids involved and have them personalize turkeys with the names or initials of those who will be sitting for the feast at the end o...

You can never go wrong with a chocolate layer cake.  Whether you make one for a birthday or to celebrate someone fantastic in your life, a tall, dark chocolate cake covered in a delicious buttercream is the way to go.  I have yet to find someone who refuses a slice of chocolate cake. Plan ahead: bake and cool the cake layers, and if not icing that day, wrap each layer in plastic wrap and chill until ready to use.  You can freeze the layers for up to one month (thaw overnight in the refrigerator).   For this cake, I used Martha Stewart's Ultimate Chocolate Cake.   Click here for the recipe.   I find that chilled cake layers are key for applying flawless Swiss meringue buttercream.  You can do it on room temperature cakes, but crumbs are more likely to come off if the layers aren't hardened a bit. Swiss meringue buttercream is perhaps one of the easiest buttercreams to make, because the preparation is straightforward and basic.  Egg whites and sugar...

Do you know an avid fisherman or golfer who is celebrating a birthday this year?  If you do and you happen to be a little crafty with cookies, consider making that individual some iced sugar cookies which depict putting greens and perhaps a fishing rod complete with hook and/or lure.  They make fantastic party favors. At the request of a dear neighbor whose husband was turning sixty, a set of sporty cookies were created for a milestone celebration.  The cookies were a snap to make.  Golfing & Fishing Sugar Cookies My neighbor Elfie even thought of a clever way to celebrate her husband's birthday during quarantine.  I'll show you what she did! Putting Green Sugar Cookies Putting Green Sugar Cookies :  using a game controller-shaped cookie cutter, cut out and bake as many of these shapes as needed.  Using leaf green royal icing and a #3 piping tip, outline and flood the inner shape of the putting green and let dry completely. ...

There's nothing like freshly-baked bread.  During these past few weeks I've been wanting to bake, but because of flour and yeast shortages at the supermarket, I have not been able to do so.  Finally, as if looking over the horizon onto an oasis, I found yeast at a local supermarket!  Wasting no time in bringing several packets home, I quickly assembled my ingredients for a nice loaf of bread.   Freshly Baked Whole Wheat Bread Bernard Clayton's book, 'New Complete Book of Breads', is my bread baking bible.  In it, there are dozens upon dozens of recipes covering different types of flours, grains and types of breads.  From quick breads to yeast risen breads, there is a little bit of everything for everyone.   Bread Baking Mise en Place I was looking at Clayton's whole wheat bread recipes, and decided to settle on the honey lemon whole wheat, which is found at the beginning of the chapter.   I love deep jars for storing my fl...