\nAlso, I’ve been trying to get back into the swing of sewing a little bit. The sewing room is pretty cold, so it’s not particularly inviting during these dark and cold winter days, but what can you do. If I’m to attain my goal of being more productive in 2008, I will have to brave the cold temps and sew away.
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\nRecipe next …<\/p>\n
\nPeppermint Spiral Cookies from sfgate.com
\nMakes about 3 dozen (mine didn’t make 3 dozen)
\nINGREDIENTS:
\n2 cups unsifted cake flour
\n1\/2 teaspoon baking powder
\n1\/4 teaspoon salt
\n2\/3 cup unsifted powdered sugar
\n1\/4 cup granulated sugar
\n3\/4 cup (1 1\/2 sticks) unsalted butter
\n1 teaspoon vanilla
\n1\/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
\n1\/4 teaspoon flaming red liquid gel food coloring or 9 drops red liquid food coloring
\n1 tablespoon unsifted cake flour
\n1 1\/2 cups multi-colored nonpareil decors
\nINSTRUCTIONS:
\nCombine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugars in a food processor and process briefly to mix. Add the butter in pieces; process with on\/off bursts until the mixture has the consistency of cornmeal. Add the vanilla and process until the mixture just forms a ball. (I didn’t really process long enough. My mixture would not really form a ball, so I ended up having to add more butter later.)
\nDivide the dough into 2 equal portions then return one of the portions to the food processor. Add the peppermint extract, food coloring, and the extra tablespoon of flour to the processor and process until just incorporated.
\nRoll out each portion of dough between sheets of waxed paper. You want a rectangle about 11 x 8 1\/2 inches by 1\/8 inch thick. Leave the dough between the sheets of waxed paper and slide onto a baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
\nRemove dough pieces from refrigerator. Pour the nonpareil decors into a shallow rectangular dish (such as a 9 x 13-inch pan.
\nPeel off the top sheet of waxed paper from both doughs. Brush the vanilla dough very lightly with water. Using the waxed paper, lift the peppermint dough and flip it onto the vanilla dough so they are stacked. Press with your fingertips to seal the two doughs together. Remove the top sheet of waxed paper and trim the edges even.
\nWhen the dough is just pliable (but still cold), roll up the dough rectangles (begin with the long side) like a jellyroll. As you begin to roll, gently curl the edge with your fingertips so you don’t get any air pockets as you roll dough into a log. As you roll, lift the waxed paper to help you roll the dough neatly and tightly.
\nAfter forming the dough into a log, throw away the waxed paper, and roll the dough back and forth on the work surface to evenly distribute the dough and form a nice little log. Gently lift the log on top of the nonpareil decors in the dish and roll until the log is completely coated with decors. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to slice (from 4 hours to a week, or freeze for up to 2 months; defrost in the refrigerator overnight before slicing).
\nAdjust rack to lower third of oven and preheat oven to 325<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I made these cookies several weeks ago for a cookie exchange. They were actually quite tasty and really pretty. I got the recipe from the San Francisco Chronicle. I can no longer locate the recipe on the site, but if … Continue reading