Christmas is here!!!

So last weekend I went to my annual Christmas cookie swap! It was a great time! I'll post up a photo of my cookies I took! They're 1978 angels using a Wilton cutter.. I also made gingerbread Christmas bulbs, and cool whip cookies, too but I forgot to take pics of those.

So I have a couple of recipes from the party I'll share in a separate post.

Gingerbread Cookies!

So every year here in town we have our annual festival. It's a pretty big deal, but mostly because of the FOOD! LOL A lot of us townies have been every year so we go for our constant food tent staples. One of the best things I try to snag every year is the gingerbread cookies put on by the local Women's Club. Now these ladies know how to do cookies, so well that they sell out the first day almost every year and they now have been selling them by the dozens the past couple years. 

So if you manage to get ahold of some of these cookies each year, you lucked out!

I have faced the bitter disappointment of missing out on them a couple times, so I asked around if anyone knew the recipe...

Finally this year paid off! 

If this isn't exact, it's pretty darn close!!!

Gingerbread Boys

• 1 cup of Crisco shortening
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of molasses
• 2 tablespoons of vinegar
• 5 cups of flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1 tablespoon of powdered ginger

1. Cream together shortening, sugar and salt. 
2. Add and beat in egg, molasses and vinegar. 
3. Add all dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Chill for 3 hours or more.
5. Roll and cut, bake 8-10 minutes at 375.

Gingerbread Icing

• 2 lbs of powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup of Crisco
• 1/2 teaspoon of butter flavoring (emulsion)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1/2 cup of water

1. Mix all ingredients well!

Thanksgiving Cookies!

So I finished up the Thanksgiving cookies I was working, the day before. So I took them to work on Thanksgiving and they were a huge hit!

I used a new icing recipe and it turned out amazing!!!
It's from Sweet Sugar Belle's website and it was super easy to use!

Royal Icing

Yield: Approximately 5 cups

Ingredients

• 2 pounds {one bag} confectioner's sugar {907 grams}
• 5 tablespoons meringue powder {approximately 53 grams}
• 2-3 teaspoons oil-free extract or emulsion
• 1/2-3/4 cups warm water

Instructions

1. Begin by stirring the flavoring into half the water.
2. Using a paddle attachment, gently mix the sugar and meringue powder. It's not necessary to sift the sugar beforehand, but you can if you like.
3. With the mixer on it's lowest setting slowly add the water/flavoring mix to the dry ingredients. As the water is added, the icing will become thick and lumpy.
4. Continue to add the remaining water {this may or may not be the entire amount} until the mixture reaches a thick, honey like consistency. At this point, turn the mixer to medium speed and whip 2-4 minutes until this icing is thick and fluffy. Mixing time can vary greatly so watch carefully and stop mixing when the icing is this enough to form a soft peak.