Iced Sugar Cookies

Hey friends!

One of my sweet friends just had a precious baby boy.  I am going to visit him this week for the first time, so I wanted to make them something special.  I decided that iced sugar cookies would be the best sweet treat for this sweet, new family!

This recipe is from the book, 1 Dough, 100 Cookies by Linda Doeser.  It's such a great recipe book!  Every cookie I've made has been delicious, and these are no exception.  They have lots of great buttery, sugary flavor...I love it!  I did alter the icing recipe a tad to fit my personal preferences, but it only made them better!  This was an easy, fun way to make some really neat cookies.  Enjoy!

Fresh out of the oven...yum!

Frosted and drying...

Ingredients:

For the dough:
1 cup butter, softened
scant 3/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
salt

To decorate: (my variation)
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1-2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
edible food colorings
sprinkles
food coloring pen (for writing)

Directions:

Cream the butter and sugar.  Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract.  Sift together the flour and a pinch of salt into the mixture and combine thoroughly.  Halve the dough, shape into balls, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line two cookie sheets with baking parchment.

Unwrap the dough and roll out between 2 sheets of baking parchment to about 1/8 inch thick.  Stamp out cookies in desired shape and put them on the prepared cookie sheets spaced well apart.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until light golden brown.  Let cool on the cookie sheets for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

To decorate, mix together confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla.  It should have the consistency of thick cream.  Divide the frosting among 3-4 bowls and add a few drops of your chosen food colorings to each.  Spread the different frostings over the cookies to the edges.  Decorate with sprinkles, shredded coconut, etc.  Let the frosting set before writing on it with a food coloring pen.

Special cookies for baby Landry! :)

Shrimp Scampi au Gratin

Hey friends!

If you like shrimp, this is the dish for you!  I'm not sure where I found this recipe, but it's been in our monthly rotation for awhile now.  It's so easy to make, and tastes delicious!  Even if you're not a huge seafood fan, you'll like this dish.  The bread crumb mixture gives the shrimp this buttery, decadent taste that's to die for!  It literally takes about 20 minutes to throw this whole meal together, so it's perfect for a busy weeknight meal.  My husband loves this and raves over it every time I make it!  Enjoy!

Combine melted butter, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Parmesan, oregano and pepper.

Place cleaned and deveined shrimp in baking dish and sprinkle with lemon juice.

Spoon bread crumb mixture over shrimp.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.  Place under broiler until crumb topping is golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 pound medium-sized shrimp
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon crushed oregano
black pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Clean and devein shrimp (or buy it already cleaned and deveined, like me).  Place in 9x13 inch baking dish and sprinkle with lemon juice.  Combine butter, crumbs, garlic, parsley, Parmesan, oregano, and black pepper.  Spoon the mixture over the shrimp.  Bake uncovered for 15 minutes.  Place under broiler until crumb topping is golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Tastes great served with whole wheat linguine or brown rice!