Halloween Cookies

Halloween Cookies

Happy Halloween! I hope you all have a fun, safe and spooky day. I made some Halloween Cookies this weekend and share the gallery of photos below. Recipes for the Pumpkin Spice Latte Cookies, Vanilla Bean Cookies and Royal Icing are below. 

Pumpkin Spice Latte Sugar Cookies recipe: https://twofrys.blogspot.com/2020/10/pumpkin-spice-latte-cookies.html

Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies recipe: https://twofrys.blogspot.com/2021/08/five-nights-at-freddys-cookies.html

Royal Icing with Meringue Powder recipe: https://twofrys.blogspot.com/2020/10/halloween-cookies.html

-Sophia/Two Frys

Headless Horseman Cookies

 Headless Horseman Cookies

You may know well the tale of the Headless Horseman in Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I live about one hour from the quaint Village of Sleepy Hollow in Tarrytown, NY, and it is a place that is special to me and I recommend you visit for a great experience especially around this time of year. Unfortunately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many events are not happening this year. I hope to visit Sleepy Hollow again perhaps next year with the hope things are back to normal (or as normal as can be) and all the events return. In the meantime, read Irving's classic. I have read this book several times and also love the film of the same name. This is my Headless Horseman cookie in honor of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Happy Halloween!

Suggested links:

Village of Sleepy Hollow New York: https://www.sleepyhollowny.gov/

Visit Sleepy Hollow: https://visitsleepyhollow.com/

What Inspired 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'?: https://www.history.com/news/legend-sleepy-hollow-headless-horseman

Order the Headless Horseman Two Piece Halloween Cookie Cutters from SugarDashCo on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1064829073/headless-horseman-two-piece-halloween

Sleepy Hollow, Headless Horseman Centerpiece, Paper Lantern: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1080908811/sleepy-hollow-halloween-home-decor

-Sophia/Two Frys

Five Nights at Freddy's Cookies

Five Nights at Freddy's (FNAF) Cookies

My nephew turned 7 recently and he is a huge fan of Five Nights at Freddy's (FNAF) Cookies so my sister in law used this theme for his birthday party. I made cookies, she made an awesome FNAF cake and cupcakes, and her best friend made lots of desserts. For the cookies, I use wafer paper, edible markers, and an assortment of sprinkles. The party was held at the Bronx Burger House and it was a very loud and fun day! This vanilla bean sugar cookie is superb. The cookie texture is chewy and has a prominent vanilla flavor from the vanilla sugar, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean paste. I use an egg and dairy free icing for this recipe. 

Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie Ingredients

5 cups King Arthur All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 cups Vanilla Sugar

1 teaspoon Coarse Salt

2 cups (4 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened

1 tablespoon Coconut Milk (or any dairy free brand you prefer)

2 Large Eggs

2 teaspoons Clear Vanilla Extract

1 tablespoon Vanilla Bean Paste

Directions

Whisk together flour and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and vanilla sugar in a hand held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment on low; 1-2 minutes. Do not overmix.

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula and mix for 10 seconds.

Add eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated.

Scrape sides of bowl and mix for 5 seconds.

Add coconut milk, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean paste, and mix on low until incorporated; about 20-25 seconds.

Scrape sides of bowl and mix for 5 seconds.

Turn off mixer and add the flour mixture, and cover mixer with kitchen towel, and turn mixer on low speed and incorporate. 

The dough is ready when it begins to clump around paddle attachment.

Form into a disk shape and cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 1-3 hours or overnight. I chilled the dough for 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350°F.

Use two sheets of parchment paper with dough in between and roll with rolling pin until desired thickness is reached.

Take round cutter and make shapes. Repeat until you use all the dough.

Place onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and put in freezer for 30 minutes. The cookies hold their shape when you do this.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until the edges have slightly browned. 

Wait 5 minutes before transferring cookies on cooling racks to complete cooling.

Decorate once cookies have cooled completely.

Egg-Dairy Free Icing (Double recipe if you have more than 40 cookies)

6 cups Powdered/Confectioners' Sugar, sifted

1/2 cup Coconut Milk + 1 tablespoon extra (for flooding cookies)

1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup

2 teaspoons Clear Vanilla Extract

Directions

In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar; set aside.

Using stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment on medium-high speed, combine sugar and 1/4 cup of coconut milk and mix for 1-2 minutes until smooth.

Add remaining 1/4 cup of milk one teaspoon at a time until you reach the consistency you need.   

Add corn syrup, vanilla extract, and mix for 10 seconds.

I separate the icing in plastic containers with lids according to how many different colors needed for tinting. This time I only needed white so no tinting was needed.

Keep the containers covered until you are ready to color.

Transfer the icing immediately into squeeze bottles, pastry bags fitted with desired tips, or tipless bags.

Outline each cookie and then immediately flood it.

Let cookies dry for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Wafer Paper Ingredients

Iced cookies

Cut wafer paper designs

Craft scissors

Craft brush

1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup (to adhere wafer paper to icing)

Directions

Using a craft knife, carefully cut the designs carefully. Wafer paper is very thin and will tear easily. 

Make sure the icing is completely dry.

Add light corn syrup to a small bowl. 

Dip the brush into the syrup and gently cover the undecorated side of the wafer paper design, and gently adhere onto each cookie. Run your finger around the edge of the design and press gently. Repeat this step until you adhere all the wafer paper designs. 

Let the cookies set overnight so they do not stick together and so the wafer paper does not tear.

I purchased the wafer paper from toppers.usa: https://www.ebay.com/usr/toppers.usa

For the icing recipe visit, The Slow Roasted Italian: http://www.theslowroasteditalian.com/2013/12/best-tasting-sugar-cookie-icing-recipe.html

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Root Beer Float

 Root Beer Float

There is never a bad time for a refreshing root beer float. It is simplicity at its best and a great dessert. All you need is vanilla ice cream and root beer for a classic float. First add 2-3 scoops of vanilla ice cream and gently pour root beer over it. Then simply watch the vanilla ice cream float to the top and enjoy to the last drop. Allen loved going to A&W Root Beer locations in Northern California as a youngster. He would order a hamburger with French fries and a root beer float, and go with his parents and grandparents. When I made these, he was taken back to fond memories with his family. If you love vanilla ice cream and root beer and never had one, you need to try it. 

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Allen's Birthday Cake

Allen's Birthday Cake

This is a quick post to share the awesome hot sauce cake my sister in law Sonia made Allen for his birthday. It was a decadent tasting and spicy chocolate cake, and Allen loved it. The crumb was rich and tender and full of chocolate flavor with a spicy kick. Sonia also made a cake for my brother and Mom so we celebrated three birthdays on the same day. It was fun being together since we have only gotten together a handful of times due to the COVID pandemic. 

-Sophia/Two Frys

Easter Cookies

 Easter Cookies

I hope everyone that celebrates Easter had a wonderful one. This was the first time in over a year since COVID-19 that Allen and I were able to go to a small family gathering. It was great spending time with everyone, and I hope things get back to normal soon. Now onto cookies and I mean it when I say these are the best vanilla sugar cookies I ever tasted. The ingredients feature vanilla 3 ways: vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, and vanilla sugar. The taste is a perfect vanilla flavor profile, and the cookie texture is chewy but firm. Since my nephew has an egg allergy, I did not use royal icing but an egg-dairy free icing. I love this icing as it has a lovely shine, tastes great, and have used it for many years. I highly recommend this recipe alternative if you cannot use egg whites. Happy Spring and stay safe!

Vanilla Sugar Cookie Ingredients
5 cups All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 cups Vanilla Sugar

1 teaspoon Coarse Salt

2 cups (4 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened

1 tablespoon Coconut Milk Cream (or Almond or other dairy free blend)

2 Large Eggs

2 teaspoons Clear Vanilla Extract

1 tablespoon Vanilla Bean Paste

Directions
Whisk together flour and salt; set aside. 

Cream butter and vanilla sugar in a hand held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment on low; 1-2 minutes. Do not overmix.

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula and mix for 10 seconds.

Add eggs one at a time, mix until incorporated. Scrape sides of bowl and mix for 5 seconds.

Add coconut milk, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean paste, and mix on low until incorporated; about 20-25 seconds.

Scrape sides of bowl and mix for 5 seconds.

Turn off mixer and add the flour mixture, and cover mixer with kitchen towel, and turn mixer on low speed and incorporate. 

The dough is ready when it begins to clump around paddle attachment.

Form into a disk shape and cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 1-3 hours or overnight. I chilled the dough for 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350°F.

Use two sheets of parchment paper with dough in between and roll with rolling pin until desired thickness is reached.

Take cutters and make shapes. Repeat until you use all the dough.

Place onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and put in freezer for 20-30 minutes. The cookies hold their shape when you do this.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until the edges have slightly browned. 

Wait 2-3 minutes before transferring cookies on cooling racks to complete cooling.

Decorate once cookies have cooled completely.

Egg-Dairy Free Icing (Double recipe if you have more than 40 cookies)

6 cups Powdered/Confectioners' Sugar, sifted

1/2 cup Coconut Milk + 1 tablespoon extra (for flooding cookies) (or Almond)

1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup

2 teaspoons Clear Vanilla Extract 

Directions
In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar; set aside.

Using stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment on medium-high speed, combine sugar and 1/4 cup of coconut milk and mix for 1-2 minutes until smooth.

Add remaining 1/4 cup of milk one teaspoon at a time until you reach the consistency you need.   

Add corn syrup, vanilla extract, and mix for 10 seconds.

I separate the icing in plastic containers with lids according to how many different colors needed for tinting.

Keep the containers covered until you are ready to color.

Transfer the icing immediately into squeeze bottles, pastry bags fitted with desired tips, or tipless bags.

Outline each cookie and then immediately flood it.

Decorate as desired.

Let cookies dry overnight.

For the Icing recipe visit, The Slow Roasted Italian:
http://www.theslowroasteditalian.com/2013/12/best-tasting-sugar-cookie-icing-recipe.html

The flower designs were inspired by, The Cake Blog:

https://thecakeblog.com/2019/04/flower-sugar-cookies.html

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys