Can you make Rolled Sugar Cookies in Hot and Humid Florida?!

Hello hello!

Story time! So since forever, I have been told that it is way too hot and humid in Florida. Depending on the recipe you make, that is totally true. I have tried to make rolled sugar cookies in the past and it was a total fail, even using a very cold pan! This year I was dang determined to make Rolled Sugar cookies! I researched and researched recipes that could work well in hot and humid conditions. I had found one earlier in the month and m*eye roll* So, I set out again looking.

I happened upon the recipe by In Katrina's Kitchen for what she calls the Best Sugar Cookie Recipe. I chose her recipe in the end because it is a No-Chill dough and lets be real right now, I don't have the patience to chill cookie dough for hours. I also colored my dough green, because they are Christmas Cookies and my Mom is the one who suggested using the sprinkles. I followed her recipe exactly, except I apparently missed the whole "you can add more flour" when you are rolling it part. Which is okay! I don't think they needed more flour, but if you are rolling your cookies straight on your countertop, definitely use flour so they don't stick. I rolled mine out between two sheets of parchment paper. I saved myself a mess because you don't need that extra flour!

Here is her recipe!

INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup unsalted butter
1 Cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups all purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In the bowl of your mixer cream butter and sugar until smooth, at least 3 minutes
Beat in extracts and egg.
In a separate bowl combine baking powder with flour and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients. The dough will be very stiff. If it becomes too stiff for your mixer turn out the dough onto a countertop surface. Wet your hands and finish off kneading the dough by hand.
DO NOT CHILL THE DOUGH. Divide into workable batches, roll out onto a floured surface and cut. You want these cookies to be on the thicker side (closer to 1/4 inch rather than 1/8).
Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack.

Please though, so see all of the extra info she added, please please go to her blog post! http://www.inkatrinaskitchen.com/best-sugar-cookie-recipe-ever.

This recipe was super super easy to make! It also turned out great! Even with the addition of the gel food color! Her recipe says you will get 3 dozen out of it, but I didn't and I am not sure why. I made have made them too thick, however, in the 7 minutes I baked them for, they came out perfectly cooked and even when cooled they were still soft! So yummy.

So yes, it is totally possible to make rolled sugar cookies in Florida! It was so hot and humid the day I made these and they came out great! 


Have you ever tried to make rolled sugar cookies before?! Did you have problems with your dough?! Are you more tempted to make them now?! I would love to know your favorite Christmas Cookie recipes!

Autty xx

Making Fresh Pumpkin Puree!

Hello Hello!

I know, I know. I do have more beauty posts that I want to get done, I just simply haven't had the time! I have however, been baking and preparing some things for the Holiday season(s). I do have posts planned! They will be coming soon, I just wanted to get this out quick with Thanksgiving on the way!

I have made this recipe a few times, but let us not kid ourselves I ate it, it did not go into a pie. Don't judge me. Also, because of that "Earth shattering" revelation that Libby's canned pumpkin puree is NOT actually pumpkin 9 times out of 10, I have heard a lot of people saying they want to make their own. It is super simple! Don't shy away from making it yourself! Plus, I mean you could always make ravioli with it or something else! You don't have to make a pie with it! The sky is the limit!

I am not going to beat around the bush, this kind of can turn into a process depending on how much liquid your pumpkin decides to give off. You could get a dry pumpkin or even a moist one! You can't really tell until you are done cooking it.

Don't go out and buy a HUGE jack-o-lantern pumpkin, because those don't really work. You need one of the small pie pumpkins, which is what we shall be using. If you want a big pumpkin I would say they may be better for eating...not so much baking...They are grown to be huge, so they may have less flavor then one of the smaller ones.


Preheat your oven to 375°F.

Cut the stem of your pumpkin off and then cut it in half and clean all of the seeds out of the inside of the pumpkin. This is pretty important, because you can get rid of all of the stringy bits and roast the seeds later.

After you have cut your pumpkin in half and cleaned it out, put it cut side down on a baking sheet. You don't need any oil or any sugar. Roast the pumpkin for 45 minutes, or until the skin darkens. 

The pumpkin flesh should start to pull away from the skin, but if it doesn't don't fret. I don't feel that it is that big of a deal. The biggest thing you want to make sure happens, if that the whole thing is soft. You want the whole pumpkin to be cooked!

Let the pumpkin cool down enough to where you can handle it. You should be able to peel the skin away from the flesh, if not don't worry! You can always take a spoon and just scrape it out! That is what I did!

This really is when you find out the water content of your pumpkin. Unfortunately, the water content in mine was high...so this is really where it becomes a little tedious. After you process your pumpkin you need to let it drain. I used my mesh strainer, but ultimately in the end I ended up using cheese cloth and just squeezing out as much of the water as I could.

Don't waste your pumpkin juice though! I actually poured it into my hair, because it is good for that and lawdy loo. I had some pretty shiny and nice hair for a week!

Anyways, you want to try and get out as much of the juice as you can, it will make for a better puree, especially if you are going to use it in a pie. Don't make it as dry as the desert though!

One small pie pumpkin gave me 1 CUP of pumpkin puree. I know, that doesn't seem like a lot! Especially for the work, but one cup of pumpkin is what you need for a pumpkin pie. So I am happy with what I got out of it. That is the exact amount that I needed!

Freezing wise, I have seen people say to not do it and some who say freeze it for 6-8 months. I never usually freeze mine, but I made my pumpkin puree about a month before I actually needed it.

Once you have your pumpkin ready, just throw it in a ziploc bag and label it for the freezer!...or don't because I sure as heck didn't!

So what do you think? Is this something you would do instead of using the canned pumpkin?!