Dog Cookies

For those of you who know me, you know that there are few people critters I love more than dogs - especially MY dogs, Princess and Paco. There is something about the nature of a dog that speaks to my soul. My dogs are more like children to me than pets. In fact, for as long as I can remember, I've always loved dogs. My first pet was Sandy, the cockapoo. She was a rescue that came into our lives when I was a baby. She lived to be about 12 years old and passed away from congestive heart failure when I was in 6th grade. I was absolutely devastated but I know that she is snuggling with my mama in Heaven!

For my 16th birthday, my sister bought me my special Princess. She is a Schnoodle and very much so lives up to her name. Princess and I have been BFF since the day I got to take her home. She is the most loyal and protective dog I have ever known! Princess has been there for me through so much - in fact, we are so connected that she immediately knows when something is upsetting me. If I cry, she is right at my hip ready to console me. What's more, she doesn't even have to hear me cry, she just instinctively knows when I'm upset. Empathy is definitely Princess's 6th sense and I love her so much!

Princess, schnoodle (born 8.09.1999)

Francis never had the experience of a puppy growing up, so I knew we had to have a young puppy when it was [finally] time to get one. I had wanted a puppy for a very long time, but Francis was adamant about  waiting until after the wedding was over to bring one home. Since I'm not really known for my "patience" and generally get my "way", Paco came into our lives just two days after returning from our Honeymoon. A common hobby of ours at the time was to tour open houses with our friends Bobby and Amanda. After an open house adventure on a Sunday afternoon, I [somehow] convinced Francis to "just look" at puppies - we only had about 45 minutes until the store closed anyway. (Enter devious smile here.) Anywho, we noticed Paco in a glass box and the rest is history. We instantly fell in love - as do most people who meet Paco. He's the kind of dog who has never met a stranger and has no enemies. He is simply the happy-go-lucky gem that I am ever grateful for. The kid seriously sees right through me and accepts me for who I am. Paco would seriously be the perfect therapy dog, simply because he can't help but bring joy to any room. We love him so much and are so thankful he came into our lives!

Paco, maltichon (Born 3.17.2009)

You might be saying to yourself, Wait a minute, I thought the name of this post was "Dog Cookies". Hehe. I could seriously go on and on about my dogs - so in the interest of your readership, I'll get on to the cookie part. 

Over the last several months, I've been baking up a storm. I'd say the obsession began when I was locked up at home after having surgery on my shoulder last summer. One day I said to myself, Self, you are constantly baking for yourself and for others, why do your beloved dogs need to miss out on the goodies? And then the research began... On that day, when I began to research recipes for homemade dog cookies, I didn't have all of the ingredients for any one recipe. So, alas, I made my own - and I'm (especially the dogs!) super happy with the way they turned out! Here is the recipe I used: 

Dog Cookies

Ingredients:

1 C rolled oats (chopped and turned to "flour" in a food processor)

1 C cornmeal 

1/4 C peanut butter

2 bananas

Directions:

In a food process, pulse the oats several times until a fine flour is developed. Add in the remainder ingredients and pulse until a dough is formed. 

Empty the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. (It may be necessary to further "combine" ingredients so they are more cohesive.) Roll out dough using wax paper. Cut out in desired shapes. 

Place cut-out cookies on a silicon baking mat; bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. 

Seriously, my dogs beg for these cookies and they keep very well!

 I found this tiny bone cookie cutter at Hobby Lobby for $.50!

Go ahead and make these today. Your pooch(es) will thank you!

Photo credit (dog photos): Amy Moore Photography

Royal Icing

For the longest time, I've been petrified of royal icing. It may seem silly to be afraid of powdered sugar and water, but I suppose it's really about the fear of failure for me. Royal icing is so pretty, so detailed - I've always been afraid anything I created with royal icing would be a royal disaster.

Over the past several months, I've become much more confident in the kitchen, especially in the baking arena. When my favorite food blog, Annies Eats posted a tutorial on royal icing, my love for all things pretty took over and it was just the push I needed to take a stab at it. She has an amazing tutorial that walks you through the process step-by-step. Here is the link to the tutorial.

My first project with royal icing was for my husband's 7th grade basketball team's Christmas party. We decided to have the boys over for dinner and video games only a few days before the actual event, and naturally, I had to get into party-plan mode pretty quickly. The first thing I typically do for a party is plan the menu (after, of course, the invitations are sent - but this time the ole hubs took care of that part :-)). I map out my ideas in a fun notebook that I always carry with me and then decide on a finalized plan. However, the first thing I did for this party was decide on the favors - basketball cookies made with royal icing! I always like to have a "favor" of some sort when having a party like this. It just acts as sort of a reminder of the party and almost acts as a "thank you" for coming to our home and celebrating with us and it's a nice "finisher". 

Here is the basic foundation for the cookie. I colored the icing with both orange and brown Wilton food coloring to create the look of a basketball. Next, I stripped the cookies with the lines of a basketball with black icing.

The last step in decorating was to add the school mascot to the cookies in their school color. My favorite part about royal icing is the opportunity to use so much detail! I can't wait to make more sugar cookies with this technique!

It's difficult to see in this photo, but the red paper is embossed with "Happy Holidays" and matted on a white shiny paper. To make the departing gift a bit more personal, I had Coach Ramirez write a little note to each of the players on the reverse side thanking them for their dedication to the team and encouraging them to keep up the hard work. I placed all the cookies in cellophane bags and closed them with the thank you note and jingle bell, attaching them with basketball printed ribbon. The cookies all went in this basketball themed bowl that was placed near the door. (Side note: hilariously enough, I didn't have to tell the boys to take a cookie with them as they went. They somehow knew exactly what to do. They've apparently been to many parties with favors!)

I decided on a taco bar for the meal and I'm really happy with the decision. I'm fairly certain it's common knowledge that teenage boys eat a lot of food. So I was prepared with a lot of food! The only thing I wish I had done differently was have more snacks available. For some reason I forgot that 13 year old kids like JUNK food - not dinner. They ate all of the dessert cookies and hand pies in no time. And every time I brought something random out of my pantry and put it on the dessert plate, it was gone in a flash!

I had an absolute blast with these kids. Everyone I spoke to about the party used adjectives like "crazy" or "nuts" to describe Francis and I in this adventure. (And, I must admit, I was one of the folks calling myself one of the aforementioned adjectives!) However, I had no idea how good these kids were - respectful of me, my husband, our dogs and our home. I can't wait to have them over again! (But with more snacks available, of course.)

Go Carmel Cougars!

Roselyn Bakery Smiley Face Cookies

In my last post, I shared many of the details from my 1st Annual Cookie Party. (Do you like the reference to the "1st" cookie party - is it obvious enough that I plan to do this again??) Today, I'd like to share the cookies I made for the swap, as they are most definitely my favorite cookie of-all-time.

When I think of exchanging cookies with 20 or so other women, aside from drooling in anticipation, I immediately think about what I can bring to the table (pun most definitely intended). It's no secret that I have an insatiable sweet tooth. I eat chocolate every single day and almost never turn down a cookie. I'm the type of person who loves to try new recipes, especially sweet ones, but when it came to this party, I wanted to go with something I knew could never fail me. And that my friends is...

Roselyn Bakery's Smiley Face Cookies! These cookies are hands down my favorite cookie of all time and one of the reasons I obsess about them is the history I have with the cookie. 

From what I learned from Mr. Internet, Roselyn Bakery first opened its doors in 1943 in Indianapolis, Indiana and over the course of several decades, opened several additional bakeries in the Indianapolis area. (The bakery subsequently shut down in the 1990s due to rat feces found in the main baking facility...)

(Note on photo: since the bakeries closed prior to the digital age, I'm afraid there are very few images available of the old bakeries. Such a shame! I've yet to find a picture of the Smiley Face cookies or even an image of their infamous pink boxes!)

One of the warmest memories of my childhood would have to be Roselyn's Smiley Face cookies. They were HUGE (probably 5" wide) ovals, colored yellow, with a chocolate buttercream smiley face piped on. The bakery I frequented was in downtown Franklin, IN where I grew up. We lived just outside of town, close enough for me to ride my bike to snatch a $.99 cookie in the early 1990s. I can remember so vividly scraping up enough change to buy a cookie (or two) and to this day I remember the absolute joy in eating the cookie. I barely made it home without half the cookie gone, but I do remember trying to muster enough constraint to save at least half the cookie for "later". (Do you know how difficult it is for an 8 year old to savor anything?) Of course my mom (from whom I acquired such a lethal sweet tooth!) would often purchase a Smiley Face cookies for me - but there's just something about being a kid and being able to satisfy a craving of this magnitude on your own dime!

When I say, "favorite cookie of all time", I truly mean it. I couldn't tell you what I enjoy more - the childhood memories or the actual taste of the cookie. I'm fairly certain the taste is enhanced by the memories, but I'm sure I'd still love the cookies even without them. There is nothing else out there like it - and believe me, I've looked (and looked, and looked, and looked). The cookie is buttery and dense like a shortbread cookie - but with much more flavor. It's rich and melts in your mouth. It's even good enough to stand on its own. That said... it's actually the icing that makes this cookie so spectacular.

Just after sending the e-vite for the Cookie Swap, I promptly RSVP'd with my cookie of choice... my favorite childhood cookie... the Rosalyn Bakery Smiley Face cookie. (However, since the theme of the party was "snow" I shaped my cookies into snowflakes.)

Here is my messy kitchen while attempting to ice my snowflake cookies. The icing for this recipe is quite finicky and rather high maintenance (hence, the reason I typically only make this cookie once or twice per year). This icing is comprised of three varieties of sugar - granulated, powdered, and syrup. (And if you count sugar that has been boiled, then there are four varieties.) The idea is to "spoon" the icing over the cookies and allow gravity to pull the icing around every edge.The ooey, gooey-ness of the icing spills over all sides of the delectable cookies (and if you're lucky, some will magically appear on the bottom of the cookie as well). However... the icing becomes very thick very quickly and it's actually quite difficult to tell how much powdered sugar is actually adequate. (Or maybe that's just my excuse?) I'm also fairly certain the amount of time you are supposed to boil the sugar has an impact on the harden period, but the recipe is so vague it will take some time for me to figure that out. Anyway, with a bit of finagling, I had my cookies iced. For the small snowflakes, I scooped the icing into a pastry bag and whisked it back and forth over the cookies to create the stripped look. 

  Seriously, I've never experienced icing like this before.

Side-note-to-self: don't leave pastry bag with ooey-gooey icing near the edge of the counter, as your mini-baker will be standing by to lick up your mess! And he won't stop just because that sticky icing is dripping all over his face - he'll stand there any way and the require a bath in the middle of your cookie icing experience and therefore threaten the outcome of your cookie party contribution! Whew. I said it.


Anyway... Several years ago, I decided to scour the internet for the recipe for my beloved Smiley Face cookies after a major let down from a local grocery store that carries "Roselyn" recipe items. As luck would have it, I found a recipe that is so dangerously close to the original (as my memory would serve, any way) that I can make these cookies and immediately be taken back to my childhood.


And here you have it...

HAPPY FACE COOKIES
ROSELYN BAKERY


1 cup butter
1 1/4 cups Crisco shortening
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg white
4 egg yolks
5 1/4 cup all purpose flour
Dipping Icing (recipe follows)


Cream together butter, shortening, sugar, salt and vanilla. Mix only until smooth. Add egg white and egg yolks. Blend into butter mixture. Add flour. Mix until dough is stiff and waxy. Refrigerate dough until firm.


WHEN READY TO BAKE:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


Roll out dough between two sheets of wax paper. Cut into rounds. Place on lightly greased baking sheets. 
Bake at 350 for 13 minutes. Let cool and place on wire rack to cool completely. 
Spoon dipping icing over each cookie. Decorate as desired.


Makes 4 dozen cookies

DIPPING ICING


1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
6 - 7 cups powdered sugar, divided use
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
yellow food coloring


Combine granulated sugar, water, and 1/2 cup powdered sugar to saucepan. Bring to rolling boil. Remove pan from heat and set aside to cool.


Place vegetable oil and corn syrup in a mixing bowl. Stir in the cooled mixture. Add remaining powdered sugar and mix until all lumps are gone. Add vanilla while mixing. Mix together well. Stir in yellow food coloring as needed for a smiley face color. Pipe chocolate buttercream icing on (or not) as you wish.