Hoot Owl Cookies....Hoot! Hoot!

When I was a little girl, my fondest memories are of my mother happily baking in the kitchen. And in the Autumn and Winter, she was baking every chance she could get. I remember once coming home from "trick 'r treating" to the smell of homemade raised donuts. Ooooh if you ever tasted my mother's donuts, it would ruin you for life on the donut shops!

This recipe for Hoot Owl Cookies is a refrigerator cookie. Mom used to make these around Halloween.
It comes from an Old Pillsbury Family cookbook, but I have adjusted the recipe a bit.

2-1/2 cups cake flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp fine salt

3/4 cup butter

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp madagascar vanilla

1/4 teaspoon Caramel Lorann Oil

1-1/2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled

1/4 tsp baking soda

***

For decorating

Semi-sweet or Milk chocolate Chips for eyes

White Chocolate Chips or Cashews for beak

In a bowl, Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Set aside. In mixing bowl, cream butter with electric mixer at med speed , beat until creamy smooth, then gradually add brown sugar, incorporating well. Add egg, vanilla and Lorann Oil and mix well. Stir in flour mixture, adding 1/4 cup at a time until well mixed.

Divide cookie dough into thirds, and remove 1/3 dough. Stir baking soda into chocolate, then add to the 1/3 dough, mixing well. Cover and chill until the dough can be easily handled.

Divide the plain and chocolate dough in half. Return half of the dough to refrigerator.

Roll the plain dough to a 4-1/2 x 10" rectangle on lightly floured wax paper. Roll the chocolate dough into a 10" long roll. Place the chocolate roll on the center of the rectangle

.

Lift the sides of the of the wax paper to roll cover the chocolate roll with the plain dough.

Wrap the wax paper around the dough and chill. Repeat process with remaining cookie dough.

Chill dough well, for at least two hours. I usually prepare the night before and allow to chill overnight for easier handling.

***************

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the firmly chilled roll into 1/8-1/4" slices.

Place two sliced cookies touching in the middle on a greased cookie sheet or Silpat mat.

This creates the owl face with two eyes.

After all the cookies are placed on the cookie sheet, they will have softened. Pinch the top corners of the cookie to make ears.

If you want to make a Menacing Owl, push the top of plain cookie dough forward over chocolate dough eye, as shown.

Place one chocolate chip on each eye. You can place them with the point up, but I also like to push the pointed end of the chocolate chip into the cookie to create a flat pupil to the eye.

The original recipe calls for a cashew nut for the owl's beak. This is quick and easy, and once the cookies are baked and cooled, they will be ready to serve. But because nut allergies have become prevalent, if I am baking for a group other than my family, I wait until the cookies have cooled and add the beak later, using white chocolate.

Bake the cookies in a 350 oven for 8-12 minutes until lightly browned on the sides. Remove from oven and place cookies on a cooling rack.

When the cookies have thoroughly cooled, melt about 1/2 cup of White Chocolate chips. Spoon melted chocolate into a plastic pastry bag with a #8 tip.

Pipe a bead on the left side of bottom center, as shown. Repeat same step on the right side, the pipe over the middle, pulling down to the bottom creating a beak.

Allow the chocolate to completely cool and firm up.

You can make these look like cute Hoot owls, or if I make them look menacing,
my husband calls them Horned Owls.

To each his own.

Hey, it is Halloween after all! We can become anything we want on that day!!

Happy Hauntings!




Note:
The creator of this recipe is Natalie R Riggin

It was the 2nd Grand Prize Winner in the Pillsbury Bakeoff in 1956

The link to the original recipe

Thank you Natalie. This has been a family favorite for years!

Photos by Jacque Benson -2009 all rights reserved.

Key Lime Cookie Tree Centerpiece

Key Lime Cookie Tree

  Ingredients and Supplies

  Cookies

·                        1 cup butter (no substitutes)

·                        1/2 cup sugar

·                        1/4 cup Nellie and Joes’ key lime juice

·                        1 teaspoon vanilla

·                        2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

·                        ¼  cup confectioner’s sugar

·                         

 Icing

·                       2 tablespoon meringue powder

·                        1/4 cup warm water 

                     + 2 tablespoons key lime juice

·                        3 cups sifted powdered sugar

·                        1 teaspoon vanilla

·                        1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

·                        1 - 2 colors assorted paste food coloring-

                     mint green, teal, aqua

·                         

Supplies

·                        Rolling Pin

·                        Parchment Paper

·                        2” and 1” leaf cookie cutters

·                        Thin bamboo skewers, cut to 3” lengths

·                        Tooth picks

·                        Piping bags

·                        #2 or #3 piping tip

·                        Glue

·                        6 inch Styrofoam cone
                          6-8” plastic plate or covered cardboard cake circle

·                        Small needlenose craft pliers

·                        Confectioner’s Sugar for decorating

                         silver and/or gold dragees (optional)

·                        White Sparkle gel
                         Star shaped lollipop

Directions

·                               1. Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Beat
in sugar until combined. Beat key lime juice, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour with a wooden spoon. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill 1 hour or overnight until easy to handle.

·                               2. Sprinkle Parchment paper with confectioner’s sugar. Roll each portion
of dough on a lightly dusted surface until 1/4-inch thick. Cut out using floured light leaf-shape cookie cutters. Lift away unused cookie dough, wrapping in plastic wrap and place back in refrigerator to cool. Insert bamboo skewer into larger leaf cookies, and toothpick into center of small leaf cookies. 
(If skewer is exposed, pinch dough up around the skewer to cover, then place that side down on the parchment
paper. )  Place the parchment with cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet.

·                               3. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown around edges. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool. Allow to cool completely before icing the leaves.

·                               4. For icing: combine meringue powder, warm water, key lime juice, powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, then on high speed for 7 to 10 minutes or until smooth and of spreading consistency. Divide into portions and color with aqua, teal, and mint green paste food coloring. Use at once to frost cookies.

 

·                               5. Fill piping bag with icings and pipe a Line around the edge of each cookie.

When finished, thin remaining icing with water until proper consistency for flooding cookies.  Icing is ready to fill  in outlines when a small amount dropped  from a spoon into the mixture disappears on the count of ten..

  Place on racks until set.

 

·                               6.Glue Styrofoam cone onto a plastic  plate or covered cake circle. ( I inverted a clear plastic plate purchased from the dollar store.) Sprinkle confectioner’s sugar onto the cone.

·                               7. Starting at the bottom, carefully push the larger cookies into the Styrofoam cone using a pair of small needlenose craft pliers on skewers and toothpickes. Do not push on cookies as they will break. 

Continue adding cookies , using large cookies at bottom, then adding smaller cookies toward the top of cone. Use leftover small leaf cookies to fill in gaps on lower part of cone.

·                               8.To decorate the tree, run a small line of sparkle gel around the tips
of cookies to resemble icicles.  Place dragees on the tips of leaves. The sparkle gel will hold the dragees in place. Sprinkle the tree with confectioners sugar to resemble snow. Cut stem of lollipop to 2” and
place the star lollipop on top of the tree by inserting stem into upper tip of cone.

 Tutorial and photography by Jacque Benson

All rights reserved 2011

This material may not be republished or reproduced in any manner without the expressed permission of the author.

Recipe inspired and adapted from

Lime Cookie Lights by Better Homes and Gardens

Grandma's Sherry Cake

Looking for something a little different to serve for the holidays?

My Grandmother made the best sherry cake I have ever eaten.
After she passed away, I found her prize recipe.
Although her recipe was a doctored cake mix, her secret to
this very special cake was the thin custard she drizzled over
the cake while still warm.



I decided to recreate her cake by replacing the doctored cake mix with a recipe using all ingredients from scratch.
Here is the result:

Grandma's Sherry Cake

4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup cream sherry
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1-2/3 cups cake flour
1/3 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, almond flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder; set aside. With mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add sherry and incorporate into cream cheese, then cream in butter and add oil in a stream until emulsified.
Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add dry ingredients gradually until mixed in, then add vanilla.

*Pour into a prepared 9" pan ( greased and floured ) and bake for 30-35 minutes until cake tester comes out clean.
Place on cooling rack, and while warm drizzle sugar syrup over cake. Allow to cool to room temp, then drizzle custard icing over all.

Sugar Syrup

1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 T cream sherry
1 tsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add sherry and vanilla.

Sherry Custard Icing

2/3 cup milk
4 Tablespoons flour
1/2 cup cream sherry
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter

Stir milk and flour in heavy saucepan over med heat, stirring constantly until thickened to the consistency of heavy cream; add sherry and stir until well thickened. Cool until just warm.
In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy with a mixer. While beating, slowly pour in warm custard sauce and continue beating until smooth. Cool to room temperature.
Pour over cake.

* Can also be baked in 2- 6" pans.





recipe by Jacque Benson 2008

Lady Bug, Lady Bug, Fly Away Home

How to make a cute little lady bug:

3/4" ball black fondant
 pink fondant
 green fondant
Gum glue*
3/4" Circle Cutter
Scissors
#10 piping tip

*To make gum glue mix 1/8 tsp Tylose powder with
1 oz. warm water

Pinch a bit of black fondant

 and make a ¼” ball.   

Using the rest of the gumpaste,

 make an oval.

 Attach the two

 and set aside.

Roll out a small amount

 of pink fondant 

and using the ¾” cutter,

 make a circle.

With the scissors,

 cut a small “v” at one end of circle. 

 Press a line from “v” to other end of circle. Moisten the black ladybug

 with gum glue, and attach the pink ladybug wings. 

Roll a small amount

of green fondant very thin. 

Cut 5-6 dots from the green fondant

 using the small end of #10 piping tube.   

Place green dots  pink circle.

2015 All Rights Reserved

Jacque Benson

This material may not be reproduced without permission from the author.

Gingham Flower Topper Tutorial

Looking for a fun way to create a summer styled cake? When I think of summer, gingham comes to mind.
So I incorporated my love of summer gingham checks with fondant and flowers and ....here it is!

 SUMMER GINGHAM FLOWER TOPPER

Supplies:

Fondant- 1 lb. white

                ¾ inch ball of electric yellow

                8 oz. neon or electric Pink

                4 oz. neon or electric Green

                 ½ inch ball of black            

Orange petal dust

Bright green petal dust

Fondant Roller and Mat

Small stripes or gingham stencil

2 Clean Foam make-up wedges

Ruffled Heart cutter 2”

Heart cutter-1”

Gum glue

PME Wheel cutter

3” Leaf cutter

¾”, 1” and 3” circle cutter

Small blossom cutter

#2, 10 piping tube

Small scissors

Button

Roll out yellow gumpaste

 into thin layer.

 Cut a circle using a ¾” cutter. 

 Using the large end of

the #2 piping tube, 

make a slight indention

 in the circle.  

 Turn the piping tube over

 and make two or four holes

 in the center

 to create a button.

 Set aside to dry.

Flower

1. Roll out white fondant into a rectangle approximately 3”x 12”.

2. Lay stencil over the fondant 

and press into the fondant

 by gently rolling over the stencil.

Using the wedge foam applicator,

 apply a layer of orange petal dust

 over the fondant.

Lift the stencil, 

and wipe it clean 

with a paper towel.

 

Lay crosswise over the 

stenciled fondant 

and repeat process.

3. Cut 5 ruffled hearts,

 lightly cover with plastic wrap

 and set aside.

 4. Roll out pink fondant approximately 5”x 12”. 

 Using your ruffled heart cutter,

 make an very light indention for a guide, 

then moisten the inside of the heart with gum glue.

Lay the patterned heart petal 

over the moistened fondant.  

Using a ruffled cutter or a PME wheel cutter 

and cut 1/8”away from the edge of heart petal,

creating a pink border. 

Repeat with the remainder of the petals.  

 Cover and set aside.

For smaller petals, roll out white fondant

 into a rectangle approximately 3”x 10”. 

 Press the clean stencil over the

 fondant in a diagonal. 

 Using the wedge foam applicator, 

apply a layer of of orange petal dust

 over the fondant. Lift stencil.

Repeat steps 3 – 4,
this time using a 4”x12” rectangle
of pink fondant.

Cover and set aside.

Thoroughly wash and dry stencil.

For the leaves, roll out white fondant

 into a 5” x 4” rectangle. 

Repeat steps 2-4 with green petal dust 

and green fondant using the leaf cutters.   

Cover and set aside.

To assemble flower:

Cut a 3” circle from white or pink fondant and moisten. 

Pinch the heart petals, 

as shown,

 then press into the

 center of the circle.   

Continue process,

overlapping the petals.

 Roll out a small amount of 

pink fondant and cut a 1” circle. 

Moisten with gum glue.

 Pinch the smaller heart petals, as before, 

then press into the center of the circle. 

Continue process, overlapping the petals

Roll out pink fondant and cut a flower,

 using the blossom cutter. 

Moisten the back and place 

 in the center.

Moisten center top with gum glue 

and place button in center of flower.

Attach the leaves, using gum glue,

 to bottom of circle.

Place cotton or 1” strips of rolled paper towels to give petals some lift. 

Set aside and allow to dry.

When ready, place on top of cake.

Jacque Benson. All rights reserved 2014
This tutorial and photography is the property of Jacque Benson- copyright 2014- and used with permission from the author. This material may not be used, copied or printed without expressed permission from the author, Jacque Benson.