Rainbow Flag Cookies

As an ally to the LGBTQ+ community I wanted to show my support during Pride Month by making these Rainbow Flag Cookies.  While they may look complicated to make they really aren't.  These cookies are essentially a slice and bake cookie.  I used my favorite sugar cookie recipe and divided the dough into six equal portions which were tinted the colors of the rainbow.  Here's an easy acronym to remember what the colors are and the order they're placed in: ROYGBV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet).

 

To shape the I dough into a flag I used a long, rectangular box that was 12" L x 2 3/4" W x 2" D in size. Each portion of color tinted dough was spread into the box and flattened as evenly as possible before adding the next layer.   An hour-long chill in the fridge ensured that I could easily slice the dough before baking.  I just love how the rainbow flag cookies turned out.  The colors are so vibrant and cheerful.  

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!

 

Chocolate Chip Cake

 

This Chocolate Chip Cake came about because of a recent baking failure.  But I've learned that out of defeat one can find victory.  I had seen a post on Instagram for a chocolate chip cake that looked so delicious and was super easy to make, i.e., no appliance needed, so I gave it a go. Sadly I was disappointed with the results.  Instead of chocolate chips that were evenly distributed among the cake I got chips that sunk to the bottom of the cake like an anchor.  On top of that, the cake part was nothing to write home about.  

 

Never one to give up I persevered and decided to apply the chocolate chip concept to a tried and true cake recipe that I've made before.  The three layer cake you see in this blog post is the end result of that adaption and it tastes amazing!   

 

 

The recipe for the white cake and American style vanilla buttercream comes from Cake by Courtney.    If you've never heard of Courtney before I highly recommend you follow her.  Her cakes not only look beautiful, but they also taste incredible.  I think her white cake is the best "from scratch" one out there with an amazingly tender and tight crumb.  My only update to her recipe was the addition of chocolate chips to the cake batter. 

 

While I normally frost my cakes with Swiss meringue buttercream, for this cake I went with Courtney's American-style whipped vanilla buttercream.  American-style buttercream contains no eggs and is made with butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla and salt.  Due to good amount of beating using a stand mixer the texture of the frosting is light and fluffy, similar to SMB. Be forewarned though it is a lot sweeter than European buttercreams.  Moderate application of this buttercream was key to avoid a sickeningly sweet cake.

Watermelon Sugar Cookies

 

There's nothing better on a hot summer day than a slice of refreshing, cool watermelon, am I right?  Wouldn't it be even cuter in cookie form?  When I found myself recently with some leftover royal icing and I thought I would use it to make these Watermelon Sugar Cookies.  I absolutely love how they turned out and they couldn't be easier to make.

 

 

Using my favorite vanilla sugar cookie recipe I simply cut out shapes using a large round circle cutter and sharp knife.  As for decorating the cookies there's no special skill involved but it definitely helps if you have a decorating bag and small round decorating tip.  How fun are these cookies plated next to their real life doppelgänger?  I'll definitely be bringing these cookies to my next summer party.

 

 

Sour Cherry Pie

 

For the past few years it's been a family tradition to go cherry-picking in the month of May.  My parents literally live down the road from a u-pick farm which primarily grows the Coral Champagne and Tulare varieties.  There's nothing better than hand selecting the sweetest and firmest fruits right off the tree branches.  While the sweet cherries grown locally are perfect for snacking, when it comes to baked goods I prefer the sour variety.

 

 

 

At a springtime luncheon I hosted a few months ago a friend brought along a Sour Cherry Pie for dessert that was utterly delicious.  Unfortunately it's difficult to find fresh or fresh frozen sour cherries  in California and when I looked into having the frozen ones shipped from the Midwest or Washington state the costs were too exorbitant. 

Then I remembered seeing canned sour cherries at the supermarket, in the same location where the pie fillings were located.   I particularly like this brand because the fruit is packed in just water, no added sugar or other preservatives.  Using a Stella Parks filling recipe I added in sugar, tapioca starch, lemon juice and salt to the cherries.  When it came to the crusts of course I used my favorite one with vodka which guarantees the flakiest crust. 

I brought the pie to a recent Memorial Day barbecue and it got rave review from my family which aren't easy to come by.  Honestly, I wasn't sure how it would be received since I'd never made a sour cherry pie before but I was very happy with how much my family loved it.  Now that I know I can make cherry pie any time of the year this definitely will NOT be just a summertime dessert.