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INGREDIENTS

For the Sugar Cookies:

• 4.5 cups oz all-purpose flour (4.5 cups)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 3/4 granulated sugar 
• 8 oz unsalted butter (1 cup) at room temperature
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (can substitute lemon or almond extract)
• 2 TBSP buttermilk

For the Royal Icing:

• 6 Tbsp Merengue powder
• 3/4 cup water
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 1.5 tsp light corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (can substitute lemon or clear vanilla extract)
• Gel food coloring of your choice. 

INSTRUCTIONS

To Make the Sugar Cookies:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.

2. In the bowl, combine the butter and sugar, and mix everything together on medium speed until fluffy and well-mixed. 

3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla extract and buttermilk. With the mixer running on low, add the dry ingredients, and mix until they're just about incorporated. Stop the mixer when only a few streaks of flour remain. Finish mixing all the dough by hand.

4. Divide the dough in half and press each into a thin disc, wrapping well with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firmer but not hard, about 30 minutes.

5. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place a disc of dough between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper, and roll out until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Use a heart cookie cutter to cut out your cookies and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Combine the scraps and re-roll the dough to cut more cookies. Put the sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking to help the cookies hold their shape.

6. Bake the trays of cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just starting to take on color and they have lost the raw shine in the middle. Let the cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove them to wire racks to cool completely before decorating them.

To Make the Royal Icing:

1. Combine the meringue powder and water in the bowl. Mix them together on medium-low speed until frothy. Add the powdered sugar, corn syrup, and flavoring extract, and mix on low until the powdered sugar is moistened.

2. Turn the mixer speed back to medium-low and mix for 5 minutes, until the royal icing is shiny, stiff, and voluminous. Do not mix on high speed, and do not mix for very long or you may incorporate too many air bubbles and change the texture of your royal icing.

3. Separate out half of the icing to leave plain white, and press a piece of cling wrap on top so that it doesn’t form a crust.

4. Decide how many icing colors you want, and divide the remaining icing into that many bowls. I chose red and pink. Add a few drops of gel food coloring to each bowl of icing and stir by hand until the color is evenly distributed. 

5. The frosting consistency right out of the mixer is fairly stiff, but for most of the designs, you'll want a thinner consistency. If you want to make this design, separate out a portion of stiff frosting in the colors of your choice, and store it in an airtight container for now. For all of the other designs, you'll thin the frosting colors out by adding a spoonful of water at a time, and stirring slowly until it’s incorporated. You have the right consistency when you lift up a spoonful of icing, let it drip back into the bowl, and it takes about 15 seconds for the trail of icing to fully disappear in the bowl. Add water a little bit at a time to each color until you achieve this consistency.

Now for the fun part—DECORATING

Using your thicker icing (your choice of color), pipe an outline on each of the cookies and allow it to set. Given the consistency of your icing should take at least 10 minutes, probably longer. Then thin the remaining icing with a little bit of water and flood each of the squares.

Allow the cookies to dry overnight—Patience is a virtue. Unfortunately, it's one I do not have. Waiting is painful. 

Once your cookies have set, take your leftover icing and color it something different than what you flooded the cookies with. Now take your icing and pipe your messages, let set for a few hours and give to your loved ones! 

Isn't love grand? 

Spiced Apple Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake:

• 4 cups  all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1½ cups unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, at room temperature
• 2½ cups  granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups unsweetened applesauce

For the Salted Caramel Buttercream:

• 1½ cups (298 grams) granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup (40 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups (340 grams) whole milk
• ⅓ cup (76 grams) heavy cream
• 1½ cups (340 grams) unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup salted caramel sauce

For the Salted Caramel Sauce: CLICK ME

I personally did not add the fleur de sel because I can never find it in Kroger or Tom Thumb, but regular ol' sea salt usually does the trick. 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with a round of parchment paper, grease the parchment, then flour the pans, tapping out any excess.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice and cloves.
3. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter until creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until combined.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture to the mixer bowl in three parts, alternating with the applesauce, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix on low for an additional 30 seconds to combine.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and cool for 20 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the rack, remove the parchment, and allow to cool completely.
6. Make the Salted Caramel Buttercream: In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixtures comes to a boil and has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.
7. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter and vanilla; mix until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy. (It might seem like it won’t get to the fluffy point, but stick with it, it’ll get there!) Add the salted caramel sauce and continue mixing until combined and fluffy. (If the frosting is too soft, put the bowl in the refrigerator to chill slightly, then beat again until it reaches a fluffy consistency.)
8. Assemble the Cake: Make sure the rounds are cool before icing. If any of the cake layers have domed on top, trim the top off to create flat surfaces. Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Spread 1¼ cups of the frosting on top. Add the next layer and top with 1¼ cups of the frosting. Add the third layer on top and spread a very thin layer of frosting over the sides and top of the cake. Refrigerate until firm. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining frosting. Drizzle some additional salted caramel sauce on top and sprinkle with chopped peanuts. 

I obviously did not do number 8 correctly. If your cake also dies, remember, you can just as easily serve cake casserole. :) 

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

INGREDIENTS

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1½ cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1¼ cups pumpkin puree (Canned is ok. You can find it in the baking aisle.)
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13x9-inch square baking pan or dish. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper.
2. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. This is going to be your base batterPut sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl; beat until fluffy and well combined, (3 to 5 minutes). Beat in flour mixture. (This is now your base batter.)
4. Divide base batter between two medium bowls (about 2 cups per bowl). Stir chocolate mixture into one bowl. In other bowl, stir in pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
5. Transfer half of chocolate batter to prepared pan. Try to smooth batter out evenly. Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more chocolate layer and one more pumpkin layer. 
6. With a spoon, gently swirl the two batters to create a marbled effect.
7. Bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes
8. Serve to friends and family, and hear them "Ooh" then "Mmm". 

Raspberry Lemon Bars

Due to the catastrophe that happened during prep, these came out very lemon-y.  If you like sweet, you could probably add about one more cup of sugar to the lemon filling. 

INGREDIENTS

Crust-

• 8 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature (1 cup)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest grated

Raspberry Puree- makes ¾ cup puree

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 cup fresh raspberries

Lemon Filling-

• 7 large eggs
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest grated
• 1 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
• 1 cup flour

INSTRUCTIONS

Crust-

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Lightly spray a 9 by 13 inch by 2-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed (about 2 minutes) until light in color. Add the lemon zest and mix for a few seconds. Combine the flour and salt in a separate bowl. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the butter until just mixed (about 1 min).

3. Transfer dough to the dish and evenly press and flatten the dough into the baking pan. Chill the dough for 15 minutes. Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightlybrowned. Cool the crust in the baking sheet on a wire rack for about 30 minutes, until the dough is slightly firm. Keep oven heated to 350°F.

Raspberry Puree-

1. Put the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice in a small saucepan and whisk together. Add raspberries to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, constantly whisking until the puree has broken down and thickened and has come to a bubble (about 6 minutes).

2. Strain the hot thickened puree, discarding the seeds ( I was lazy and tired at this point so I didn't. It didn't really make a difference). Set the strained puree aside, at room temperature until ready to use.

Lemon Filling-

1. To make the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest and flour until combined. Gradually add the lemon juice and whisk until combined and pour over the crust. Add about a tablespoon spoonfuls of raspberry puree around the entire surface of the lemon mixture. Quickly drag a toothpick across the surface to create swirls ( my swirls were shit).

2. Carefully transfer to the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the filling, is set in the center. Let cool to room temperature.

3. Cut into squares or triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar and serve to sober friends