French Onion Soup

I have a similar conversation with Don every time I make this soup, and it goes something like this:

"I thought you didn't like onions." Don gives me a quizzical look.
"I like this."

I really don't like onions a whole lot, well, let me rephrase that, I don't like uncooked onions.  But this doesn't fall underneath that.  And since all of the onion flavor melds with the broth and you don't have that strong onion taste burning your tongue and making your breath stink for the next 24 hours, I make an exception.  Besides, I'm mildly obessed with anything French related.
The best part about this soup??  It doesn't take a long time to make and is comprised of a small list of ingredients, and since I always have onions, I pretty much always have the ingredients for this soup.  It's a wonderful thing to make when you don't feel like cooking.  And I'm all about that.

Here's the recipe:

French Onion Soup

• 2 TBSP butter
• 2 cups thinly sliced yellow onions (2 large)
• 4 cups beef broth
• 2 TBSP dry sherry or dry white wine (optional)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Dash black pepper
• 6 slices French bread, toasted
• 1 cup shredded Swiss, Gruyere, ro Jarlsberg cheese (4 oz., I usually only have mozzarella in fridge)

In a large saucepan, melt butter, add onions.  Cook  covered, over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until onions are tender and golden, stirring occasionally.  Stir in broth, sherry (if desired), Worcestershire sauce, and pepper.  Bring to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, sprinkle toasted bread with shredded cheese.  Place bread under  broiler until cheese melts and turns light brown.  To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with bread.  I usually don't top with the bread, since I prefer to dip it.

Bon appetit!

Best Ever Sugar Cookies

I just realized I've never put any cookies on here!  With a blog name like mine, that's almost sacrilegious.  Lucky for me it's almost Valentines.  And if you're like me, sugar cookies with pink frosting go hand-in-hand with Valentines Day.  (Don't worry Launi, your gestational diabetes will be over soon and we'll bake to our hearts delight!)  Confession:  I have the hardest time when it comes to sugar cookies.  I can never seem to get them right.  Either they're too brittle, or I didn't roll them out thick enough, or I mess up the frosting.  But, I finally found a recipe that I love!!  It's the kind-of recipe that makes people like me wonder how you did it, and if it's possible for someone under 60 who hasn't spent a huge chunk of their life in the kitchen to replicate.  And the answer is yes!  I don't know what it is about this recipe, if it's the double leavening with the baking soda and baking powder, on top of the 3 eggs that are added, but these beauties rise like you've put yeast in them.  They also have a beautifully light and soft texture.  I think that might be from the sour cream/sour milk that you add to them.  Best of all--there's no fridge time, no chilling the dough overnight, or for a few hours, or at all!  They are my one and only sugar cookie from now on.  And I'm so happy that I found them, and can finally make peace with the sugar cookie world.
I actually got the recipe from a ward cookbook.  Those people in Millville sure can cook!  That's what I love about ward cookbooks.  They're like little gems among the cookbook world.  They're tried and true recipes, and usually not anything too fancy.

So, here is this gem of a recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup sour cream or 1 cup sour milk*
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 to 6 cps flour (I used 5)
• orange zest or lemon zest-optional 

Cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs one at a time.  Add cream/milk and dry ingredients, using only 4 cups of flour.  Add vanilla.  Gradually add just enough more flour to make it so you can roll out dough from a 1/4" to 1/3" thick on a floured surface.  Cut with cookie cutter.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes on greased cookie sheet.  Cookies will remain white.  
*To make sour milk combine 1 cup milk with 1 TBS vinegar, and let sit for 5 minutes.

Plain, simple, easy.  Frost with your favorite cream cheese, or butter cream frosting.  Or whatever frosting floats your boat. 

 

What is it about pink buttercream that makes me happy??  Probably nostalgia.  The frosting that I used was from none other than the famous Magnolia cookbook.  See?  I told you I'd share.  It's what compliments their famous vanilla cupcakes.  It's actually not so much a buttercream frosting as it is an old fashioned confectioners' sugar and butter frosting.  It's wonderful, and the trick is all in the mixing.  You have to mix this baby for a good while before you get the right consistency.  And for those of us without kitchen aids, it can be a lot of work, but it's worth it!

Magnolia's Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 6-8 cups confectioners' sugar 

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.  Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla.  On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.  Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency.  You may not need to add all of the sugar.  If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly.  (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.)  Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.  **I halved this recipe and it was just enough for all of the cookies.