Sugar Flower... Cookies?

I felt like making cookies last week. My chocolate chip came out well before so I thought I'd offer a batch to one of my sugar addict friends. To my surprise she had a a special request for Oreos. I had never made them before but I remembered seeing a recipe in Martha Stewart's Everyday Food (April 2009). Find it online: Chocolate 'n' Cream Sandwich Cookies.

My two cents: I would suggest reading the comments after the recipe. I didn't have any problems with the batter being dry or crumbly; it was fine. I used a rubber spatula to mix the dough and a KitchenAid mixer (wire whisk attachment) for the filling. The rolling part could require two people yet putting a towel under the parchment kept it from sliding. Also, if you prefer the crisp nature of an Oreo I would make sure that the dough is rolled out thinner than 1/4 inch as instructed. Otherwise the cookie remains soft after baking.

Here's what resulted:

Yes, I do know "O"reos to be round but the only cookie cutter I had close to the size was square. They're Faux-reos anyway...

I used extra-fine granulated sugar yet it still remained a tad bit gritty. I wonder if the sugar dissolved first in a little water then added to the butter would work...

I stamped baby feet in some just to see how it would work.

The biggest issue was that they kinda came out tasting coffee-ish. I'm sure it had to do with the vanilla extract that I used. I ran out of my usual: Sonoma Syrup Co.'s No. 4. All in all, I'd say the trial was successful. My friend gave me an "A" for effort. We ate them. Nothing goes to waste 'round these parts.

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Icing

Here are the results of having to satisfy a sweet tooth at 10pm when you have no eggs. My dad, the vegetarian, claimed them as his own. We all loved them. The icing was rich and smooth-- very good. I could've eaten it without the cake. Now I understand frosting shots!

I found the cake recipe on RecipeZaar.com. I used organic cane sugar and apple cider vinegar. The icing recipe is from Crazy About Cupcakes.

Making the icing...

This was my first time making this type of icing. I wasn't sure I would either do it correctly or if it would taste edible so I halved the recipe and two cupcakes missed out...

Sittin' pretty...

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