We’re cookie crazy, again. Or maybe still? Either way we’ve got cookies on the brain. We do love everything we bake; cupcakes are cute, cakes are creative and chocolate chip cookies are what everyone craves.
But this time of year makes us long for perfectly cut and intricately iced sugar cookies. So, we thought we’d do some cookie investigating and learn more about sugar cookies.
To really appreciate the life of this particular cookie, you’d have to go back to the 700s. Yes, sugar cookies are over 1300 years old. Older than thermometers because the cookie was born from using a dollop of cake batter to test the temperature. Fast forward to the late 1600s when the Dutch, English and Scottish brought what most closely resembles cut sugar cookies to the United States. Shortly after the “Nazareth Sugar Cookie” also known as the Amish Sugar cookie was born in Pennsylvania. In 2001 a bill was passed in Pennsylvania to make this cookie the official state cookie. For the record, Colorado hasn’t made any food its “official” food, but we think we can make a case for adopting you, dear sweet sugar cookie.
Today, cut and rolled sugar cookies are a big all over. We love to take an idea and make it into a cute and delicious treat. Each year at Happy Bakeshop we bake tens of thousands of cookies. Yes, we counted. We seem to make a lot of those over Christmas – you remember our tempting cookie posts, right? But we make even more for one of our most favorite occasions. Valentines Day!
While Valentine’s Day isn’t nearly as old as the sugar cookie, the two seem to go hand in hand. This year we’ll be busy (and happy) making the usual hearts and flowers on February 14th. Make sure to come and see us for some Valentine’s treats. However, if you think you want to try your hand at making the most delicious sugar cookies, we’ve got a few pointers for you:
Make sure you cream butter and sugar really well; this will help prevent dramatic spreading in your cookies. Also, before you bake – cut your cookies and let them spend some time in the fridge. Its worth the wait. And last but not least, when icing, make sure you’ve got the right viscosity in your royal icing. This can make or break the design of the cookie.
We do love Valentines Day, but we also like to get a little creative. We’ve been lucky to have great customers who bring us fun ideas all year long. Just a few of our favorites are here.
We hope we’ll get to see you this Valentine’s Day!!!