Cut out sugar cookies and a story

 

Decorating cut-out sugar cookies might not seem like such a big deal, but it's been something I've been avoiding for a long time.  I usually skip cookie recipes requiring cut-outs and decorating.  This year, I decided to embrace the challenge.

I didn't just want to put some random sprinkles on my cookie cut-outs though.  I wanted to go all out.  I wanted my Christmas trees to have green and have ornaments.  I wanted my snowflakes to have those elegant silver looking beads.

I looked at tons of pictures, watched some quick tutorials, and then purchased some Christmas cookie cutters. Then I went about looking for my Christmas sprinkles.  First I tried to find the silver beads.  After some research, I learned that they are called dragees.  Upon further research I learned that they are illegal in California!  Apparently these pretty metallic looking beads are metallic and not exactly safe to eat.  Though people eat them in such small quantities, there shouldn't be any effects,which is why they are allowed everywhere else. 

Oh California.  I should have known you would be the first state to make dragees illegal.  You've taken away my dreams of owning my own hedgehog or sugar glider as pets, and now I can't properly decorate my cookies either?

Next, I went on to find some regular Christmas sprinkles.  Some green, white and red tiny ball shaped sprinkles, some mini Christmas trees, Christmas sprinkles shaped like ones you find on ice cream sundaes, etc.  And I couldn't find any.  The only ones I could find were glass type sprinkles in red and green which I used to decorate my soft sugar cookies.

After not finding my sprinkles at my local supermarket, I went and tried a few others.  Nothing! I also went to Target, Walmart, and anywhere else where I'm sure I've seen a variety of sprinkles in the past.  I went to nine different stores.  Nothing!

So that is why my cookies look so painfully plain this year.  The cut-out recipe I used was wonderful, but after not being able to find the sprinkles I wanted to use, I chose not to sprinkle them at all. The cookies still tasted great, though they are pretty naked looking. If anyone has any helpful advice on where to get Christmas sprinkles in San Diego, please let me know.

Cut-out sugar cookies (from allrecipes)

Yields: Approximately 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. 
   In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in
   eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover,
   and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).(I did mine overnight)
   
2. 
   Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on
   floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie
   cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. 
   Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.
   

 

Christmas Desserts Roundup

I was so busy trying out different dessert recipes for Thanksgiving this year, that I completely forgot Christmas was just around the corner.  So while I had almost two months to try out Thanksgiving recipes, I only had about three weeks to try out Christmas ones.  As a result, I didn't get to try out nearly as many recipes as I wanted.  I will probably continue to test out more recipes throughout January.

Much like Thanksgiving, my family has a gathering with our extended family between Christmas and New Year to celebrate the holidays.  I provide the desserts just like during Thanksgiving.  We used to do a potluck, but the last few years we've been going out to eat.  So no one misses out on Christmas treats, I still bake a lot of goodies, which I give to each family to take home. So for anyone who is curious as to what made my list this year, here is a roundup of the holiday treats that I made (Since I've already done posts on these desserts, I didn't retake photos):

Red Velvet Rose Cupcakes

Gingerbread family cookies

Soft sugar cookies

Green Tea Christmas Shortbread Cookies

Pho 54

Pho 54
2874 Alum Rock Avenue
San Jose, CA 95127
(408) 729-6633

After some not so great pho visits lately, one might think I would take a break from pho. But I forged on to find a good bowl of pho.  My search finally ended at Pho 54.  Too bad it's in San Jose. 

I've been to Pho 54 once before, but I don't really remember the food.

The menu at Pho 54 is pretty limited.  Other than pho, and a few rice dishes, they don't offer much more.  I'm always a bit taken aback when I open a pho menu in the Bay Area.  They tend to be about a dollar more in price compared to San Diego.  At Pho 54, a regular bowl was $6.20 and a large was $7.20 or something close to that.

The first good sign that I would be getting a good bowl of pho was the garnishes.  Not only did they offer the saw cilantro leaves (which I believe is called ngo gai), but the plates were heaped with garnishes.  This is a picture of one plate. 

 

You can barely see the basil and sprouts since it is sitting on top of a mound of the cilantro.  We had two plates of these garnishes for six people.  There was enough to stir fry a dish of herbs. 

The broth looked a bit light in color, but the flavor was strong and beefy and tasted better than my last few pho experiences in San Diego.

Here's some pictures of the various bowls of pho my family ordered.

 

Not much else to say.  The noodles were cooked just right.  There was plenty of meat, tendons, flank, etc. The broth tasted rich and beefy.  The service was your typical pho restaurant service.