Freshwater: Sugar Cookies

Freshwater

Located in the wilds of Wyoming, the name Freshwater was chosen as a Western analogy to Christ. Just as He is the Living Water, and we must have Him to have eternal life, any desert dweller knows the importance of fresh water to life, both for self, and the nourishment of crops or livestock. By taking nourishment in God and His word, we strengthen our own relationship with Him, our faith, and the quality and abundance of our fruitfulness.

Our keystone verse is from Jeremiah, Chapter 17, Verse 8: "For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see whenSave heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."

The fruit that we speak of is mentioned in Galatians 5:22
"²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

And the heat could be anything we experience that might test our faith in God; trials and tribulations, relationships, anything that focuses our love and attention anywhere but on Him...

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Sugar Cookies

A recipe shared by a friend at CafeMom...
(it was excellent)

2 2/3 cup flour

1 TSP baking soda

1/2 TSP baking powder

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 TSP Vanilla

cream sugar, egg, butter & vanilla still well mix

then add flour, baking soda, baking powder.... mix well

turn out on well floured surface ( well i'm sure you know what to do from here ! ENJOY ! )

{We baked at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes}

Royal Icing

4
cups powdered sugar
3
tablespoons meringue powder
1/2
teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2
cup warm water
1
teaspoon vanilla
food coloring (optional)

Directions

In a large bowl, stir together powdered sugar, meringue powder, and cream of tartar. Add warm water and vanilla. Tint with food coloring, if desired. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, then on high speed for 7 to 10 minutes or until very stiff. Add 2 to 4 tablespoons additional water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing reaches desired consistency. Makes about 3 cups.

Since I didn't have an $8 jar of meringue powder, I made a substitute...just regular meringue substitutes for powder, and I made the "safe" meringue just to be safe since we will be serving to a crowd.

The New Safe Meringue
From Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts, by Alice Medrich.

Safe Meringue can be used place of ordinary meringue in old recipes. These include uncooked desserts such as mousse, Bavarian cream, and ice cream, as well as soft meringues for pie topping and Baked Alaska where a short baking or browning period may not be enough to heat the meringue thoroughly.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp water
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
2 egg whites
4 Tbsp sugar

Instructions:

Bring 1 inch of water to a gentle simmer in a large skillet. Combine the 2 tsp water with the cream of tartar in a 4- to 6-cup stainless steel bowl. Add the egg whites and sugar and whisk together briskly to combine ingredients thoroughly and break up the egg white clots (which have a tendency to scramble first.) Place an instant-read thermometer near the stove in a mug of very hot tap water.

Set bowl of egg whites in skillet. Stir mixture briskly and constantly with a rubber spatula, scraping the sides and bottom often to avoid scrambling the whites. After 1 minute, remove bowl from skillet. Quickly insert thermometer, tilting bowl to cover stem by at least 2 inches. If less than 160°F (70°C), rinse thermometer in skillet water and return it to mug. Replace bowl in skillet. Stir as before until temperature reaches 160°F when bowl is removed. Beat on high speed until cool and stiff.