Snow and Cookies!

By popular request, I am putting up a picture of Sunday's snow. I've seen so many lovely pictures on people's blogs, but I didn't really want to go outside to take my own, so here is a shot from our bedroom door. Yes, our balcony goes off of the master bedroom. I think it's a New England thing. By the time all was said and done, we had snow up to my thigh on our deck, which I shoveled because Mr. Batty was coughing like crazy and I don't want him catching pneumonia.


I hadn't been feeling particularly Christmassy this year, but the snow did the trick. Here is the result: Egg nog cookies! Recipe below.


Egg Nog Cookies

Dough:
2 sticks butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp nutmeg (the fresher, the better)
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla extract (or more... experiment!)
1 egg

Icing:
2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 tablespoon flavorful light rum (or 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon rum aroma)

Cream together butter and sugar until smooth -- I use a hand mixer, but if you have the fancy standing kind... yeah, that works too. Add vanilla and egg, beat until incorporated. In another bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and nutmeg, then add to the butter mixture. Mix until just incorporated. It's better to undermix a bit than to overmix. Roll dough into a ball in your mixing bowl, cover, and stick in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350 F/180 C, put racks in lower third and upper third of oven. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 10-20 minutes so it softens up a bit. Then, take a small ice cream scoop (80) or a tablespoon measure and make balls about the size of 2 tablespoon measures held together to form a ball. Put on baking sheets, leaving space for the cookies to spread.
Bake one tray on the lower rack, one on the higher rack, for 10 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown. Rotate the trays halfway through baking.
When they are done, transfer cookies onto cooling rack. Wait to cool before putting on the icing.

For the icing, mix confectioner's sugar, rum, melted butter, and milk in a bowl. Beat with mixer until thick and creamy, around 4 minutes or so. Spread onto cookies. Wait for icing to set before putting in a container -- the icing becomes harder as it sets and won't make a mess.

Have fun eating cookies. Take some to the office or you'll eat them all.

Morgana watched the baking efforts from her comfy spot amid the blankets. Yesterday, I was right there with her. Apparently, a round of snow shoveling was exactly what I needed to come down with Mr. Batty's sore throat disease.


Feeling better enough to do work, so I'll go do that now.