“Hi, I’m Emma– a highschool freshman with a passion for the culinary and a magetic force for mess-ups (or it seems). Follow the chaos, from burning kettles to run-ins with cookie conosseuirs, of this life of mine.”

Well here it goes, the insanity begins! the Kitchen dilEmma has set sail, hopefully with an outcome a bit sunnier than Titanic’s. More to come on the bio and ‘about me’s and such, but in the meantime, a recipe from Halloween (before it’s too late!).

     For the longest time I had a cutout craving floating around– I really enjoy cookie cutters– but didn’t want to wait for the dough to chill hoard the butter for my selfish experiments. I always had my eye open though, as always, for a recipe that might prove itself worthy of my time parents’ butter. And alas, who would shine through no other than Betty. That’s right, old Betty Crocker.

     Don’t get it twisted there, friend– I’m not your cookie-mix type a’ girl. (“What are you, assumin’?! Doll, just ’cause I’m a frosh don’t mean I a fool!”) I’d like to think that I’m atleast a little better than that. (Cake-Mix Doctor level?, you wonder) No, I’m referring to the monsterous red binder that’s occupied the cook book shelf for as long as I can remember– a 1986 ‘Betty Crocker’s Cookbook’, published by Western Publishing Company. This thing was utalized for so many staples of my life, some of which I hope to include on here, like the Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Brown Sugar Filling, Banana-Nut Cake, Honeyed Beets, and the Russian Teacakes, Cocoa Fudge, and Thumbprint Cookies of Christmastime. And the famous Buttermilk Pancakes, (whose recipe I could not find when seperated from my shelves of books) which, contrary to the company’s website, is not meant to be made from a pre-packaged, powdered mix.

     It was in this book that I found the recipe I present to you: Sour Cream Cookies. For the many few of you who are aghast at the thought of doing a dollop of Daisy into your sugar cookies, allow me to remind you that it is just another dairy product, like Creme Fraiche is (be thankful I didn’t give you the Cream Cheese Cookies several pages preceeding). If it’s any consolidation, (and I’m sure you don’t need a teen telling you something you already know) unless your sour cream has expired, the only difference it makes is a soft, lasting crumb.

Sour Cream Cookies

adapted from ‘Betty Crocker’s Cookbook’ (1986)

• 1/4 c. shortening
• 1/4 c. margarine or butter, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg (room temperature)
• 2  2/3 c. all-purpose flour (plus a LOT more for your work surface/tools/batter, if too wet; if using self-rising flour, omit baking soda/salt, and salt)
• 1/2 c. sour cream (or plain yogurt, give or take to make proper consistancy)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt (I omitted this, since I use salted butter)
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• the zest of one medium orange (optional; my addition. Try folding any citrus zest for another flavor. Perhaps I’ll try toasted coconut next time around?)

Heat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit (she says 450, but as far as I’m concerned, things burn at 400). Mix sugar, shortening, butter, vanilla, and egg. Stir in remaining ingredients. Test the dough– it should be on the dry side. If not, add more flour gradually. Divide dough into 3 equal parts; roll each part 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured cloth covered board a smooth surface, liberally dusted with flour, with a well-floured rolling pin. Cut with a 2-inch cutter, sprinkle with sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake in preheated oven until no indentation remains when touched, 6 to 8 minutes. These have a fast baking time; keep your eye on them to avoid burning a batch.

makes 4-5 dozen cookies; 65 calories per cookie, 1 g protein, 9 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat, 60 g sodium

verdict: A make-again recipe for sure. It was a nice project to keep me from my homework  domestically enslaved  out of trouble busy. A nice use for the left over sour cream lurking in the fridge, and the butter supply emerged without too much devastation in the aftermath of this project. The icing you see is just a simple sugar-liquid glaze: orange juice, confectioner’s sugar, and food coloring, with corn-starch as needed to thicken to a spreadable (not drizzling, which is unmanagable) consistancy; refridgerate after icing these cookies. The extra icing was used as a glaze for mini pretzels– a special treat for my sister, N., which were tossed into the freezer to harden (good feedback on them, by the by). Because one batch came out rather thickly cut, it was compared to shortbread; however, this comes from a taste tester who must be malinformed, for shortbread generally isn’t as soft. Texturally, I would dare to compare it to a store bought cookie– my test subject’s light crumb lasted a few days, until my experiment was cut short by consumption (of the shortbread expert, no less!); however, you have all the confidence in knowing that this cookie isn’t made with funky preservatives.

Who likes funky preservatives? Not me, no m’am.