ella's white sugar cookies

recipe from annie's eats - makes about 40 cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla (use clear vanilla)
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups sifted flour

cream butter, add powdered sugar. blend in egg, almond and vanilla extract, salt and flour. chill dough until firm. roll to 1/4" thickness on a well-floured surface. cut with cookie cutters and put on a parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet. bake at 375* for 8-10 minutes. the cookies shouldn't brown. frost when cool.

here's a tutorial and recipe i used to decorate the cookies.

chocolate sugar cookies

recipe adapted from annie's eats

this recipe doesn't make very much so i usually double it. you can never have too many chocolate sugar cookies right? i should warn you, the dough is extremely sticky. i have to refrigerate it overnight before it is workable. even then it's still pretty sticky so i use plenty of flour to roll them out and a pastry brush to remove the excess flour so they look nice and clean when baked.


1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup dutch process cocoa powder (i've found hershey's special dark at the grocery store. just make sure it's dutch process and not natural cocoa powder.)
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons (3 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

in a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to blend and set aside. in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. blend in the egg and vanilla. with the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated and no streaks remain. for the dough into a disc, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

preheat the oven to 325*. line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat. on a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. cut out shapes and place on baking sheets. bake 8-8 1/2 minutes, just until set. let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

i used the glace icing and tutorial to decorate the cookies from out best bites.

spinach berry salad with lemon poppy seed vinaigrette

we had this salad at a mother's day brunch and it was fabulous. i adapted the original recipe from our best bites to more resemble the 'nuts about berries' salad at zupas.

for the vinaigrette:

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon grated onion
1 clove finely pressed garlic
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional, but i like it because it makes the dressing thick and stick to the salad better. i buy it in the bulk section of winco -- it's kinda pricey most places so i like to get a small amount.)

add all the ingredients, except poppy seeds, to a blender. blend until well combined. stir in poppy seeds and refrigerate until serving.

for the salad:

1 10 oz. bag fresh baby spinach and/or mixed greens
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced
1/2 pint strawberries, sliced
1/2 pint black berries
1/2 pint blueberries
(or use whatever fresh berries you want)
1 cup peeled and diced jicama (you'll find it in the produce section of most grocery stores)
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup sugared almonds:

• add 1/2 cup sugar and 1 cup sliced or slivered almonds to a skillet on medium heat. once the sugar starts melting, stir the almonds until the sugar is melted and golden. pour onto aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray and cool to room temperature. break into small chunks.
  

in a large bowl, toss the spinach/mixed greens with the dressing (you probably won't need to use all the dressing) until well coated. add the remaining ingredients and gently toss/fold to evenly distribute the good stuff. serve immediately.