Yoghurt

We eat a lot of yoghurt at my house.  Seriously, we eat it plain or with berries, use it as dips, eat it with rice dishes, and put it in smoothies and drinks.  I rarely go one day without eating yoghurt.  And why not?  It is so good for you.

After moving away from an area that had a lot of Middle Eastern grocery stores, it became difficult to find the type of yoghurt that I like.  If you haven't had Middle Eastern yoghurt, it is slightly less thick than Greek with a more sour taste.  It is delicious.

I had been toying with the idea of making yoghurt for awhile.  After one failed attempt several years ago, I gave up.  Once I tried it again- successfully- a few months ago, I kicked myself for not trying it sooner.  If you follow the steps, it comes out perfectly every time!

Where does the time go?

It has been a long, long time since my last post.  I could come up with all kinds of excuses.  I had a very busy toddler, then I was pregnant with a very busy toddler, then I had a newborn and a very busy toddler.  My energy waned and my priorities shifted.  During this time, my cooking has been, shall we say, less than exemplary.  I have forgotten to put salt in my bread dough, ruined countless batches of cookies, completely misread recipes, and even forgot to turn the burner on, only to open the lid of whatever I was cooking about thirty minutes later wondering, "Why is this not cooking?  What is wrong with this (insert name of food here)?"  That's right.  I blamed the food.  This happened more than once.

I am so impressed by women who have 3, 4, 5.. little ones who can still whip up fantastic food, get the perfect shots of it before it is devoured, and sit down to put it on their blog.  If you have any tips, please share them!

In any case, my kitchen disasters are now few and far between.  I have even had a few triumphs.  I conquered my fear of yoghurt making with some very good results.  I made ricotta (Seriously, why didn't anyone tell me it was that easy?).  I can also now whip up a big stack of flour tortillas with my eyes closed.  And, out of necessity, I have come up with some very quick, simple, and frugal meals that have saved me on countless occasions.

I can't wait to share them!

THE Sugar Cookie Recipe

This is seriously the best sugar cookie recipe that I have found.  Not only does it come together easily, it is also very dynamic.  These are great roll-out cookies and really hold up if you want to cut out shapes.  Other recipes I have tried never hold their shape and only turn out right if rolled quite thin.  These cookies work when rolled out thin, but they also make fantastic thick cookies that can hold up to decorating.  This is definitely my go-to sugar cookie recipe from now on.

The henna-inspired designs on the sugar cookies I made for Eid was not my idea.  I wish it was.  Check out Bake Fresh for delicious recipes and beautifully decorated sweets.

The sugar cookie recipe was a Daring Bakers challenge from Mandy Mortimer at What The Fruitcake?!


Sugar Cookies:

Yields approx. 36 4-inch cookies

1/2 Cup plus 6 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
3 Cups plus 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 C superfine sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla (I used a 1-inch piece of vanilla bean)

Cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla.  Beat in the egg.  Sift in the flour and mix until combines.  If cutting out shapes, roll out several portions of dough to the desired thickness and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.  Cut the chilled dough into shapes and return to the fridge for another 30 minutes.  Bake at 350 F for 8-15 minutes.

I decided to use a simple glaze icing rather than royal icing to decorate the cookies.  To make, just add small amounts of milk to powdered sugar until you have achieved the right consistency.  Add gel food coloring rather than liquid for best results.