The Freshman Cook: Do I Really Need That?

Today we are discussing a very simple gadget type item. The Evendough Bands. They ensure that your rolled cookies, or dough of any kind is all the same level. Do you need these? Maybe not. There are several ways to make sure that your dough is even. I have seen, but never used, a bar type system, where you roll your rolling pin over the dough, but the edge of your pin sits on the two parallel bars, so your rolling pin can not go deeper than the bars height. I think the evendough bands are easier to use, and more precise. We are going to make some sugar cookies, and you will see below how the bands work. The package comes with 4 different colors of bands, 2 of each. We will use the green bands. This means that our dough will be 1/4″ thick after we roll it. Lets make sugar cookies!

Here are the bands.

Band Thickness is :

Red 1/16″

Yellow 1/8″

Green 1/4″

Blue 3/8″

Here is the sugar cookie recipe:

No Fail Sugar Cookies

(from kitchengifts.com-changed slightly)

5 cups Flour

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups Butter

2 cups Sugar

2 Eggs

2 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

 Mix your flour, baking powder, salt together in a bowl. Set it aside.

 Cream your butter and sugar until light & fluffy.

 Add eggs and almond extract. Mix well.

Add your flour mix to the wet mix, and mix well.

The dough will come together, and the flour 

will be totally incorporated.

Here is your parchment paper. We are going to roll out

your dough without making a mess, and we won’t have 

to add flour to the recipe.  This idea comes

from kitchengifts.com. 

Fold your parchment paper in half.

Put some dough in the middle of one half of the parchment.

This is how your evendough bands look on your

rolling pin. Put them as close to the edge of your pin as you can.

Fold the other half of the parchment over your dough.

Roll your dough out. 

Place your parchment with rolled dough inside on

a cookie sheet, or whatever you want to use. Then place in the refrigerator.

Continue rolling out dough on other pieces of parchment until

all the dough is rolled out. When all the dough is in the refrigerator

cover with plastic wrap to keep fresh. All the parchment with rolled dough

in it can be placed on one tray, all on top of one another.

Start your icing. 

We will make Antonia74 Royal Icing. 

This is taken from wwwcakecentral.com

You need: 

3/4 cup warm water

5 tablespoons meringue powder

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

2.25 lbs powdered sugar

In your mixer bowl, pour the warm water

into the bowl, then add the meringue powder. Whisk

for 30 seconds until frothy. It should get a little thick.

 Add your cream of tartar and whisk for 30 seconds more.

Add all of the powdered sugar at one time.

Using the paddle attachment on your mixer, if you have 

a counter top mixer, mix slowly for 10 minutes on the lowest 

speed. the icing will get smooth and creamy.

Take a parchment paper with dough out of the refrigerator.

Cut out circles from your dough.

Place your dough circles on another piece of

parchment paper on a cookie sheet and

bake in the oven for 8-9 minutes

Cool your cookies for about 10 minutes.

Then take cookies off of cookie sheet, 

and cool on the cooling rack.

Fix a decorating bag with a Wilton #2 tip, and then

fill with a little bit of the icing.

 Pipe around the edge of the cookie. 

(Try to get closer than I did!!)

Thin a little bit of the left over icing. Then flood the inner circle 

of your cookie.

Sprinkle with sprinkles!!

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by today. 

Tomorrow I will give you the menu for next week.

It’s gonna be good!!

See you then!!