Who is YOUR Wonder Woman?

 
Who is your Wonder Woman?  Mom, wife, sister, aunt, cousin, daughter, friend?  I bet you have one.

I've always loved Wonder Woman and when I was younger, I dreamed of wearing a Wonder Woman outfit to a costume party.

{Now, at age 41, I don't see that happening....unless Wonder Woman starts donning capri pants and cardigans.}

 
And is it just me, or does that W look an awful lot like the Whataburger logo?  Maybe I *could* be Wonder Woman after all.  (And if you don't live in the south and don't know Whataburger, I'm sorry.  Really, really sorry.) 


The cookie shape itself was made from using 3 cutters I had onhand: bikini top, onesie and a circle for cutting.

First, I started with the bikini tops and the onesies.

The bikini top as is was a little "busty" for the onesie, so I performed a little reconstructive surgery.

Then, the top of the onesie was chopped off...

...and I made a cut out so that the top would fit.

I used the edge of a circle cutter to nip her in at the waist.  (If only life were so easy.)

And then, put the pieces together.

{Hint: I always freeze my cut-outs for 5-10 minutes before baking.}


For decorating, you'll need:

• royal icing tinted with AmeriColor Super Red, Royal Blue, Egg/Lemon Yellow, Super Black and a bit of Bright White,
• disposable icing bags,
• squeeze bottles,
• toothpicks,
• #1 & 2 tips and couplers,
• star sprinkles or white royal icing to make the stars

With a #2 tip, outline the shape in black.

{I originally started with a #3, because I wanted the outline to really show, but it was too thick.  If you make a mistake on a cookie, scrape it off and try again. :) Toothpicks are your friend.}

Thin the red, yellow and blue icings with water until it is the consistency of thick syrup.  Let sit for several minutes covered with a damp dish towel.  Uncover and stir gently with a silicone spatula to pop air bubbles that have risen to the surface.  Transfer to squeeze bottles.

Flood the cookie with the thinned icing.

Let sit at least one hour.

With a #2 tip, add the black detail.  Go over the "W" and the belt in black as well.

Let dry for several hours.  If you are a good planner, add the white star sprinkles you have onhand with a bit of royal icing.  If you are NOT a good planner, ahem,  pipe the stars with white royal icing.

OH!  I almost forgot!  I made the Invisible Jet, too!


And and you must (MUST!)....go take a peek at Gail's (of One Tough Cookie) superhero cookie CAKE!  Isn't that the coolest?!?

Who is YOUR Wonder Woman?

{Happy, happy Mother's Day to all of you moms (Wonder Women) out there!}

 

In Memory of Marge . . .

When my uncle's call came yesterday, it wasn't a surprise. My grandmother had been sick with Alzheimer's and lung cancer for a while now. Almost ten years after we lost my mom, Nana is joining her and my grandfather....wouldn't that be cool if they greeted her with a Goldie's Hamburger? ;)

{This is Nana with my mom, 1945.}

My Nana's picture just might be in your dictionary under the word "character." She went to mass every morning and her favorite word was "sh@#." {That's the truth.} She was the craziest dancer at every wedding (though, my Uncle Mike & my sister are running neck & neck for that title now).

{This was always the picture I would stare at when I visited. I love this picture!}

She was in the Women's Army Corps in WWII and she and my papa got engaged at Pat O'Briens in New Orleans. {No wonder I like those Hurricanes so much!}


{Here we are in 1979. Nana had that same hair-do for 40 years. I'm on the left. Knee socks & sandals were high fashion apparently.}

Now, to me, Marge wasn't known as a cook or a baker. I remember her with a crochet hook in her hand rather than in the kitchen. But every time we visited, there were always two cream pies in the fridge...always chocolate and either lemon or coconut. She was famous for her "macaroni & meat" (pasta, tomato sauce and ground beef....totally kid heaven) and made a mean whiskey sour.

So, I made a Chocolate Cream Pie in her honor.

Chocolate Cream Pie
{Recipe modified from Food & Wine magazine}

6 ounces, about 1 & 1/2 c. Oreos (just the wafer part), or chocolate wafer cookies
4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of fine sea salt

2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°.

Using a food processor, finely grind the Oreo cookies (not the creamy centers...do with them what you will).

In a medium bowl, mix the cookie crumbs with the sugar and salt. Stir in the melted butter until the crumbs are evenly moistened.

Pour the mixture into a 9-inch glass pie dish and press evenly over the bottom and up the side of the dish to form a crust. Bake for 8 minutes, until the crust is fragrant.

Remove from the oven and, using the bottom of a drinking glass, immediately press the crumbs again to compact the crust. (brilliant idea from F&W!) Let cool completely.

make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 1/4 cup of the sugar, the cornstarch and salt. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk with 1/4 cup of the sugar until bubbles form around the edge. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture.

Pour into the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until very thick, about 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the semisweet and unsweetened chocolate until smooth. Strain the chocolate filling into the pie crust through a coarse sieve (this does not work with a fine sieve, I tried!) and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula.

Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pie filling and refrigerate for 3 hours, until chilled.

{Nana made this ♥ doily!}

Let the pie stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the cream with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the vanilla until firm. Spread the whipped cream over the pie, cut into wedges and serve, garnished with chocolate shavings, if desired.


Nana...we will miss you. The dance floor at the next family wedding won't be the same without you. And, I'll think of you the next time I say, "sh@#"...it shouldn't be long.



{Works for Me Wednesday and the "troubleshooting" post will be back next week.}

Mother's Day Coconut Cake

Although I didn't make this for Mother's Day, I'm going to call it Mother's Day Coconut Cake. Why? It's the last dessert I remember eating and making with my mom.

I was visiting my mom...and she was really sick. I think she knew that she was not long for this world and was trying to get in some of her favorites. There was Ben & Jerry's in the freezer and she sent me to Frulatti in the mall for a certain smoothie. And, she wanted cake....this coconut cake.

The fact that she let me do most of the baking of the cake made it obvious that she was pretty ill. To be perfectly honest, we were a little spoiled growing up. My mom (and dad) cooked FOR us. We didn't do a whole lot of cooking together. We mainly enjoyed the fruits of their labor. :) When my sister and I would come home for a visit, Mom had freshly baked cookies, chocolate dipped pretzels and probably an ice cream pie (or two!) waiting in the freezer. {Not to sell my dad short, I didn't know any other kids whose dads made pancakes for them before school and before they went to work. He also makes a mean upside-down apple pie.}

So, I'll always remember my mom each time I make this cake. Not in a sad way, but thankful. Thankful that she gave me this love of good food. Thankful for everything.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you! Give your mom an extra hug today!

This is a really easy, moist and delicious cake! My son who "doesn't like coconut" did a little dance upon tasting it and declared it the "best cake ever." {More on the "best chocolate ice cream ever" to go with it in a future post...promise!}

Coconut cake

1 box white cake mix
1/4 c. oil
3 eggs
1 carton sour cream (8 oz.)
1 (15.5 oz) can creme of coconut

Icing

8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.
1 box powdered sugar (1 lb.)
4 TBSP milk
Angel Flake coconut

Lightly grease a 9 X 13" pan. Mix cake ingredients and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Beat cream cheese with the powdered sugar and milk. Spread over cake and cover with coconut. Store in refrigerator.

More for mom...

♥♥♥Mom's Yellow Rose Cookies♥♥♥

Flowers for Mother's Day

I say ditch the bouquet this year and give mom some flowers that she can eat! ;)

Here are quick and sweet little tulip cookies for Mother's Day....I have a box in the mail to my mother-in-law and my grandmother. {Shhhh....don't tell!}

{PS...my camera hates pink; sorry if the colors look a little strange!}

I see this cookie cutter just about everywhere...the grocery store, Michaels, Target. It makes a great, basic cookie and a really good one for decorating with kids.

To make them:

• Outline the tulip shape using a #2 or #3 tip using royal icing. (I used AmeriColor Lemon Yellow and a mix of AmeriColor Deep Pink and Electric Pink.)
• Add water to the pink and yellow icings, reserving some of the piping icing, to the consistency of a thick syrup. Cover with a damp towel and let sit several minutes.
• Run a rubber spatula through the icing to pop any air bubbles that have formed and transfer to squeeze bottles.
• Fill in the cookies with the thinned icing, using a toothpick to guide into the corners.
• Let dry at least 1 hour.
• Using a #3 tip, add a stem in green (AmeriColor Leaf Green).
• With the reserved piping icing, add the tulip detail on the flowers.

Oops! Has this ever happened to you? Flood icing leaking? Either it's flooded over the piped edge or there's a gap in the border and the piped edge isn't touching the cookie (this happened to me A LOT when I was first learning.) On the cookie above, it's flooded over the first piped edge. Not to worry, it breaks right off. :)

In the mood for more flowers? Check out these daisies and the yellow rose cookies I made for my mom. ♥

A Taste of Yellow : Yellow Rose Sugar Cookies

Winos and Foodies is sponsoring A Taste of Yellow event to benefit the LiveSTRONG, the Lance Armstrong foundation. Those yellow bracelets....that's it. I first heard about the event through Tartelette, one of my favorite blogs ever. I just love this idea of raising awareness of the foundation and paying tribute to a loved one with food!

Cancer, bleeeeccch!...I HATE that word...hate it more than any other, I think. If I see it in an article, on TV, on the radio...the magazine is shut, channel changed, radio turned off. My plan from now on is, when I hear the word cancer, immediately think, "Lance Armstrong."

One of my favorite pictures of my mom!

These cookies are a tribute to my mom who we lost to cancer eight years ago. They were her favorite flower and yellow her favorite color, so I think this event would have been right up her alley. This is honestly the first time I've cried making cookies.

If I let myself go, I'll have a page and a half blog post, so I'll just say, I had a good mom. She was a redhead, drank beer, made homemade cinnamon rolls and really loved life. She and my dad were married 32 years. My mom wasn't ready to leave us, but when I find a random penny or a cardinal flies across my path, I know she hasn't really.

My mom & I in all of our 1970's glory!

So, these roses are for Gayle (mom), for my friend Laura who has been battling brain cancer for NINE years now, for Kelly, for big Jack, for my Uncle Ben, for my papa who used to call me "ol' yellow hair" when I was a kid (and would now have to call me "ol' reddish-brown-with-highlights-and-a-few-sprigs-of-gray" hair), for Raquel, and for Kenny who I didn't know, but so many people I love miss him, so I know he must have been incredible.

The cookies.....I made this rose template from a file folder, (I like open roses rather than the buds.) and cut them with a paring knife.
Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookies

3 c unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 c sugar (I use sugar that I've stored vanilla beans in)
 2 sticks (salted) butter, cold
 1 egg
 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom.

The dough will be crumbly, so knead it together with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl for rolling (video on University of Cookie).

Roll onto a floured surface and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets (I recommend freezing the cut out shape on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before baking) and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

For the Royal Icing...follow the recipe here for my favorite royal icing. When the icing is beginning to reach a stiff peak, add a drop or two of almond extract and beat until still peaks form.

Transfer icing to two separate containers and color (3/4 AmeriColor Egg Yellow, 1/4 AmeriColor Leaf Green). Press plastic wrap down onto the icing.

Using a #2 tip, pipe the outline of the rose in yellow.

Using a #2 tip, pipe the outline of the leaf in green.

Thin both containers of icing with water until they reach the consistency of syrup, cover with a damp dishtowel and let sit several minutes.

Stir the yellow icing gently with a rubber spatula to break any bubbles on the surface and transfer to a squeeze bottle. Fill in the rose with the thinned, flood icing.

Repeat with the green icing, filling in the leaf.

Let dry at least one hour, then using the same #2 tips, pipe the detail on the rose. Let dry completely.

On a final note...if you've read down this far, I have 3 extra LiveSTRONG bracelets, if you would like one, let me know in a comment and I'll send one to you.

Hi, Mom...and thanks!