The difference between a cup of flour every now and then. :)

So I have this little sugar cookie recipe... that has been an easy peasy no fail ever since I started making it years ago....with my now "vintage" mirro cookie press that looks like this....

last night I was a bit flustered wondering why my leetle Christmas trees were spreading all over the place and when I took the first batch out of the oven they looked like this...
EPIC FAILURE
green globs and definitely not trees.

I told hubby that this has never happened before....maybe the mix would do better if cooled in the fridge for awhile but alas..... second cooked batch was about the same pan of round thin blobs and initially I was all like "Ughh! I'm over it!"...
Then I look at the recipe again and realized that I had only added 1 1/2 cups instead of 2 1/2 cups of flour..
and I told myself that this was the last time I was going to read a recipe and walk away and mix it.
Even though I often feel as if I have recovered quite well from the small strokes about 5 months ago... there are still things I often discover that I need to alter in my daily life in order to have the best possible outcomes. :=)
I used to be able to read a recipe and walk away from the book or computer screen and would only go back after mixing to double check the cooking time ...
and now I know that I need to have the recipe right there next to me while I am making something that I only do a few times a year.
And I need to stop being so hard on myself and keep reminding myself how lucky I am that they were only tiny strokes and not a big one. :=)
Imagine what a difference 1 cup of flour makes?

Life is always about changes and adjustments and adapting... and at 53 yep... I am indeed pretty set in my ways....but a simple thing like 1 cup of flour can sometimes make all the difference in the world.  And simple things like having to really pay attention and myself now learning that I have to follow things more closely might be a good thing :=)
I might add that the failed 1st batch of cookies are incredibly light and buttery tasting and go great with coffee.  Brownie loves them as well. :=) Even tho they don't look so great....first impressions are not always correct in a lot of cases not concerning cookie failures --  :P
Hope ya'll have a very happy Christmas... for those of you who celebrate it.....
And wishing all of you a very wonderful New Year.

Here's the recipe for these little sugar cookies.   When you use the cookie press.... they are small little bite sized morsels for some and 2 tiny bites for others.... and maybe 3 or 4 bites for the wee ones... but one thing I've noticed year after year.... no one ever eats just one unless of course it is the last one left hee-hee...
(or guess I should say Ho-Ho-)

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter softened
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 F .  Sift together flour and salt and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl,cream together butter and sugar. Stir in egg yolks, almond extract and vanilla extract.  Gradually blend in sifted ingredients.
3. Fill cookie press with dough and shoot cookies about 1 1/2 inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for about 6 to 8 minutes.

* note--sometimes I add green food coloring to the mix if making Christmas trees or red food coloring for Valentine hearts etc. before adding the dry ingredients.
I usually sprinkle with some colored sugar before cooking and then drizzle a little confectioners sugar glaze on top after they are out of the oven. 


#cooking101 #flour101 #simplyfollowtherecipe #Merry Christmas Cookies #adaptadjustandmakesomechanges