#51. Pillsbury Baking Blitz, Part V: White Chocolate Snowflakes

If you think using pre-made Pillsbury dough as a base for making cookies is an unforgivable cop-out, stop reading now.

If, however, you are an enlightened, generous person who recognizes that “semi-homemade” baked goods still have merit for the time and creativity involved in their preparation, then please enjoy my five-part Pillsbury Baking Blitz.

Part V: White Chocolate Snowflakes

Ingredients

• 1 16-ounce roll of Pillsbury sugar cookie dough

• 1/4 cup flour

• White melting chocolate

• Blue sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, knead cookie dough with flour.

3. On a floured surface, roll out dough.

4. Using a snowflake cookie cutter…well, if you don’t know how to use a cookie cutter, you probably shouldn’t be using an oven.

5. Line snowflake cookies 1 inch apart on sheets. Bake for 8-11 minutes until just brown around the edges.

6. Cool completely.

7. Place your melting chocolate (you can use wafers but I prefer bars) in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt the chocolate in the microwaves in 30-second intervals and remove when chocolate is just transitioning from solid to liquid form. Stir vigorously.

8. Dip top half of snowflake cookie into chocolate. Dust immediately with sprinkles.

9. Cool until chocolate hardens.

#15. Cream Cheese Cookies For Pasqua!

For Easter cookies, I'm starting simple. And killing two birds with one stone by using up ingredients prone to spoilage, like the bar of cream cheese I bought a few days ago in anticipation of a bagel breakfast that never happened. 

Cream cheese adds a slight dairy tang to these otherwise standard sugar cookies as well as tremendously enhances the moist texture. WHAT'S REALLY FUN THOUGH GUYS IS WHEN YOU COLOR THEM FLUORESCENT PINK AND GREEN.

And decorate some with those silver ball things that may or not be carcinogenic. They look pretty, though.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• Food coloring of your choice (go bold!)

Wow, that's pink!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Using a hand-held mixer, cream butter, sugar, and cream cheese. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla.

3. Slowly incorporate flour.

4. Divide batter into batches for however many different colors you want to dye your cookies.

5. Add drops of food coloring to batches until you have achieved desired hue.

6. Mold batter into one-inch balls. Coat with decorations if you're feeling fancy.

7. Space evenly on baking sheet. Bake approximately 11-13 minutes.