Tales from the Lab #11: The Cookie Exchange
As we’re nearing the holidays, I always wind up with the urge to bake. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a household where cookies, pies, pastries, and bread were a staple during this time of year, but I still love to bake.
A few years ago, the company where I work decided to host a cookie exchange as part of their holiday team-building activities. This was a great opportunity for me to do something I love, and also show my coworkers that I’m not just another lab rat. I can bake, and from most accounts, I do it pretty well. This also gave me the chance to play a bit of a joke on some of my colleagues…
The rules were simple:
- Bake two dozen of your chosen cookie and bring them in to share.
- Provide copies of your recipe.
I have dozens of cookie recipes from my childhood. I had many to choose from, and making the “right” decision wasn’t easy. I listened to the others around the office as they described the cookies they planned to make. Surprisingly, no one was going to make sugar cookies, so that made up my mind.
Sugar cookies are fun for a number of reasons. They’re easily shaped. They work well with icing and other sugary decorations. They’re just as tasty plain as they are iced. And they’re easy to make!
And because of those reasons, the idea of the microbiologist bringing sugar cookies gave me an idea…
I baked my cookies, made up a batch of icing, and proceeded to bring them to our exchange.
For those unfamiliar with the image, the cookies were made to look like agar plates (blood agar, specifically), growing colonies of bacteria (represented by the white – and demonstrating the “streak-plate” method microbiologists are familiar with). Most thought my silly take on sugar cookies was pretty funny, though there were a couple that were hesitant to pick them up. (I promise they were only sugar cookies, and no bacteria or coworkers were harmed in the process.)
As a bonus, I’ll share my recipe with you:
Sugar Cookies
Note: This recipe doesn’t work well if you plan to shape your cookies using a cookie cutter. It’s meant for round cookies, which is why I used it for my prank.
It makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Ingredients
½ cup butter, at room temperature
½ cup shortening
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
A pinch of salt
3 egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
Beat together butter and shortening on medium-high speed for approximately 30 seconds. (I use the paddle attachment for my stand mixer for cookie dough.)
Add sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Beat until combined. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla until combined.
Reduce mixing speed to low and add flour. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Chill dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 300°F.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until sides are set but not browned.
Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Icing
Ingredients
0.625 ounces meringue powder (sorry, yes, this recipe requires a kitchen scale – but it’s worth it!)
2 ounces cold water
½ pound confectioner’s sugar
¼ teaspoon lemon extract (you can use vanilla, but I like the little bit of citrus flavor the lemon brings)
Instructions
Beat meringue powder and water on medium-high speed with the paddle attachment until it forms soft peaks. (It takes about 3 minutes.) Lower the speed and gradually add sugar.
Add the lemon extract and beat on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, or until stiff peaks are formed.
Cover the icing with plastic wrap until ready to use. This icing does not need to be refrigerated, and should keep at room temperature for about 2 weeks. If you aren’t going to use it right away, beat the mixture for a minute or two before using.
One final note, I used the Wilton Color Right food coloring system for the icing pictured. I have since used it a number of times for cake frosting and cake batter, as well. It doesn’t leave a weird aftertaste like some other food colorings do, and I’ve found it’s very consistent at producing the same color every time. (I am not paid by Wilton to promote their product, but I wanted to mention it because it’s the best food coloring set up I’ve come across so far.)
Thanks for reading this week’s blog, and I hope some of you enjoy the recipes! Happy holidays!
If you’d like to read more Tales from the Lab, past posts can be found here.
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