Go-to: Cookie Cutter Sugar Cookies

Before the new year, I posted in my opinion, the best chocolate sugar cookie recipe.  It is my go-to for chocolate dough, and while I love how the colors pop off the darker base, sometimes I also crave the classic sugar dough taste.  I have been working on getting this recipe just right, since it's such a staple for my decorating, and I think I finally got it!  Easy to roll out, cut easily, hold their shape...everything you want from a cookie you're going to decorate.

Go-to Cookie Cutter Sugar Cookies

Recipe a Jesicakes Original
Makes about 2 dozen 4" cookies
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Ingredients

- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder (gluten free)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 2/3 cup tapioca flour
- 1/3 cup white rice flour
- 3/4 tsp xanthan gum

Go-To Gluten Free Pie Crust

Summer is the perfect time for fresh fruit pies.  Especially fruits like peaches or berries which are in season.  I have to admit, I was intimidated by the idea of making a pie crust gluten free.  Pie crust can be very unforgiving.  There's a lot that can go wrong, and it typically doesn't like to be rerolled if you mess up.  But intimidation is not a good enough deterrent!  Too my surprise this turned out great on the first try!  Just a hint of sweetness, flaky, buttery but not oily, crispy edges yet not dry.  It's the best all-purpose gluten free pie crust - great for sweet pie or for more savory I'd just leave out the sugar.  It's also very easy to work with and roll out.  So go pick up some fresh summer fruit and this will be your go-to pie crust!

Go-To Gluten Free Pie Crust

Recipe a Jesicakes Original
Makes a double pie crust
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Ingredients

- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- 1/2 cup white rice flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks, cold, cut into pieces)
- 3 Tbsp shortening (1.5oz)
- 5 Tbsp ice water
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Summer Fun Cookies Decorating Tutorial

I love making decorative cookies that are bright and fun, and summer is the perfect time to make them!  If you remember my ocean cookies you may remember the starfish, sailboats, and seashells, but this time I wanted to amp up the color even more.  What more perfect cookies to do to celebrate summer than brightly colored beach themed cookies?

Summer Beach Cookies

Decorating level: Easy-Medium
Concept, design, and execution by Jesika Rose

• Gluten Free Sugar Dough Recipe or my gluten free chocolate sugar dough
• Royal Icing Recipe
• 4" round cookie cutter, starfish cutter, sailboat cutter, and seashell cutter
• 6 Decorating bags, couplers, tips, and rubber bands
• Three-Six #2 round tips
• Three #3 round tips
• Food Safe Markers
• Toothpicks
• Gel food coloring:
• Lemon Yellow
• Sky Blue
• Deep Pink or Soft Pink with a drop of Fuschia

Go-to Chocolate Chip Cookies (Revised!) plus a Coconut Variation!

Almost two years ago, I posted my Best Ever Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Recently, I decided to see if I could revise the recipe and make it even better!  I changed some of the ratios a bit, added a secret ingredient or two, and although I didn't think it was possible, this version is even better than my original!  While I was at it, I also made a variation that included organic coconut flakes and more dark chocolate.  While the first version was good, this version is sure to be your go-to gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipe!

Go-to Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe a Jesicakes Original
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
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Ingredients

- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulate sugar

- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla, gluten free
- 3/4 cup brown rice flour
- 3/4 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup white rice flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup chopped 60% or 70% cocoa chocolate

How to: Make Character Cookies

A month ago was my Grandma's 90th birthday, and to celebrate my family all went to dinner.  I made these cookies to go on the place settings when everyone was seated.  My Grandma loves Tweety so we went with him for the cookies.  Decorating cookies is what I specialize in...especially character cookies.  Once you learn how to do a basic character it's easy to take that idea and use it as a template for any other characters you do.  Especially animation characters with black outlines.  This tutorial is to show you how to do a basic character.  The more you decorate the more you'll learn how to break down a design and in what order to decorate it.  This tutorial will show you how to decorate Tweety, with general instructions that will apply to any cartoon character!

Tweety Bird Cookies

Decorating level: Medium
Concept and execution by Jesika Rose, Tweety Bird is a creation of Bob Clampett, Looney Tunes, and Warner Brothers.  I claim no ownership of his design and these cookies were for personal use only.

• Gluten Free Chocolate Sugar Dough Recipe or the gluten free regular sugar dough recipe of your choice.  I'll be posting a "regular" gluten free dough recipe in the next few weeks =)
• Royal Icing Recipe
• 4" Circle Cutter
• 7 Decorating bags, couplers, tips, and rubber bands
• Two #3 round tips
• Four #2 round tips
• Four #1 round tips
• Toothpicks 
• Edible Ink Food Safe Markers
• Gel food coloring:
• Sky Blue
• Lemon Yellow
• Orange
• Black

Cake Pops

I wouldn't necessarily call cake pops the new cupcake, but their trend definitely is going around.  Personally, I find them a little too time consuming to be worth the effort.  I am a cookie person though and if I'm going to spend my time on decorating I'd rather decorate cookies!  However, I had some leftover cake from an event and I didn't know what to do with it...and then the idea struck me to finally try to make cake pops!  I didn't want to do any crazy decorating, just something bright and cute and perfect for spring but that had great flavor.  The leftover cake I had was my Honey, Lavender, & Lemon Cake and a plain yellow cake, and I thought it would be nice to do a Lemon Cream Cheese Icing since I also had leftover lemon curd.  For me cake pops are the perfect way to re-purpose left over ingredients in a new, bright, fun form! The result was sweet and floral cake with a bit of tang from the cream cheese and lemon.  Between the flavor and the bright colors they were the perfect spring treat!

Below I have the recipe I used for the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting and a link to the cake recipe I used...but this post is really a template to do any flavor you'd like!  All you need is cake and icing essentially and just follow the instructions below!  Like I said before, the perfect thing to do if you have any leftovers!  Especially if you were carving or leveling or forming cakes...don't waste all those little pieces!  Turn them into cake pops!

Cake Pops

Recipe for Lemon Cream Cheese Icing adapted from The Hobby Rome Diaries
Makes about 3 dozen cake pops
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Ingredients for Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese

- 1/3 cup of lemon curd

- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

- 1/2 sheet cake.  I used my Honey, Lavender, & Lemon cake.

Cupcakes for Two!

Have you ever just wanted one cupcake??  Sometimes I have a craving for cupcakes, but I know I don't want one dozen sitting around my apartment.  This recipe comes to the rescue!  It's so simple, takes less than a half hour to make, and yields just TWO cupcakes (or in my case 1 dozen mini cupcakes).   This is the perfect recipe to satisfy a quick cupcake craving!!

Cupcakes for Two

Recipe adapted from How Sweet it is
Makes about 2 standard cupcakes or 1 dozen mini cupcakes.
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Ingredients

- 1 egg white

- 2 Tbsp sugar

- 2 Tbsp butter, melted

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1/4 cup - 1 Tbsp brown rice flour

- 1 Tbsp tapioca flour

- 1/4 rounded tsp gluten free baking powder

- pinch of salt

- 1 1/2 Tbsp milk (dairy, almond, or soy, I use almond)