VANILLA BUTTER CUT-OUT COOKIES WITH CHOCOLATE GLAZE

SWEET POLITICS


I have always been a political animal. I have voted in every election, local, state and national, since I was 18, no matter where in the world I lived. Even before each of my sons hit the 18-year mark, I made sure that they were registered to vote as well. From the time I shook Hubert Humphrey’s hand at the tender age of 8 to my choice at 24 to hit the dusty trail and head out to greener pastures when a certain, inexplicably popular Republican Cowboy President was re-elected, I have been aware of how a vote, many votes, those elected officials can have an impact on my life. Trying to understand my brother’s high school political cartoons or watching people alongside whom I volunteered fighting for funding in order to pay their staff, I have been amazed and outraged, amused and angered, charged to fight or throwing up my hands in defeat.

This most recent American Presidential Election was a real doozey, a cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers until the final seconds. Things were a real mess, both at home and abroad, and a real change was necessary. I followed the course of events from day one with bated breath, spending hours and days in front of the television, nose practically pressed against the screen, often arguing, debating or all-out yelling at the talking heads floating around in some far-away, virtual, tv-land. Newspapers were collected by the bundle, scoured with a frenzied passion, fists shaken and tears brushed away, all in the name of hope for a better world.

So cute, yet one tough cookie!

During this election, the political animal I have become is… a Moose. Large and seemingly dull, it is in reality a sturdy, highly protective beast, a peaceful animal but one that can become aggressive when it is threatened, crashing noisily through underbrush with tremendous power and vitality. The moose lives in cold, snowy places, forests and mudflats, often nosing his way into backyards, tipping over swing sets and snuffling in the clean, white snow. Why a moose, you ask?

Photo taken by and property of AKMuckraker

I have talked about The Mudflats before in these pages, about how I stumbled upon this brilliant and fascinating blog written daily (and more) throughout the campaign season by a dedicated, caring, hardworking, intelligent citizen, from her home in the Mudflats in that cold, harsh land that is Alaska, and I became a loyal and passionate follower. We, her readers, men and women spread far and wide around the world, shared and aired, laughed together and cried together, ranted and raved, learned and informed, gathered and shared information, analyzed and debated. We formed a motley crew but with a common interest and goal, to help bring about the change that we all so desperately hoped for. And somewhere along the line, we have all become Political Moose, peaceably protecting our country, angrily charging together whenever the basic tenets of our country are threatened.

Once again, I would like to honor the founder and writer of this blog and encourage her to keep up her oh-so important work. Whether dressed in her jammies, sitting in her basement (wink!) or fully dressed in jeans, yellow wellies and down jacket, she digs through the muck of Alaskan politics, unearthing treasures lost in the snow, brushing them off and wrapping them up in humor for public viewing. She has gathered around her this faithful following of educated, funny, warm men and women and we follow her still. Long after the election was over, we know that politics and political high jinx do not end. So here we remain.

AKM, thank you for doing what you do for all of us, representing the represented and informing the not-always so well-informed, and thank you immensely for the SHOUT OUT you gave me and Life’s a Feast in your on The Mudflats. AKM, in your honor and to thank you, I have made these Brian the Moose cookies. Delectable, buttery treats with a touch of vanilla and smothered with a chocolate frosting the color of mud, wallowed through rather than slung.


VANILLA BUTTER CUT-OUT COOKIES
Recipe from Nigella Lawson’s Feast: Food to Celebrate Life

6 Tbs (85 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
½ cup (100 g) superfine sugar
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla
1 ½ (190 g) cups flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt


In a large mixing bowl with an electric beater, cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy and lightened in color.


Beat in the eggs and vanilla.


Combine the flour, baking powder and salt together then gradually beat into the butter/sugar/egg mixture.


With your hands, gather and press the mixture into a soft, smooth, homogenous dough. If it is too sticky to handle, just knead in a bit more flour.


Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour (this really is necessary).

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Unwrap the dough and place it on a floured surface. Dust the surface with flour to keep the dough from sticking to your rolling pin. Roll out the dough, turning it and making sure the dough and work surface are sprinkled with flour as you go, into a disc ¼-inch (about ½ cm or slightly thicker).


Using your favorite (or occasion-appropriate) cookie cutter(s), carefully cut out desired shapes and gently transfer the cut-outs onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.


Bake for 8 – 12 minutes (mine cooked for 10) until puffed, set but soft and just beginning to color to golden around the edges – they will, as most cookies do, continue to bake and set a bit while cooling.


Cool completely before icing or frosting.

CHOCOLATE MUD FROSTING FOR COOKIES

2 ½ cups confectioner’s (powdered/icing) sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
¼ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla


(I halved the recipe and it came out perfect!)

In a small bowl, combine and blend the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder. Add the softened butter and the vanilla and beat until blended and the butter is no longer in chunks.

Add the milk, a bit at a time, beating until you reach the desired consistency, easy to spread but not runny.


Frost the cookies. If you want to sprinkle the frosted cookies with colored sugars, do so while the frosting is still wet and has not began to harden.

Moose

I also made guitars for Clem who taught himself to play this year!

And hearts for everyone else!

This is a frosting that won’t get hard like a Royal Icing, rather it forms what my friend Rachel calls a “skin”: the surface hardens while the frosting underneath remains soft.

Cheers, AKM!