Cinnamon Pretzels

Have we recovered from the holiday?  Maybe you have, but I haven't.  I'm not looking forward to the full-blown work day, although I am prepared to welcome the 2nd semester. 

My vacation was really not a relaxing time.  There was so much to be done.  Not only did it take half my vacation to wash the winter ball linens, but I seem to have been in the cooking cycle for the entire time.  I had a bunch of guests to prepare for...the old aunties for Christmas lunch and working palz for sake.  By the time that was over, I was making desserts for New Years Day AND preparing for another bunch for dinner.

The Old Aunties coming over for lunch on Christmas was not bad at all.  I made prime rib with a nice chunk of beef The Help found at Costco.  The working palz were fed a bunch of things, but I think they appreciated the potstickers and sauce.  They also enjoyed the miso salmon.  My fave part of the night (in addition to the company), was the sake.  The Keeper brought some good sake.  We weren't able to finish all the sake (plus another guest brought a bottle), so I shared some with my cousins on New Years Eve, after the crab lasagna dinner.  I don't think sake would pair well with crab lasagna!

I did get a special treat this vacation...I got to meet up with my cousin Michelle and her family for breakfast.  Michelle grew up and lives in Honolulu, but her hubby is from Hilo.  In a strange coincidence, his older sister is my high school classmate.  Small world!  The Old Aunties joined us, and Michelle got to ask them a bunch of questions about her grandfather (their brother).

In addition to the get-togethers, I was busy with projects.  I did a test knit for Kay Hopkins.  I knew when I agreed that the cardigan was not something I would wear, but I saw it as an opportunity to practice stranding.  I gave the cardigan to one of the Old Aunties for Christmas (whew...I managed to finish the cardigan in a week!).

I was not as successful with another cardigan (veronika) D1 requested.  I was hoping to finish it before she left, but with all that was happening (cooking, get-togethers, etc.) between Christmas and her leaving, I was not able to finish.

With the beginning of the 2nd semester tomorrow, I am grateful to be done with my advisorship (and the after-shit which accompanies the event...the washing of the linens).  The students I got to work with for the project were awesome, and they did a great job putting the event together.  On the final day of bid sales, I distributed Cinnamon Pretzels to the students who helped.  I made a few extra bags so I gave some to Ma (if you know, you know), which she consumed in lieu of lunch.

Although I would've enjoyed relaxing during the vacation, seeing friends and family was not a bad trade-off.  

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Cinnamon Pretzels

     18 oz pretzels (we like butter snaps or honey wheat twists)

     1/3 c butter

     1/4 c sugar

     3/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Place pretzels in a 9 x 13" pan.  Melt butter.  Stir in sugar and cinnamon.  Stir until sugar dissolves.  Pour over pretzels and toss gently to coat pretzels.  Bake for 45 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes.  Cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.

 Otaru, Japan

October 11, 2017:  Day 3

We spent the 3rd day in Otaru.  Otaru was about a 45 minute train ride from Sapporo station.

In a way, Otaru reminds me of Lahaina, where much of what's to see is along one main street.

Otaru boasts a picturesque canal, which was probably vital to the main economic base of the town back in the "olden days". 

Before tackling the shops, we stopped at a small cafe to sample soft cream.  I got the 3-flavor variety...lavender, vanilla, and melon.  It was delicious, but I should have just had a gigantic cone of just the lavender.  A few of my friends bought the 7-flavor jumbo cone, but I knew I would not be able to finish that, lunch, and what I really HAD TO HAVE.

Today, Otaru is known for glassware.  A wise friend told me that the glass industry evolved from Otaru's past as a fishing village.  In the "olden days", fish net floats were made out of glass.  With more modern materials being used for floats, the glass industry switched their focus from fish floats to table ware.  Kitaichi Glass, a famous glass vendor, is based in Otaru.  Encouraged by The Keeper, I spent a shameless amount of $ on no-drip shoyu containers (KikukatDad requested at least 3 large dispensers) and hand-carved glass, one-of-a-kind sake cups.

I ended up having lunch at a place recommended by The Keeper.  He said it was where the tour bus and taxi DRIVERS dine with the locals.  I had a raw scallop and ikura don.  The ikura was perfectly seasoned, and all of this came on a bed of finely shredded egg.

But my real goal for the day was getting to LeTAO, a pastry shop reknown for creamy desserts.  Prior to my trip, I spent a good amount of time researching specialty food of the region.  Several guides mentioned the Double Fromage cheesecake and Bin de Fromage.  I had been talking about LeTAO to The Keeper weeks before we left Hawaii, so it was only fitting to enjoy the LeTAO experience with him.  I was worried about finding LeTAO, but it turned out that LeTAO is like Starbucks...there were several LeTAOs on that one main street! We ended up at a small LeTAO outpost where there was an open table and a bathroom.

Double Fromage is a luscious cheesecake-like layered creation.  This alone was worth the trip to Otaru.  I have never had anything like it before, and if anyone wants to try testing a copycat recipe for it, I'm in!  It IS available in Sapporo Station, but really, this experience wasn't about finding it in Sapporo. . .it was about having it where it was born. . .in Otaru.

And since I was at the shop, I really wanted to try the Bin de Fromage which was like the Double Fromage but in a cute miniature milk bottle.  I was too full to eat it then, but since it was available frozen in a 3-pack, I bought the 3-pack to share.   The frozen bottles kept nicely during the ride back to Sapporo.

A word of caution with the Bin de Fromage...it must be eaten all the way to the bottom of the bottle for the full taste experience.

After the Double Fromage, I had a gigantic square of kakimochi (The Keeper was sent to buy this for some friends in Hawaii) courtesy of DHS and a persimmon-filled daifuku from a small store on the way to the Otaru station.  Yet, I knew I still had to have dinner.

Because Otaru wasn't far from Sapporo, we returned to Sapporo at a decent hour.  Not everyone was hungry, so everyone went their own way.  I was hungry and thinking about going back to Tonkatsu Wako when I ran into The Keeper.  Turns out The Keeper was also looking for food.  We ended up at an unagi restaurant in the station, Miyagawa Honten.

It turns out that Miyagawa Honten is actually in the Daimaru department store at the station.  Apparently there were some bad reviews, but The Keeper and I were well-aware that the eel is prepared (read:  killed and cooked) to order, so it's certainly not fast food.  I ordered a small set, so the eel came in a porcelain bowl.  The Keeper ordered a larger meal so his eel was in a lacquered box.  I didn't take a pic of his meal, but it was lavish.  And in spite of the humble appearance of my bowl, this was THE best unagi I have ever had.

After the unagi meal, The Keeper and I stopped at a convenience store to buy stuff for the 3-hour+ train ride to Hakodate the next morning.  

. . .another day of mega-eating in the books and another epic eating day ahead. . .

Ice Cream Cookies

This is going back...way back...old school.

Ice Cream Cookies

     1 lb butter, softened
     2 c sugar
     1 tbsp vanilla
     1 egg
     5 c flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugar together.  Add vanilla and egg.  Add flour, one cup at a time, until all incorporated.  Using a #60 disher (a little less than a tablespoon), scoop dough onto ungreased cookie sheet (a flat cookie sheet can accommodate 20-23 cookies).  Flatten to 1/4" thickness with the bottom of a drinking glass (use parchment paper between dough and glass).  Bake for 13 minutes, rotating cookie sheet once.  Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.  For slightly larger cookies, use a #50 disher and bake for 15 minutes, rotating cookie sheet once.

Kabocha Ginger Scones

What a week!

I was hoping to start cleaning the house in preparation for D1's homecoming, but my movement was hampered by a late-week accident at work.  Or at least that's what I'm using as my excuse.

I took two friends out for brunch yesterday as a belated celebration for a milestone birthday.  By the time I got home, it was late in the afternoon and I had tons of crap to put away (Costco trip).

All the brunch pigging out rendered me unable to cook dinner.  The Help graciously offered to get dinner for himself.  While he was gone, I discovered a small package of pureed kabocha.  Imagine The Help's surprise when he came back to me actually baking something. . .too full to eat, too sore to clean. . .but not too tired to bake!

When I came across the small package of frozen pureed kabocha, I remember wondering a few weeks ago if it was even worth saving such a small amount.  I guess I got my answer.  The scone recipe doesn't use a whole lot, and I think it's more for the color than anything else.

What I love most about these scones is the strong, bold ginger flavor.  I also love the flavor surprise when the candied ginger isn't processed too fine.  I've made this with expensive candied ginger nuggets as well as with the candied ginger sold in the asian preserves section.  Both types of ginger will work with this recipe.  Buy the cheaper one.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Kabocha Ginger Scones

     1/4 c sour cream
     1/4 c pureed kabocha (or any type of winter squash)
     1 egg
     6 tbsp sugar
     1/4 c coarsely chopped candied ginger
     2 c flour
     1/2 tsp salt
     2 tsp baking powder
     1/4 tsp baking soda
     1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
     1/2 tsp ground ginger
     1/2 tsp cinnamon
     4 tbsp cold butter
     1/2 tbsp butter, melted
     1/2-1 tsp turbinado (coarse) sugar (may use granulated sugar if turbinado sugar isn't available)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, kabocha and egg.  Set aside.  Pulse sugar and candied ginger together in a food processor until ginger is finely chopped.  Add flour.  Sift salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices into bowl of food processor.  Pulse until spices are evenly distributed.  Add cold butter, and pulse until butter pieces are thoroughly incorporated into dry ingredients.  Add to sour cream mixture.  Stir only until mixture clumps together.  Turn onto floured board and knead a few times.  Pat into an 8" circle.  Cut into 8 wedges.  Place on parchment paper, leaving 1/4" space between wedges.  Bake for 18 minutes.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

THFM's Satojoyu Hot Dogs

I had a big treat this weekend.  My friend Wi (I referred to her in a previous post as a "generational friend") called me a few weeks ago and offered me her lunch reservation at Takenoko Sushi.  Takenoko Sushi is probably THE most exclusive sushi establishment on the Big Island.  They are completely booked for the remainder of 2016.  While they will do take-out, even that is hit-or-miss too, and there are stringent, regimented pick-up times.

Instead of ordering the omakase (chef's choice) like The Help, I ordered just the pieces I felt like eating.  I got my mirugai (geoduck) fix for a while.  The Help said the highlight of his assortment was the otoro (fatty tuna).  He said it was like butter.

After all that feasting, there was no way we could have anything for dinner which would come close to the decadence of that meal.  So we went totally opposite. . .I got to eat my monster taco and curly fries!

Searching for a middle ground, we eventually ate one of the most humble dinners imaginable last night.  Neither The Help nor myself was in any mood to cook, and any attempt at a fancy meal would fall far short of Takenoko Sushi, which was still fresh in our minds.  We settled on satojoyu hot dogs.

Today's post is primarily for D1 and any other college student who is yearning for "local" food.  Please pardon the simplistic nature of the recipe, but it is kid-tested and approved!

I mentioned shoyu-sugar hot dogs in a previous post (the same post where I mentioned Wi).  I seriously did not eat shoyu-sugar hot dogs while growing up.  Perhaps I was only one of two kids in Hilo who didn't.  The Help learned how to make shoyu-sugar hot dogs from the Japan-born mother of some high school friends, and because he learned it as "satojoyu hot dog", that is what he continues to call it.  I have NEVER made this; it is The Help, not me, who makes these for us.

Knowing very little about regional dialects, I can only guess that "satojoyu" must be some kind of regional way to describe foods made with shoyu and sugar.  My minimal Japanese language skills can at least identify "sato" as sugar, and any fool can hear the similarities between "joyu" and shoyu.  I cannot ever recall either of my parents using the word "satojoyu".

After stuffing my face with what would probably be a half pound of these hot dogs over a mound of rice (and some kim chee on the side. . .really, who could forget the kim chee), I thought about the last time we had these.  I had sent D1 a picture and she texted back, saying how much she missed these, how good they looked, and how she was got a little homesick when she saw the pic.  Even though this was not something I missed when I was in college (how could I since it wasn't something I grew up eating), I guess D1 grew up eating this.  I told her they seemed simple to make and I would be sure to ask The Help how to make it and get her a recipe.  Unfortunately, they probably don't sell red hot dogs where she is!  Oops!

In the event she is able to locate red hot dogs from a Hawaii source within the next few weeks, she can make these for nourishment while studying for finals (D1, here's your recipe).  And D1, if you're reading this, The Help said he will make these for you when you get home.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Satojoyu Hot Dog

     1 pkg (about 1 pound) hot dogs, preferably red ones from Hawaii
     2 tsp oil
     1/4 c sugar
     1/4 c shoyu

Slice hot dogs on the bias (about 5 pieces per hot dog).  Heat oil in a skillet.  Add sliced hot dogs and saute until brown (areas of char).  Add sugar and shoyu.  Cook until sauce is thickened.

Furikake Party Mix

It's almost Halloween.  Halloween marks the crossover to fall, at least in my mind.  After Halloween, the days seem a lot shorter and the weather seems a lot cooler.  I like fall because fall means fireplace weather.

When I was young, I would go trick-or-treating around my neighborhood.  I remember The Rents making arrangements with  KikukatDad's friend to purchase large boxes of full-size candy bars.  I couldn't understand why we had to give out full-size Good News and Snickers bars, when I wanted to give out Jolly Rancher and Dum Dums.  I kinda still don't get it, but I do understand why the purchased the candy wholesale.

I think D1 had similar trick-or-treat experiences when she was younger, but I'm not sure about D2.  Seems that in the past few years, trick-or-treating has undergone some kind of transformation.  For The Rents, they now go to Costco and buy huge quantities of individually packaged pretzels, fruit snacks, and Famous Amos cookies and dutifully pass them out to kids who go to their house for trick-or-treating.  But The Rents have remarked that the kids who stop by are neither from their neighborhood nor are they the grandchildren of neighbors.  No shit.  Kids who are in their neighborhood on October 31 arrive by the truckloads from other neighborhoods.  They get dropped off and picked up after they have huge bags of candy.  It's no surprise that many of The Rents neighbors keep their porch lights off.  The Rents aren't there yet.  They can't seem to turn their backs on Halloween.

Not like me.

Let me explain.  I live on a small street, and there are no children on my street (D2 is the only minor resident. . .by the time D1 returns home in December, she will be an adult).  In the eighteen years I have lived here, nobody has ever come to trick-or-treat.

Maybe that will change this year.  And I will be prepared.  I will have furikake party mix to share!

You can buy furikake party mix from Costco (not cheap), Big Island Delights (you'll never get enough, even in the large foil bag), and Wholesale Unlimited (the cereal becomes hopelessly smashed by the time you're ready to eat it).  But it's easy to make your own, and if you make your own, you can control what goes into it.

The Costco version has Honeycomb cereal in it.  I don't add it in mine because I don't think it matches.  If you'd like to add it, replace the kakimochi with Honeycomb.  One of the pre-made ones also contains Bugles.  Those are good, and I would add them in if I could remember to buy them when I go to the store.  I do make an extra effort to locate the waffle pretzels.  Unlike the sticks, the waffle pretzels don't invariably end up at the bottom of the batch.

Another tip:  try to find a non-fishy furikake.  Nori komi or nori goma is preferable.  Every mouthful should not taste like you're eating a piece of fish or shrimp.

Don't ask me why, but eating the furikake party mix out of a paper cone makes it taste extra special.  And best of all, the cone is refillable and does not require washing.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Furikake Party Mix

     1 box Crispix cereal

     3 cups kakimochi

     1 bag pretzels

     1/4 c sugar

     1/4 c vegetable oil

     1/4 c light corn syrup

     1/4 c butter

     1 tbsp shoyu

     5 1/2 tbsp furikake

In a large roasting pan, combine Crispix, kakimochi, and pretzels.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  In a small saucepan, heat sugar, vegetable oil, corn syrup, butter and shoyu until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.  Pour over cereal mixture.  Sprinkle furikake.  Toss everything gently until cereal, pretzels and kakimochi are coated.  Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.  Stir periodically while cooling to prevent mixture from clumping.  Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Cookie Jar: Spooky Pinwheel Cookies

It's almost Halloween!  Yippee!  I love Halloween!  I love the idea that candy will be marked down with a deep discount as soon as Halloween is over.  I can buy my fill of Twix and Three Musketeers!  That's the best part about Halloween.

One tradition we have in Hale o Kikukat is baking cookies during fall intersession.  That didn't happen this year because the Ds and I both took trips during intersession.  Luckily, the Ds stayed with me for the weekend after intersession (Mr. Dependable told me he had to work golf in Kona) so we were able to do our Halloween cookie baking.

D2 wanted to make Hoot Owl Cookies (she has been asking about this for a while), but I didn't think there would be enough for the kids to "help" if we did the owls.  Inspired by Pinterest, I wanted to try making pinwheel cookies.  After checking out a bunch of recipes, I settled on the dough for one of my trusty sugar cookie recipes and just changed the procedure to make the spirals.

If you prefer soft cookies, you can make the rope shorter than 12" before coiling.  But if you are like me and prefer a crunchier cookie, its very important to hold to the 12" length before beginning the coil.  A bunch of the spiral cookie pictures on Pinterest feature thicker cookies.  They look neater than the ones we made, but I'm guessing they weren't crunchy.  Any leftover dough (or if you get tired of rolling the dough into ropes) can be rolled out and cut with cookie cutters.  You can find the procedure and baking times for the cut-out cookies here.

Turned out only D2 helped me with the cookie baking.  D1 recused herself and spent the time in her room.  I'm thinking that was a blessing in disguise.  D2 loves making and decorating cookies, while D1, being a taskmaster, just wants to get things done.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Spooky Pinwheel Cookies

     1/2 c butter, softened
     1/2 c sugar
     1 egg
     1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
     2 c flour
     2 tsp baking powder
     food coloring:  yellow, orange, black
     non-pareils

Combine flour and baking powder.  Set aside.  Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and extract and mix well.  Add dry ingredients.  Divide dough into 3 parts.  Tint each part a different color.  Shape colored dough into a flat brick and chill for 30 minutes.  Divide each color of dough into 24 pieces.  Shape each piece into a cylinder 1" long.  Place 2 cylinders of dough next to each other.  Add 3rd cylinder on top.  Roll together to form a 2" cylinder.  Chill for 10 minutes.  Remove 1/4 of cylinders from refrigerator.  Roll into a rope 12" long.  Then twist from one end.  Coil cylinder, taking care to keep center flat.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Chill while preparing remainder of cookies.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Roll edges of cookies in non-pareils.  Bake for 19 minutes.  Place cookies on cooling rack to cool.

Sugar Bath Ham

Nice to have a holiday today!  I am bracing for a long four days at Naalehu Elementary.

Some of my teammates will be spending the entire four days in Naalehu.  They will be staying at digs out there.  I've chosen to make the nearly one-and-a-half hour one-way drive each day because I need to be around for the Ds. This also means I will be on the road before 6 am each day, but I suppose that cannot be helped.  At least I have leftovers in the freezer to heat up for quick dinners.  Somewhere in that vast wasteland (my freezer) are a few bags of meaty chunks of Sugar Bath Ham.

Ham is something I associate with holiday feasting.  Whether its Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, or Easter, ham in some shape or form can be found amidst the rest of the spread.  I'm always careful to scrutinize the ham to be sure the devil's condiment (mustard) was not used in any part of the preparation. Ickkkk.....what a way to ruin a perfect chunk of pig.  A few years ago, my cousin brought a platter of ham to a family party and said he followed Emeril's recipe. I was totally grossed out when I looked under the foil and saw that it was slathered with yuck.

Over ten years ago, I had a ham epiphany.  My uncle's cousin brought a plate of ham to a family party that was THE best ham I ever tasted (even before I was violated by the mere sight of that mustard-clad beast).  When I asked how it was made, I was told it was made on the stove top, rather than the oven.  The ham had spent a few hours in a sugar bath before being carved.

I've spent many years making hams for parties.  I've done great hams in the oven, but I was never able to recreate the sugar bath ham.  But this year, thanks to the Sack N Save "free half-ham with two vouchers" program, I decided to take a risk and give it my best shot.  I didn't want to go in unarmed, so I googled "stove top ham" to look for ideas.  While I was able to find cooking techniques, I wasn't crazy about the ingredients in the bath, so this was where I deviated.

What resulted from this experiment turned out to be THE best ham, even better than the ham from uncle's cousin.  I supposed I could've stopped at the sugar bath, but the quick heat blast in the oven burned some fat and carmelized the outer surface.  Free ham or not, this is the way I will be making my hams from now on. 

Sugar Bath Ham made with shank-half

 click on recipe title for printable recipe
Sugar Bath Ham

     1 half ham (shank or butt half, about 8 lbs)

     water

     sugar

Using a carving fork, pierce ham deeply all over.  Score layer of fat.  Place ham in pot.  Pot should be large enough that ham is submerged.  If ham is too large to be fully submerged, be certain half of ham can be submerged at all times.  Add water to pot, keeping track of how much water is added.  Add sugar (half the amount of water).  For example, if you added 10 cups of water, add 5 cups of sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Then reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours, carefully basting/flipping ham as often as possible.  Remove ham to broiling pan.  Place broiling pan in oven.  Turn oven on to 450 degrees and remove ham after 25 minutes.  Let rest 20 minutes before carving.

Holiday Tradition: Fancy Cookies

Was Santa good to you this year?  Santa brought me two waaaay kewl McLaren-Mercedes-Vodaphone shirts.  I can't wait for 2012  Formula 1 season to begin! The Ds managed to stay off the "naughty" list this year and had their stockings filled with goodies:  instant udon, Targus stylus, kindle case, Bizu, and the ever-timeless Lindt chocolate Santa.  Can't wait for next year.  I'm gonna ask Santa for a Somali cat!

One reason why I think Santa has been so good to us is because the yummy homemade cookies make our home a worthwhile stop on his world tour.  This year, we were armed with a variety of cookies for Santa.  The first cookie we made was spritz wreaths (not pictured).  Then we moved on to the cut-outs.

Like Santa, I love fancy cut-out cookies too, but the many details that go into making a kick-ass cookie can be totally daunting.  The cookie itself is the main part of this monumental task.  I love it when cookies snap rather than bend.  But making rolled sugar cookies is tricky.  Many recipes which I've tried produce soggy cookies. Yuck.  And that's after spending all that time to mix the dough, chill the dough, roll it out, and bake it.

The cookies here were made with totally awesome sugar cookie dough.  These cookies are crisp.  An added bonus is that the dough, when properly chilled, is easy to work with.  This recipe will not make a lot of cookies.  Scraps can be re-rolled no more than twice.  After the 2nd time, gather dough and roll into 1" spheres.  Flatten to 1/4" and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  If you have festive sanding sugar on hand, feel free to sprinkle some on.  Pics of these cookies can be found near the bottom of this blog entry, just above the recipe for royal icing.  Sanding sugar will remain intact during baking.  Another option is to leave these buttons plain so they can be decorated with icing.  Bake as directed below.


Decorating these cookies is the ultimate way to make these cookies outstanding.  I rely on 2 different icings to get the effect I want.  The bells, stockings & candy canes were decorated using a corn syrup icing.  This icing doesn't dry as firm as royal icing, but the colors are vibrant, and its a lot more convenient to make different colors.  The icing has a nice almond flavor to it.  The snowflakes and round shapes were decorated with royal icing.  Royal icing dries harder than the corn syrup icing, but its inconvenient to make more than one color at a time, and colors are muted rather than vibrant.  Royal icing has no particular flavor, other than sweet, so if I'm using royal icing, I make sure that the cookies are made with almond extract.

click on recipe titles below for printable recipes
Rolled Sugar Cookies

     1/2 c butter, softened

     1/2 c sugar

     1 egg

     1/2 tsp almond or vanilla extract

     2 c flour

     2 tsp baking powder

Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and extract.  Stir together flour and baking powder.  Add to butter mixture.  Pat dough into a flattened square, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 2 hours.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Working with 1/3 of dough at a time, roll out (1/4" thick) onto lightly floured surface and cut with desired cookie cutters.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 19 minutes.  Remove to wire rack and cool completely.   

Shiny Cookie Glaze

     2 c powdered sugar

     2 tbsp milk

     4 tsp light corn syrup

     1/2 tsp almond extract

     assorted food coloring

In a bowl, stir together sugar and milk.  Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy.  Divide into bowls and tint each bowl a different color.  Icing may also be placed in small plastic bags for piping.

Royal Icing

     1 c powdered sugar

     3/4 tsp meringue powder

     1 1/2 tbsp warm water

     food coloring, if desired

Combine powdered sugar and meringue powder.   Add food coloring to water (color will become washed out when combined with powdered sugar, so make color strong).  Add to powdered sugar mixture.  Beat on high speed for 10-12 minutes until icing holds stiff peaks.  Place in a pastry bag and pipe designs on cookies.