Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Grandma’s All-Occasion Sugar Cookies (Tuesdays with Dorie)

Grandma's Sugar Cookie (Tuesdays with Dorie)
Sugar Cookies

First, thanks to everyone for my birthday wishes! I had a perfect birthday! And only 363 more days til my next one!

Ulrike of Küchenlatein (one of my favorite bloggers!!) chose Grandma’s All-Occasion Sugar Cookies for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection. You can find the recipe on her website or page 146 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

My immigrant Okinawan-born Japanese grandma didn't make cookies in her home in the West Adams area of Los Angeles...I remember her making orange mochi in a big bowl. She stirred the gooey, sticky mass with the bowl and sat on the floor for added leverage. Her 18 grandchildren would always find a bowl of semi-stale arare (Japanese crackers) on the coffee table as well. Funny the things you remember about your grandma!

I made half the recipe, added the zest of one Meyer lemon and attempted the quick and easy slice and bake method (after freezing the dough for one hour). However, my log was far from cylindrical and I ended up with funny looking blobs. I like to pretend you can see famous people or places in them, and will try selling them to a casino on eBay.

Grandma's Sugar Cookie (Tuesdays with Dorie)
Do you see Madonna, Elvis or Michigan in these cookies?

Grandma's Sugar Cookie (Tuesdays with Dorie)
For the second batch, I abandoned my wacky roll and rolled them into balls. These weren't my favorite sugar cookies, but I'm glad I tried them out!

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers! I'm sure everyone had a million different creative ideas! Also, don't forget that Dorie's book Baking is always a great holiday gift!

30 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 9, 2008 at 10:55 AM

    They ALL look lovely...I think you did a wonderful job on them and presenting them...so pretty and festive!

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  2. The Blonde DuckDecember 9, 2008 at 11:00 AM

    They look lovely to me! I love sugar cookies!

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  3. UnknownDecember 9, 2008 at 11:37 AM

    They look cute and tasty (tasty being the important part in my book).

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  4. chocolatechicDecember 9, 2008 at 11:45 AM

    They look great!

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  5. vibiDecember 9, 2008 at 11:47 AM

    LOL LOL Wacky roll!
    They do look much better made with your good old hands (not that your hands are old, as they are in fact younger than mine! blink blink!!!) ...just as they should in the tradition of things!
    BRAVO!

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  6. MeganDecember 9, 2008 at 11:58 AM

    Thanks for the laugh! Although I didn't see anything recognizable in the sugar pattern, they still looked great.

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  7. TammyDecember 9, 2008 at 1:52 PM

    they look lovely and Christmassy!

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  8. Lisa magicsprinklesDecember 9, 2008 at 2:00 PM

    Too funny. Wait! Isn't that Bart Simpson in that one? I thought I saw his spiky hair. Maybe Matt Groening would be interested.

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  9. dharmagirlDecember 9, 2008 at 2:11 PM

    your cookies look festive and fun!i love the story about your grandmother, and had a good laugh at the cook visions:)

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  10. doughmessticDecember 9, 2008 at 2:38 PM

    very festive! and by the way - NICE Pies With That entry...you won! I will be posting it later...but YOU WON!! Such a cool idea.

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  11. Carol Peterman/TableFareDecember 9, 2008 at 4:45 PM

    Don't start your birthday countdown for next year just yet, there is still a lot of birthday month to be celebrating. In fact, you should have another one of your lovely looking cookies as a little celebration right now. As I was cutting out shapes with this dough, I started thinking round-log cookies would have been a good idea.

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  12. RachelDecember 9, 2008 at 5:26 PM

    SO cute and festive!

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  13. JudyDecember 9, 2008 at 5:51 PM

    I'm not sure there is a perfect sugar cookie recipe, but it's good to keep trying. I like how yours turned out.

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  14. JudyDecember 9, 2008 at 5:52 PM

    Oh, congratulations on your pie win!

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  15. Engineer BakerDecember 9, 2008 at 6:45 PM

    Not gonna lie, I don't see Elvis, Madonna, *or* Michigan in those. They're pretty darned cute though. I'm glad your birthday was good, and now I have a hankering for mochi. Which is odd, since I've never had it before...

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  16. AnonymousDecember 9, 2008 at 6:47 PM

    Actually, I see Hitchcock. They look mighty tasty to me.

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  17. DiDecember 9, 2008 at 7:52 PM

    I like your red and green sprinkles mixed together. =) Nice job.

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  18. DiDecember 9, 2008 at 7:53 PM

    I like your red and green sprinkles mixed together. =) Nice job.

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  19. ShariDecember 9, 2008 at 8:38 PM

    They look very Christmas-y!

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  20. JessicaDecember 9, 2008 at 8:54 PM

    I love mochi! I also think that your sugar cookies look so festive. There's just something about the red and green sprinkles that puts me in the holiday spirit!

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  21. kimberly salemDecember 10, 2008 at 9:15 AM

    they look really delicious :) ooh and i love mochi! never tried making it, though.

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  22. CristineDecember 10, 2008 at 10:20 AM

    Very festive! I like the idea of selling them on Ebay! :)

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  23. Nancy/n.o.eDecember 10, 2008 at 6:24 PM

    Love your grandma memories! There's something to be said for drop cookies, although I don't think your sliced ones look outlandish at all.
    Nancy

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  24. AmyRuthDecember 10, 2008 at 8:01 PM

    Glad you tried the cookies and yes, I totally remember funny things about childhood as well. Like freezers with ice trays that crack when opened for a late night Dr. Pepper. he he The bright side is that next week we get to try a new cookie recipe. Yippee
    AmyRuth

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  25. betty geekDecember 10, 2008 at 9:10 PM

    You are definitely my favorite librarian in the world, but you already know that. Your cookies look exactly like mine. It is uncanny! ;) I am going to post mine tomorrow morning since night time pictures look caca. Good job!

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  26. UnknownDecember 11, 2008 at 10:02 AM

    I think the cookies look great! Who wants perfect circles anyway? :)

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  27. PamelaDecember 11, 2008 at 11:09 AM

    Cute cookies! I was searching the sprinkles for Madonna and Elvis. Sort of like one of those "Magic Eye" books!!

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  28. 27SusansDecember 11, 2008 at 6:27 PM

    I think the cookie on the left with green sprinkles looks like Kermit.

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  29. PearlDecember 11, 2008 at 7:12 PM

    looks beautiful! my brother adores sugar cookies.

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  30. ostwestwindDecember 15, 2008 at 12:14 AM

    Sorry that this recipe wasn't yours, but thanks for joining TWD and baking with me and trying it out.

    Ulrike from Küchenlatein

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