Recipe #4 - Frosted Butterscotch Cookies

Because most of the people that trip over my blog are really just lookin' for some good food....

These are one of my favorite cookies to make because they look fun and fancy, but are super easy. And really super good.

Frosted Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. packed brown sugar (do you ever NOT pack brown sugar?! Come on!)
1/2 c. shortening
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 8 oz. carton sour cream
2/3 c. chopped walnuts
Brown Sugar Frosting
Walnut Halves (optional (but they're not people. You need these for the aforementioned fanciness))

Ahem. Let's get going.

Grease a large cookie sheet & set aside. In a bowl, stir together first 4 ingredients and set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat the (packed...always packed..) brown sugar and shortening on medium high speed for 30 seconds (I never count..just beat the stuff). Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Make sure to scrap the side of the bowl. Duh. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream , beating well after each addition. Stir in chopped walnuts with a wooden spoon.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart (small I know, but they rise and spread!) onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10 - 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. Frost with the Browned Butter Frosting, and top with a walnut half, let dry. Enjoy. And yes, you will.

Browned Butter Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
5 tsps. boiling water
1 1/2 tsps. vanilla

In a heavy saucepan heat & stir the butter over medium-low heat until golden brown (Do.Not.Scorch). Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar, water, & vanilla. Beat to make a smooth spreadable frosting. Immediately frost cookies and add walnut.

*This is a cookie that has been around for a while. And while they ARE cookies, they're really more cake-like than cookie...like. Oh, one tip, if the frosting gets a little stiff before you're finished icing the cookies, just stir in a small amount of boiling water and stir until it's all creamy again. And when it says "frost" it really means "drop a spoonful on the top of that cookie and let it slowly drip down the sides, like it's slipping into a deep sleep". Okay? Got it? Now, GO TO. MAKE THESE COOKIES and YOU WILL BE LOVED. And perhaps have your homework done for you in return for a batch. That can't be bad, right?

(Fyi, these pics were taken with the OLD Duct-Taped camera. Forgive them. )

I've already posted this pic, but um. I love this mixer. And it's fairly new, so I can still be excited, right?

A little washed out. And see that frosting? That is NOT how it should look. This is how it would look if, say, you were running late to church because you can't get up before 11 am. And have absolutely NO time to add boiling water because HOLY CRAP, you can't go to church without MASCARA. The poor souls at the little get together after church had to deal with cookies that were not quite as aesthetically pleasing as they should have been.

Not that I'd know. But fyi? If you need to make cookies, wake yourself the freak up.

See that frosting? That's an abrupt edge. It should be a DRIP.

(Pst! Don't tell anyone...but they tasted the same...)