Hearty Italian Sausage and Potatoes RECIPE FOR TODAY

Hearty Italian Sausage and Potatoes
INGREDIENTS

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb basil chicken sausage (any sausage can be used)
½ sweet onion, chopped into ½-inch pieces
1 lb red potatoes, chopped into ½-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (divided)
1 Tbsp chopped rosemary
1 Tbsp chopped basil
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Warm oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add sausage and cover. Cook until browned, turning once. After sausages are browned add potatoes, onion, salt and pepper. Cover. Stir often.

Remove sausages once they are mostly cooked through. Spread potato mixture across skillet and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Slice sausage into ½” pieces and return to pan. Add rosemary, garlic and ½ of tomatoes. Cook about 5 minutes or until tomatoes are cooked. Add basil, remaining tomatoes and stir to combine. Serve and enjoy!

Time-Saving Tips: Time saving tips: Start your sausage and then do your prep; potatoes and onions, then garlic, tomatoes and herbs. You will have dinner on the table in 30 minutes!

Chocolate Ganache Cake RECIPE FOR TODAY

Chocolate Ganache Cake 

Ingredients

Easy chocolate cake recipe:
• 350 g (2 1/2 cups) self raising flour
• 285 g (1 1/2 cups) golden caster sugar
• 285 g (1 1/4 cups) margarine or softened butter
• 7 eggs
• 7 tablespoons of full fat milk
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 heaped tablespoons of baking cocoa mixed in a little full fat milk to make a thick but smooth past (no lumps).
Chocolate buttercream recipe:
• 250 g unsalted butter, diced
• 500 g icing sugar (powdered sugar/confectioners sugar), sieved
• 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder (must be sieved)
For the chocolate ganache you will need:
• 500 g of dark chocolate (52% cocoa minimum)
• 250 g of unsalted butter
• 130 ml of double cream

Instructions

1. Mix all the cake ingredients in a large bowl until smooth and divide mixture between 4 x 6? sandwich tins, and bake until a cake tester or skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Turn out on wire rack to cool.
2. Make up the buttercream, by adding the butter, icing sugar and cocoa into a mixer with a little water until smooth. (Always best to add water an eggcup amount at a time as too much with make your buttercream runny and should be a thick but spreadable consistency similar to cream cheese).
3. Sandwich all the layers together with the buttercream as below, and place on a cake card of the same size, using a little of the buttercream to stick the cake onto the card.
4. Using a spatula, cover the whole cake in chocolate buttercream to form the crumb coat starting with the top and then the sides in order to prep the cake for the ganache. Then chill cake in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm.
5. While the cake is in the fridge, prepare the ganache. Break the chocolate into the bowl, add the diced butter and place over a pan of simmering (but not boiling) water.
6. Whilst beginning to melt, pour the cream into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Once boiling remove from the stove and pour it over the chocolate/butter mix and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until smooth.
7. Once smooth, it should contain no lumps and look glossy (as below). Remove from bowl of simmering water and leave to cool a bit, but so it is still warm and pour-able.
8. Take a baking sheet and lay a piece of greaseproof paper over it, followed by a wire cake rack. This stops the whole process getting to messy and also traps the unused ganache.
9. Place the cake on top of the rack and using the ladle pour lots of ganache over the top of the cake so that the ganache reaches all the way down and round the sides. You will need to pour several spoonfuls over the top to do this.
10. Carefully lift the cake off the rack using a long spatula or cake lifter (if you have one) and place on a cake stand or plate and leave to set hard.
11. Decorate with fresh whipped cream, ganache, fresh fruit, sugar flowers or however you like!

BELIZEAN LEMON MERINGUE PIE RECIPE FOR TODAY

BELIZEAN LEMON MERINGUE PIE

About This Recipe: This delicious lemon pie recipe comes from Flavors of Belize: The Cookbook. Try it -- you'll love it!

Ingredients 
Ingredients for Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

5 tablespoons vegetable shortening

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 to 7 tablespoons cold water, as needed

Ingredients for filling and topping:

5 eggs, separated

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk 1 cup white sugar

1/3 to 1/2 cup lime juice, plus 1 teaspoon 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preparation
Directions for crust:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine flour and salt. Cut in the shortening until coarse crumbs form. Add water, a little at a time, and stir until mixture forms a ball. May add more water or use less to get the dough to a rolling consistency. Roll dough on floured surface to approximately 10 inches and arrange in a 9" baking dish. Prick dough generously with a fork and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Set aside. Reduce oven to 325°F.

Directions for pie:

Beat egg yolks in a bowl just until mixed.

Add condensed milk and combine.

Add 1/3 to 1⁄2 cup lime juice, slowly to desired taste; should be a little tart.

Pour into pie crust.

Beat egg whites on high, until foamy and thick.

Reduce speed and slowly add 1 cup of sugar while continuing to beat.

Increase to high until sugar is incorporated.

Add 1 teaspoon of lime juice and cream of tartar and beat until thick peaks form.

Spread on top of the egg yolk mixture.

Be sure to spread the merengue so that it touches the pie crust, thereby forming a seal.

Touch top of merengue with spatula to form peaks all over. Bake at 325°F for approximately 25 minutes or until peaks are golden.

Communion Bread RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY

Communion Bread

4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (540g)
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour (170g)
2 1/4 cups warm water

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Mix flours together, then add water all at once. Stir until flour is moistened and begins to "clean" the sides of the bowl. When I make the bread I find there's still quite a bit of flour that is not incorporated into the dough at this stage - that's fine. Dump the whole mess out onto the counter or a board and begin kneading. Knead for 5 minutes or until smooth - you may need to add a little flour as you go if it becomes sticky (use whole wheat flour). When done kneading, cover the dough and let it rest for 5 minutes (I just leave it on the counter and turn the bowl upside down to cover it).

Divide the dough into 8 parts (I find a kitchen scale is very helpful here). Roll each piece into a ball then press into a circle about half an inch thick (it should be about 3 1/4 inches in diameter). Score each loaf into 40 pieces (see the photos above) - cut the smallest circle first, then the larger circle, then cut two straight lines at right angles all the way across the circle, then cut each quarter of the two outer circles into thirds (two cuts in each quarter), then cut each section in the outermost circle in two. When making cuts, cut all the way through or nearly so.

Place loaves on cookie sheets lined with parchment or lightly oiled. Bake bread for 15 to 18 minutes until the center is firm and loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on a rack.

Homemade Unleavened Bread RECIPE FOR TODAY

Homemade Unleavened Bread (Homemade Matzah)
Yield: 
6 cookie sheets full

Ingredients: 
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups water
6 to 6 1/2 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour

Instructions:
1. In a large mixing bowl*, combine the oil, honey, salt, eggs, and water. Stir until well-mixed. Stir in about 4 cups of the flour, then add more flour as needed and knead into a fairly stiff dough.

2. Divide dough into 3 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a large rectangle. You can make your matza as thin or as thick as you wish; we like ours rolled fairly thin (not thicker than pie crust, for example).

3. Cut rolled dough into squares. (I use a pizza cutter for this.) Place squares onto lightly greased baking sheets. Prick with a fork. Sprinkle with salt if desired.

4. Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven. For thin matza, bake 10-11 minutes. For medium matza, 13-14 minutes. For thick matza, bake 15-20 minutes or until done. Matza should be very lightly browned on top. Over-baked matzah will be hard and not very good, so be careful to not bake too long!

5. Removed baked matzah from baking sheet and place on wire rack to cool, covered with a clean towel. Store in an airtight container or bag.

Matzah is delicious fresh and hot! Matzah can also be frozen for later. Wrap/seal tightly before freezing.

Additional Notes:
* If you have a bread machine, you can use the dough cycle for this step. Just place ingredients in machine in order listed and allow it to knead until a smooth dough has formed. Remove dough from machine (before "rising time" has started) and proceed with step 2.

A Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook can also be used for step 1 in this recipe.

Italian Sweet Ricotta Easter Pie RECIPE FOR TODAY

I

talian Sweet Ricotta Easter Pie
Author: My Grandmother Maria
Recipe type: Dessert Cuisine: Italian
Prep time: 2 hours Cook time: 60 mins Total time: 3 hours
Serves: 36 (4-inch) mini pies

Something wonderful happens to ricotta when you add a little sweetness to it.. Don't believe me? Try this Italian Sweet Ricotta Easter Pie to be convinced!

Ingredients
The dough:
6 eggs
6 tablespoons sugar,granulated
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups all-purpose flour

The filling:
2 eggs
5-6 tablespoons sugar, granulated
2 containers (450 grams) ricotta cheese,drained

The egg wash:
4 egg yolks,slightly beaten
Instructions

To make the dough:
In a large mixing bowl (of stand mixer), with whisk attachment, beat the eggs for 1 minute.

Add the sugar and whisk for another minute or so.

Add the oil and whisk another minute.

Add about a third of the flour and whisk for 1-2 minutes.

Switch to dough hook and add the rest of the flour.

"Knead" dough for about 8-10 minutes. Alternately, you can knead by hand.

Place dough in a greased bowl.

Cover and let the dough rest for at least 6 hours.

To make the filling:
Whisk the eggs until frothy (about 1 minute). (I use my stand mixer)

Whisk in the sugar (another minute or so).

Whisk in the ricotta for 30 seconds.

Set aside.

To assemble the pie:
Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Divide the dough into 12 sections.

Work one section of dough through pasta maker attachment. (

Alternately,you can use a rolling pin)

Begin at the widest number and then just move up one number (it's level 2 on my machine)

Place stretched out dough over little press maker.

Place the equivalence of 2 scant tablespoons of ricotta mixture in the middle section of your mini pie. (refer to picture in the blog)

Squeeze and seal. Make sure you have a tight seal.

Make a few incisions in the dough. ( I use a scissor to snip the dough in 3 places)

Place on baking sheet.

Brush with egg wash.

Repeat until you have no more dough or filling (hopefully this co-incides).

Place in preheated oven at 350 ° F for about 20 minutes.

Lower heat to 325 ° F and continue baking for 30-40 minutes until golden and puffy looking. Depending on your oven, you might want to place a sheet of aluminum paper loosely over the loaves, to prevent them from over browning.

Place on racks to cool.

Refrigerate until ready to be served.

Notes
Feel free to adjust the level of sweetness of the ricotta filling by increasing or decreasing the amount of sugar.
I usually drain the ricotta overnight.

EASTER BREAD WREATH RECIPE FOR TODAY

EASTER BREAD WREATH
STARTER
1 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup cool water
1/8 teaspoon instant yeast

DOUGH
2 1/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast, for best rise; or regular instant yeast
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract + 1/4 teaspoon orange oil
1/4 teaspoon ground anise seed, optional
grated peel of 1 large orange

GLAZE
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice or milk
sprinkles or nonpareils, for decorating

Instructions
To make the bread: Mix together the starter ingredients, cover the bowl, and let rest at room temperature overnight, or for up to 15 hours.

Next day, combine the bubbly starter with all the remaining dough ingredients. Mix and knead, using a mixer or bread machine, until the dough is elastic and satiny. We don't recommend preparing this dough by hand, as it's quite sticky and challenging to bring together.

Grease a large bowl and let the dough rise for 1 to 2 hours, until it's noticeably puffy. If you've used SAF Gold instant yeast, the rising time will be shorter.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface, divide it into three pieces, and shape each piece into an 18"-long rope. Braid the ropes together, and connect the two ends to form a wreath.

Cover the wreath and allow it to rise until puffy, about 1 to 2 hours.

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 375°F.

Bake the wreath for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 20 minutes, tenting it for the final 10 minutes of baking.

The finished loaf will be golden brown, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center will register at least 190°F.

Remove the wreath from the oven, and transfer it to a rack to cool.

To make the glaze:
Stir together the sugar and 2 tablespoons of the milk or orange juice.
Add more liquid 1/4 teaspoon at a time, until the glaze is thin and pour-able.

Drizzle the glaze onto the cooled braid, then decorate with sprinkles, if desired.

Yield: one 10" round loaf.

Another Italian Easter Bread RECIPE FOR TODAY

Another Italian Easter Bread

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs of flour
• 4 cups of water
• 3 packets of rapid rise dry yeast
• 2 cups regular milk
• 4 eggs
• 2 sticks of butter
• 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of anise seeds
• 2 cups of sugar

Note: All ingredients must be warm at room temperature.

Method:

Dissolve the yeast in the 4 cups of warm water. Scald the milk (to boiling point) remove from heat, the butter doesn’t have to melt. Set the scalded milk aside, to let it warm (don’t let it cool).

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water with a small pinch of sugar. Let sit 10 minutes.

Whisk the eggs and sugar in a separate bowl. Then add the yeast, followed by the butter, milk, sugar and anise.

Next, add the flour into the mixing bowl. Mix well with a wooden spoon and work and knead until smooth and elastic (not rough or dry).

Lightly oil the pan and dough. Cover and let rise in a warm area, for 30 minutes until it doubles in size. After the first 30 minutes, punch it down a couple times and let it rise covered again, until it has doubled in size (another 30 minutes).

Lightly oil the bread pans in preparation for baking.

Next, shape it into a regular loaf or into a braided loaf (as pictured). To make a braided loaf, cut three strips, each weighing 6 ounces that are about 9 inches long and braid them.

Let it rise again for a third time for at least an hour, once it’s in the greased bread pans.

Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 45-60 minutes. About 10 minutes before taking the bread out of the oven when it’s golden brown, brush an egg wash (1 egg with 1 tablespoon water) over the top of the bread and bake for another 10 minutes.

Makes 7-8 one pound loaves.

Cross Monkey Bread RECIPE FOR TODAY

Cross Monkey Bread

4 packages of standard size biscuits
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons cinnamon
2 sticks margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut each biscuit into four quarters.

Mix all dry ingredients above in a bowl.

Spray surface of cross cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Dip each individual biscuit quarter into the cinnamon sugar mixture and then into the cake pan.

Pour half of remaining sugar mixture evenly over biscuits. Melt margarine in microwave and pour all of it evenly over biscuits.

Then pour remaining sugar mixture over biscuits especially in pools of melted butter.

Place cake pan on foil covered cookie sheet because it will spill over and be messy.

Bake for 35-40 minutes depending on your oven. We like our monkey bread a little under cooked so we cooked it in that range.

If you like it really cooked or even a little crispy, then maybe cook between 40-45 minutes.

Immediately after taking out of the oven, carefully flip cake pan onto platter and let stand until cool enough to eat.

If you want to make it in the traditional circle bundt cake pan, follow the same recipe as above but only cook it for 30 minutes and you don't need the cookie sheet under the cake pan.

One idea for being creative with the circle monkey bread would be to put toothpicks in it and have it resemble a crown of thorns.

This would be more appropriate earlier in Holy Week.

Another idea on Easter Sunday would be to put a white candle in the center symbolizing Christ being the light of the world.

Saint Lucia's Braided Bread used for Easter Nest Bread RECIPE FOR TODAY

Saint Lucia's Braided Bread used for Easter Nest Bread

INGREDIENTS

Dough:
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/4-ounce packages active dry yeast
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
2 large eggs
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Glaze and Garnish:
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 tablespoons orange juice

DIRECTIONS

Warm the milk in a small saucepan, then pour 1/2 cup of it into a large bowl.

Add the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar and let it set for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in the remaining milk.

Add the butter and milk mixture to the yeast mixture. Whisk in the eggs, juice, 1/4 cup of sugar, orange rind, and salt.

Stir in the flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough can be gathered into a ball. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 10 minutes, adding more flour until the dough is smooth and elastic and does not stick to your hands.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turning it once to coat it. Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down the dough and divide it into equal parts. Roll each part into a rope and braid the ropes together making a round.

Transfer the rounds to a greased baking sheet, pinch together the ends to form a circle, and then place in the fridge overnight.

Remove in the morning and let it rise until it has again about 30-45 minutes in a warm oven. I like to let my oven light warm it for me. Remove pans and heat the oven to 375°. Bake the bread for 25 minutes or until golden brown, then let it cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.

For the glaze, stir together the confectioner's sugar and orange juice in a medium bowl until smooth.

Drizzle the glaze mix over the bread. One batch made 4 nests which fed 6 people with leftovers.

Jidáše or Judases (Easter Sweet Rolls) RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY

Jidáše or Judases (Easter Sweet Rolls)

500 g of regular flour (4 cups)
250 ml of milk (1 cup)
30 g of yeast (1 oz)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 egg yolks
120 g of butter (8 Tbsp or 1/2 cup)
80 g of honey (1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk for egg wash, beaten with small amount of water
honey thinned with water for glaze

Prepare the leavening mixture using the milk, yeast and sugar. In a separate bowl, blend the butter, egg yolks and 80 grams of honey. Mix in the flour with the leavening mixture, then add the butter and egg mixture. Add grated lemon zest and salt. Leave the dough to rise for one hour. Then, cut strips and shape them into spirals (this shape is to remind us of the rope with which Judas hung himself). Arrange the rolls on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and let rise. Preheat oven to 375°F, brush the jidáše with the egg wash. Bake for about 15-20 minutes at 375°F or until golden brown. While still hot, glaze with honey.

A MORE DETAILED RECIPE FOR Italian Easter Bread RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY

A MORE DETAILED RECIPE FOR
Italian Easter Bread
Ingredients:
1 package (2 1/4 ) teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/4 cups warm milk
pinch of salt
1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups flour (I actually ended up using 5 cups)
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
6 dyed, uncooked, Easter eggs (will cook in the oven)
sprinkles

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the yeast, milk, salt, butter, eggs and sugar.

Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth.

With the mixer set to a low speed and switching to the dough hook attachment (or by hand), continue adding flour until the dough is no longer sticky.

Knead until smooth.

Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 1-inch by 14-inch rope.

Taking two pieces, twist to form a "braid," then join the ends to loop into a circle, pinching the tips together.

Place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover with a clean towel and let rise again until nearly doubled, about 1 more hour. (We accidentally skipped this second rise, but they still turned out okay... The eggs just didn't stick out as well.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush each dough "nest" with the beaten egg wash.

Decorate with the sprinkles.

In the middle of each bread ring, gently place an Easter egg making an indentation with the egg. Place one egg in the center of each nest, pressing down lightly to secure.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Note: Be sure to either refrigerate or discard the eggs, if not eaten within a couple hours.

Holy Thursday Unleavened Bread RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY

Holy Thursday Unleavened Bread
1 cup flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
5 Tablespoon butter 
4-5 Tablespoon milk

Step 1: Mix all of the dry ingredients.

Step 2: Cut in the butter with a pastry blender.

Step 3: Mix in the milk, until the dough is moist. You will need to use your hands towards the end.

Step 4: Roll dough onto a flour surface to 1/4 inch thickness.

Step 5: Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Easter Chicks Lemon Cookies RECIPE FOR TODAY

Easter Chicks Lemon Cookies
Prep time 10 mins
Cook time 20 mins
Total time 30 mins

Simple lemon cake mix cookies decorated to look like Easter chicks.
Author: Sarah @ The Gold Lining Girl
Recipe type: Dessert - cookies
Serves: 18 cookies

Ingredients
9 orange candy slices
1 box lemon cake mix
2 eggs
½ c. shortening
yellow food coloring (optional)
1-2 tbsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
small amount of orange frosting

Directions
The edges of the orange slices sort of form a triangle, which makes for a perfect beak.

Cut off about ¼ inch of the edge of each orange slice, and set aside to use as beaks.

To prepare cookies, in a large mixing bowl, beat together cake mix, eggs, and shortening until well-blended.

Add several drops of yellow food coloring if you want the yellow color of the chicks to be brighter.

For each chick, roll two balls of dough. One ball should be about 1½ inches, and the other should be about ¾ inches. Just make sure that one ball is a good bit larger than the other.

Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet with the smaller ball just touching the larger ball.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until edges of cookies are golden brown.

Remove from heat, and while the cookies are still warm, press in two mini chocolate chips for the eyes.

Remove cookies from cookie sheet to a wire rack to cool completely, being careful not to break the chicks apart.

Once cookies are completely cool, using a parchment bag fitted with a #4 tip, pipe orange frosting onto the bottom of each chick for the feet.

Using a dot of orange frosting, 'glue' an orange slice beak onto each cookie. Devour!!

ANOTHER Easter Cookies RECIPE FOR TODAY

Easter Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

Preparation

1. Beat butter, sugar, and salt at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Add vanilla; beat until well blended. Gradually add flour, beating at low speed until blended. (Dough will be very soft.)

2. Divide dough into 2 equal portions; wrap each with plastic wrap, and flatten into a disc. Chill 2 to 24 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 350°. Unwrap 1 dough disc on a well-floured surface. Cover with a large piece of plastic wrap, and roll to 1/4-inch thickness; cut into desired shapes with 3 1/2-inch cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Chill 15 minutes. Repeat procedure with remaining dough disc.

4. Bake at 350° for 14 to 17 minutes or just until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks, and let cool completely (about 30 minutes). Decorate cookies with Simple Icing. Let stand 1 hour or until icing is firm.

EASTER COOKIE ROYAL ICING Without Meringue Powder RECIPE FOR TODAY

How to Make Royal Icing Without Meringue Powder

by Bridget Edwards

 PREP TIME:

15 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound Powdered Sugar
• 3 Pasteurized Egg Whites
• 1 teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice

INSTRUCTIONS

Sift sugar into a bowl of an electric mixer. Add remaining ingredients. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low until sugar is incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes. Check for stiff peaks.

If needed, increase speed to medium-high and continue beating icing, watching closely for stiff peaks. Once stiff peaks are formed, transfer the icing to bowls and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap onto the icing to prevent crusting.

At this point, the icing can be tinted with gel paste food coloring. The icing can also be thinned with water to fill in piped outlines.