Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Challenge Dairy…butter never looked so good (and my favorite new cookie recipe).

Challenge Dairy sent me some samples of their stick butter and spreadable butter and it was really good! They also sent me some great products form Oxo and some Spice Island cinnamon and nutmeg (I am now in love with nutmeg in my favorite muffin recipe). Unfortunately for me Challenge Dairy is not on the east coast (where I live) so now that I finished the adorably packaged chubby sticks of butter with the deer on them, I have to go back to my store brand that I normally get. Maybe I’m silly but let me just dwell on it some more…the Challenge butter sticks were really so cute in their pretty wrappers and I’ll miss them staring at me from the fridge. I’ll miss the Challenge spreadable butter with canola oil but for more practical reasons, it was the best spreadable butter product I’ve tried ever. I hate margarine and regular butter takes a lot longer to spread when you are buttering toast/bagels/muffins for a family of 6 (oh and I don’t like the airy whipped butter that doesn’t last long). The Challenge spreadable butter won me over and if I could get it here, it would be what I’d buy every time.

Even if you are in my boat and can’t buy Challenge Butter where you live, you should still check out their website and blog, they are well done and contain helpful info and some amazing recipes!

Here is my current favorite use of BUTTER:

NO FAIL SUGAR COOKIES (really very appropriately named)

This recipe is GREAT when using complex cookie cutters. The dough holds its’ shape and won’t spread during baking.
Make sure you let your oven preheat for at least 1/2 hour before baking these or any other cookies. Sometimes I 1/2 the recipe but I prefer the BIG batch.

6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract or desired flavoring
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little
at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.

Chill for 1 to 2 hours

Roll to desired thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350
degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges. This recipe
can make up to 5-dozen 3” cookies.

Here is our adorable nephew making these cookies with us at Christmas time. We are going to make loads of heart shaped cookies with pink frosting next month! I found the best frosting for these, just mix some powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and corn syrup until it just thick enough not to run completely off cookies, it spreads nicely and then dries hard and looks professional (well depending on how many kids are helping!).