I won a pair of tickets to the New Orleans Saints' Divisional Game in the Superdome, and in honor of the occasion I baked some Fleur De Lis Sugar Cookies. Don't tar and feather me, but I didn’t have any gold food color so I had to use orange. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I'll get some gold for next week's game. (see my second attempt here)
I also didn’t realize (until I got to the Dome and saw the big Fleur De Lis on the playing field) that the Saint’s color scheme was actually Gold-White-Black and not White-Gold-Black like I made my cookies. Silly me.
The recipe I use for cut out sugar cookies is called "No Fail Sugar Cookies - NFSC" and is very similar to the recipe that Toba Garrett uses in her books and in her classes. The cookie dough has to be chilled before cutting out the shapes and again before baking, but that is a small price to pay for a sugar cookies that hold even the most intricate shapes. But the best part is... They taste really, really good.
No Fail Sugar Cookies – NFCS
Ingredients
3 cups sifted all purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking power
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
Instructions:
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Mix for another 2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat until well combined.
In a separate bowl, sift together baking powder, salt and flour. Add the flour mixture 1 cup at a time to the butter mixture, blend at medium-low speed. Blend in the last cup of flour by hand. Do not overmix or the cookies will be tough.
Place about half the dough between two sheet of parchment or wax paper. Roll out the dough to the desired thickness (1/8 – 1/4"). Place in the refrigerator. Roll out the second half of the dough between more wax paper. Place in refrigerator. Chill both sheets of dough for 15 minutes or until it feels stiff. Note: the stiffer the dough is, the easier it is to cut out the intricate cookie shapes.
Remove one sheet of dough at a time and cut out the cookies. Placed the cutout cookies on an ungreased parchment lined cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheet into the refrigerator and chill for 10 minutes. This step is not absolutely necessary, but I found that the cookies hold their shape better if they are cold when they are place in the oven. Re-roll leftover dough scraps and repeat the processes.
Bake at 350 degrees F (preheated and stabilized) for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to turn brown.
Here are a few more pictures from the Saints vs the Cardinals in the Dome. I had a blast. Love ya guys. Deuuuuuuuce!! Reggieee, Reggieee, Reggieee! WHO DAT! WHO DAT!
Outside the Dome it was a sea of Black & Gold...
But there were a few Cardinals fans (just a few)...
The Saints are on the field...
The Half-Time Show...
A few of the fans...
Some fans showed their support for Deuce McAllister who is/was a favorite of the "Who Dat Nation". Deuce McAllister was released from the Saints' roster in February 2009, and re-signed on Friday January 15, 2010. Friday afternoon our office was abuzz with rumors that Deuce was coming back. A few hours later, when the news was confirmed, the offices halls were filled with the resonating call of “Deuuuuuuce”.
Game Over. Saint's - 45, Cardinals - 14. Bless you Boys.
Leaving the Dome..
See ya next week at the Dome.
Who Dat!!!
Geaux Saints!!!
See ya in Miami!!!
I hope...
