Douglass - A cookie to celebrate: recipes and decorating tips for everyday baking and holidays

A Cookie
to Celebrate

Copyright 2018 Jana Douglass

Published by Mango Publishing Group, a division of Mango Media Inc.

Cover, Layout & Design: Morgane Leoni
Stylist: Amy Beiser
Photographer: Jennifer Schaaf

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A Cookie to Celebrate: Recipes and Decorating Tips for Everyday Baking and Holidays

Library of Congress Cataloging
ISBN: (p) 978-1-63353-756-9, (e) 978-1-63353-757-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018940705
BISAC - CKB021000 COOKING / Courses & Dishes / Cookies

Printed in the United States of America

A Cookie
to Celebrate

Recipes and
Decorating Tips for
Everyday Baking
and Holidays

Jana Douglass

Mango Publishing
Coral Gables

Contents

I was in my early twenties, weeks away from holding a college degree in my hands, with no job lined up. Cue the stress baking. Sound familiar? I pulled my grandmothers sugar cookie recipe out of my beloved recipe book and slaved over cookies for my own graduation dinner. They were awful. The text was piped so badly you couldnt even tell which school I had graduated from, and Im surprised everyone left the dinner with all their teeth! But there was one thing that always stuck with me: cookies bring people joy . Those attending my graduation dinner didnt care that the lines werent straight or that the texture was off. From then on, I was hooked.

I spent the next nine months giving all my spare time to baking and, like a true millennial, humbly bragging about my new set of skills on social media. My cookies evolved from an unattractive mess with cavity-inducing icing to photo-ready designs that are so tasty you wont even think twice about digging in.

A business was born: I had gained a humbling number of followers (anyone else do a happy dance when you hit 1,000?!) and, most importantly, had enough clients to take a crack at pursuing my passion full time. Ive never looked back. It hasnt always been the easiest, or as happy as my Instagram feed might make it seem, but I have kept going, bringing JOY into peoples lives one cookie at a time. People choose to include my cookies in lifes biggest and most special moments; I mean, how cool is that?!

Jana Lees Bake Shop is my baby. I spent more time curating the brands name than the majority of expectant parents spend awaiting their new child. I turned to the internet to find artistic talent to make a logo, with one requirement that I know will shock you: it had to be pink! I found the best bakery boxes, made my own website, and took on my first clients who werent friends with my mom. I was emailing and working by day and baking and decorating by night out of my one tiny oven. At this point, I was personally hand delivering every single cookie, mostly because I was afraid of the internet and giving out my address, but I also knew quality and service mattered! I didnt have a storefront, so the extra cost of perfect packaging and the added headache of fighting traffic was worth it. Almost immediately after opening for business and being overwhelmed by orders, I started the process of building my own commercial kitchen. Within five months, Jana Lees Bake Shop had a new home. It wasnt fancy, it could have been prettier, but it did the trick and has gotten us to where we are today. Im writing to all of you in the middle of designing a bigger and much prettier home for Jana Lees Bake Shop, and let me tell you, this is all pretty surreal.

Before we dive into the cookies, the real reason youre all here, I have a few things for you to keep in mind. I am not a professionally trained baker. I do not have an art background. I had never even set foot in a commercial kitchen until I built my own . This book is my self-taught knowledge, creativity, and skills, all fueled by my passion for entrepreneurship.

I hope this book provides you with a new skill, a fun activity, and an excuse to celebrate. Remember, your friends dont care if Santas hat turned out more pink than red, no one will notice that your ruffles look like an intentional blob, and a misspelling can provide a few laughstrust me, it happens! I have burned, dropped, and misspelled more cookies than you can count. The best part about messing up? The evidence gets eaten!

Life is short, have a cookie to celebrate!!

This chapter is quite literally about how to create the base for all of your decorated cookies! It is super important, because whats the point of celebrating with a cookie if it doesnt taste good? This might be your favorite chapter or possibly your worst enemy depending on the set of skills youre working with, but I can guarantee you will be referring back to this chapter the most! Grab your measuring spoons and buckle upits time to bake! Like I said before, I am not professionally trained. The tips and tricks you will read in this chapter work for me, and its okay if you prefer something different; I encourage it! There are so many talented bakers willing to share their knowledge, I suggest hopping on social media and soaking it all in until you find the right equation for you !

This is a standard recipe for soft cut-out cookies. I suggest using the highest quality ingredients that are available to you. Take the time to test different extracts based on your personal preference. Almond extract is a simple yet delicious substitute for vanilla!

Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

2 c. salted butter (room temperature)

2 c. sugar

2 large eggs

4 tsp. vanilla extract

6 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Airtight container, for storage

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla, then stir until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. While the mixer is on low, slowly add the flour mixture until just combined. The dough should be pulling away from the sides of the mixer. At this point, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let chill for about 30 minutes.

Sprinkle powdered sugar so the dough doesnt stick, and roll out the dough to about inch. Dont be afraid to get a ruler so you can visually see what of an inch looks like. We love thick cookies!

Using your desired shapes, cut out the dough. Make the most out of the rolled dough by cutting out the shapes as close to each other as possible.