Sugar Savvy

I think I might be officially old. To begin with, I turned 36 on Monday. Then, while I was standing in the sold-out venue of a Shins concert 2 days later, the following thoughts ran through my head: “Man, it’s after 10pm and they just started playing; it’s way past my bedtime,” and “What could I use for ‘flames’ on my menorah-shaped Chanukah cookies that I’m baking tomorrow with my nephew, Ben?”

All right, so let’s just say I’m not very Rock and Roll these days. The upside of this, however, is that I may have just had a Chanukah cookie- decorating stroke of genius. “Well,” I thought, “I could mix up a small amount of orange icing and dab it on to the tips of the candles.” “Or, perhaps orange M&M’s?” “WAIT! Oh my God! What about CANDY CORN?! Of course! Candy corn kernels could absolutely double for tiny flames that have miraculously remained lit for eight days.”

I truly cannot believe that it has taken me this long to come up with a (more than) legitimate excuse to incorporate candy corn into a holiday other than Halloween. (No, reindeer corn and cupid corn do not count, sorry.) Not only am I extending the too-short season of candy corn, but I am also bridging a secular holiday with a non-secular one, all with the use of these shiny faux kernels. This is quite a coup I hope you realize.

You see, to know me (or to have read my recent candy corn round-up on Sugar Savvy) is to know that I possess a deep-seated fondness for this oft-maligned confection. This, coupled with my unsuccessful attempts to find a Chanukah candy other than those crappy Elite chocolate coins, fills me with a great sense of pride and accomplishment. In short, I’m kvelling. Self congratulatory? Perhaps. But when you’re a Lonely Jew on Christmas, you really must give yourself some love and props whenever possible.

If you don’t already have a favorite cutout sugar cookie recipe, try the one below. The lemon zest adds a nice lift, the dough is very easy to work with, and it does not stick to the work surface or rolling pin. It has been my standby sugar cookie recipe for years.

To cut out the minimalist menorah shapes, I simply used an upside-down bowl as my template and then cut the circle in half. I frosted the baked and cooled half circles with light blue icing (because blue is the international code for “Jewish”), placing the candy corn flames while icing is still wet. This simple icing works very much like a glue and dries into a smooth, glossy finish; plus, it tastes good. It can also be flavored with almond extract or any other clear, colorless flavoring.

* Important: Make sure that the diameter of the circle is wide enough to fit nine candy corn flames.

TRADITIONAL ROLLED SUGAR COOKIES
(From The Oregonian, December 8, 1992)

Makes approximately 4 and a half dozen

3/4 cup butter, softened (NOT margarine)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 Tbs finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt (I use more, it’s a personal preference)
water
Royal icing (recipe follows)

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg, lemon zest and vanilla and beat until blended. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. On low speed, gradually add them to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated. Add water, a few drops at time, only until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and use the wrap, not your fingers, to press the dough together to form a thick flat disk. Wrap well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface into a 1/8 (or more) thickness. Cut shapes with cookie cutters or freehand. Transfer shapes with thin, flexible spatula onto greased cookie sheets, or sheets lined with a Silpat mat or parchment.

Bake for 8-12 minutes or until they are just barely browned around edges. Cool on wire racks.

Re-roll scraps and repeat process.

Frost cookies using ROYAL ICING:

1 cup of powdered sugar
1 egg white
A few drops of lemon juice

Mix ingredients until well blended. Add food coloring of your choice.