Holiday Cookie Baking

Holiday time is baking time. All the cookie exchanges, pot lucks, family parties, Santa Claus, or treats for neighbors. Cookies bring a lot of great memories and warmth during the winter. There is nothing quiet like a nice scoop or ice cream or glass of milk with a warm cookie. 

The holidays bring out the old recipes and many varieties. Baking cookies is an art from conception to decorations. The basics to cookie baking will make your cookies the talk of any holiday party. 

Butter handling and use is the key to a successful cookie. Most recipes call for softened butter. This is best achieved by setting on the counter for about 60 min before starting. You will know it is the right temperature when it leaves a slight indentation when touched lightly, but maintain it's shape. Microwaving will rush the process, but not achieve the proper results.

The butter must be handled with care. When purchasing butter for baking it is best to purchase unsalted butter. This allows for you to control the amount of salt in your recipe. Softened butter should be softer, but still cool. It is best to avoid using margarine when baking. This has a high content of water and more chemicals than food basis. 

When using white and brown sugar you want to make sure that they are recently purchased. Measuring brown sugar must be placed in a measuring while pressing it into the measuring cup. When this is placed in the mixing bowl should hold its shape. White sugar should be spooned into the measuring cup for accuracy. 

Whipping the sugar(s) and butter is key to your cookie success. It is best to use a beater for this process. It should take about 3-5 minutes of beating to achieve the proper mixing. If the butter is to soft or to hard it will not mix well in the batter. 

Eggs in your cookie batter emulsifies the fat in the butter. Make sure your eggs are fresh. You can check your eggs for freshness by placing cold water in bowl and an egg. If the egg sinks to the bottom and lays flat on the sides the eggs are fresh. If they are a few weeks old (still good)they will stand on one end at the bottom of the bowl. If they float to the surface they are no longer eatable. This is a good test if you get eggs from a farm. The 3 digit number on the side of egg packages represents the day in year in numbers. 001 means eggs are packaged on January 1 of the year. 

Mixing eggs into the butter and sugar mixture requires adding them one at a time. This allows for the emulsification to be completed. The egg brings the structure, richness, tenderness, and flavor to your cookie. You can substitute eggs with 1/4 cup of applesauce per egg if necessary in your cookie batter.

Flour , raising agent, spices, and salt should be mixed in a separate bowl.  Measuring the flour is extremely important. Measuring the floor by spooning into the measuring cup until it is over the top. Use a straight edged utensil to level the flour across the top of the cup. Flour can be sifted to add air if you do not have a sifter toss lightly with a fork will work. All purpose flour is the best type of flour for your cookies. Whole wheat flour will absorb more liquids and most recipes are calling for all purpose. 

Raising agents for cookies is baking powder or soda. Making sure that your agents are still fresh can be tested. Use 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of raising agent. The agent is fresh if it bubbles when added to the vinegar.   

Toss the dry ingredients till well mixed. If you use salted butter you may want to reduce the salt in the recipe. Slowing mix the dry to the wet ingredients by adding slowly. Mixing all the dry at the same time will create more gluten and a denser cookie. 

When making cookies with additions like walnuts, chocolate chips, and fruits make sure to fold them. This will prevent over mixing of the cookie dough. 

The best key to your oven is to ensure that it is up to temperature is turned on before starting the mixing process. Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicon cookie sheet lingers.   Measure with a small ice cream scoop and leave plenty of room on the tray for the cookies to bake without touching. Remember some cookies will spread out on the sheet as they bake. 

The cookies may be complete once cooled, but other may need a glaze, icing, painting, or decorating. There are many ways to complete the cookies. A favorite at our home is sprinkles. There are so many varieties that you can use to make it a fun unique cookie. 

Bake the cookies according to the instructions provided. Rotate the cookie sheet during baking to ensure proper baking. When you take them out of the oven they need to cool on a cooling rack. We recommend Variations Bakery, in Phoenix Arizona, for your cookie needs if time does not permit. Enjoy one with your favorite glass of milk or ice cream before getting them together for your holiday event.  

@4ChionLifestyle 

The Key To Modern Travel ~ The Moxy

My husband and I enjoyed a wonderful evening at The Moxy in Tempe Arizona. A great anniversary staycation. The first night we were at the hotel we enjoyed an evening of exceptional Italian food, drinks, company, and beautiful fashion. This night was ours to savor and enjoy. This boutique hotel brings a location for the modern travel that is relaxed, peaceful, and fun.

The Moxy owned by Marriott is managed by 24/7  opened the first Moxy in Milan Italy. They currently have 7 opened through out the United States and Europe. The hotel concept is about an independent that wants to make the rules. 

When we arrived check in takes place at the bar. The lobby looks a lot different from the first night. There is no runway, but a look and feel of entering your home. The check in takes place at the bar. The staff is young and causally dressed. The room comes with a complimentry cocktail called "The Moxy." This is a light refreshing lime-aide with a little kick. 

The lobby is filled with travelers listening to records, playing pool, enjoying books, computer, 1980 video games, boardgames, and more. There is a nice pool that is heated for cooler winters. It is like being at home. A long table to sit and enjoy your meal with new friends. Commissioned art work fills the lobby. This selection took place through an online process. 

We enter a room with casual styling. The decor is from Ikea and a LoveSack  for relaxing. It is a decent sized room with an old fashioned phone with a number for bedtime stories. The bathroom is closed quarters, but a great shower with duel nozzles. You need extra towel or ironing they have an "ironing room" on each floor. Here you can get clean towels, linens, and iron a shirt. There was a very small patio and small is the key word. You can stand on the patio, but that is all it is super small. There was a great location to hang my hat and scarf. The hotel room is exceptionally clean. 

The decor was fun and spirited. All doors have "disturb" painted on them. The Do Not Disturb sign has a nice looking half dressed man laying on a bed. The wall decor is thematic with great sayings on some pictures. The floors are wood with throw rugs. Loved this idea. Living in Phoenix there is very little need for the warmth from carpeting. The one downside in the room was the pillows.

There is a long mirror perfect for getting ready for the evening. I did make the evening fun by dressing as a 1950 wife. Styling for the evening included: a dress purchased through Amazon. This was a first for me purchasing clothing online.

The dress was a knit black dress with a doll collar, hung just below the knee, and fit the theme for the evening very well, short black gloves with a pearl ring over the top, hair L'Oréal Techni Art Dual Styler, Jazzy eyeshadow, YBF lipstick, and Revlon powder. Completing the styling was my wedding vail and a set of pearls from my husband. 

The ride down the elevator to the lobby included the ride a moment for a selfie. The elevator is equipped with selfie props and a couple of backdrops. Attach your photos with #AtTheMoxy and they show up on Instagram. This made for a wonderful memory and some fun photos.

The hotel restaurant is a self service collection. You help yourself to a wide selection of beverages, snacks, and quick meals. The kick is you "do it yourself." There are many great local restaurants in the are to enjoy. We enjoyed sushi at  Kobe. This was our first date. We enjoyed a nice glass of wine. We sat in the bar area just like our first date.

The evening closed out at the bar enjoying "The Moxy"Bacardi Cherry Rum infused cocktail with our traditional anniversary cake from Variations Bakery. It is a white cake (best sponge cake, banana filling, and whipped cream icing). The staff very helpful and they enjoyed our cake with us. The bar has a floating ceiling that comes from a reclaimed Kentucky horse barn/fence. It was great enjoying the bar after hearing the story from the architect who designed the hotel at the opening night party.  

As we checked out of the hotel we left our names on the large chalkboard wall in the back of the lobby. Each section of the lobby is themed for the entertainment surrounding the area. There is a large working area with MAC computers. Towards the front of the lobby a large selection of records and a record player. The best of the lobby for me was the bikes you can take out for biking. This is a great location for bike riding with Tempe Town Lake and the college campus nearby. My husband was thrilled about the pool table in the lobby. 

The hotel that brings a new wave of travel experiences. It was a great accommodating hotel with a ton of independence to experience our adventures. This hotel has been called a hostel type with an upgrade. This hotel is not a hostel with an upgrade, but a nice affordable boutique providing an independence traveler a beautiful stay. 

We stopped on the way home at Harlow's Cafe for breakfast. This local restaurant is near the hotel. They offer a very straight forward traditional breakfast. The service was spot on, food that is tradition American Cafe menu. Conversations carried through the air with the smells of eggs, syrup, and coffee. 

The weekend was such a great time away. 

@4ChionLifestyle