Red Velvet Cut-Out Cookies: Once Upon a Christmas
"It's like the corporate world's full of ghosts. Maybe a fairer way of putting this would be to say that adulthood's full of ghosts; these people who've ended up in one life instead of another and they are just so disappointed. They've done what's expected of them. They want to do something different but it's impossible now, there's a mortgage, kids, whatever, they're trapped. High-functioning sleepwalkers, essentially.
[...]
They are always waiting; [...] They spend all their lives waiting for their lives to begin.”
― Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven
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| Holiday Mickey & Minnie Mice Red Velvet Cut-Out Cookies |
Heading out for holiday gatherings. Cold nights, the neighborhood hard and glittering under pinpricks of Christmas bulbs and moonlight, the shuush shuush of car tires on a snow-padded street. I press my forehead to the car window and see scattered adorned pine trees linked by roads or alone. The beauty of it, the loneliness, the thought of all those people living out their Christmas gatherings, each living room glow marking another dinner, another family.
All Christmas season I'd feel this disjuncture within myself, walking along an ever-blurring line between being jaded and wishful-thinking.
As family reunions approach, I have this terrifying reminder that my life will be once more up for judgment, summed up and assessed in the space and time of a Christmas dinner. What do I reply to an aunt asking what I have been up to? What have I been doing of my year? "Uh, nothing much, really". Nothing to be proud of, nothing to talk about. Aren't you glad that you graduated? Where are you at now? I'm not sure myself. I feel adrift. The glimmer of interest in their eyes will dim, a film of resigned disappointment clouding over. "Oh. Okay". The assessment is over, but I'm as harsh a judge as anyone else. What have I accomplished?
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| Le Grand Marché de Noël @ Place-des-Spectacles; Open Fire Pit |
As family reunions approach, I have this terrifying reminder that my life will be once more up for judgment, summed up and assessed in the space and time of a Christmas dinner. What do I reply to an aunt asking what I have been up to? What have I been doing of my year? "Uh, nothing much, really". Nothing to be proud of, nothing to talk about. Aren't you glad that you graduated? Where are you at now? I'm not sure myself. I feel adrift. The glimmer of interest in their eyes will dim, a film of resigned disappointment clouding over. "Oh. Okay". The assessment is over, but I'm as harsh a judge as anyone else. What have I accomplished?
When we step through the door, we are greeted by the buzz of family chatter and fumes of a buffet feast being put together: warm, cozy, inviting. But I feel chillingly out of place, dislocated within my own family. The living room is bursting alive, every inch of space taken up with confetti-colored packages, vinyl black folding chairs and fresh chả giò cradled in napkins. I land in the middle of everything but a sense of belonging.
As a recent graduate I am newly defined by smooth, polished university papers which give no sense of direction to the ambitions crowding my skull. I was once a searching teenager, wondering where I wanted to go, what I wanted to be, why things happened the way they did. I spent more than 10 years building potential, planning, and now I am wondering still. Gradually, then suddenly, I am nonsensically disenchanted.
Us second-generation kids were treated like china dolls. We were well-cared for and coddled, and no baby flu or first chicken pox got away from the extended family council. It was a privileged and loving environment. Loving and claustrophobic. I was grateful and I always wanted to get away. I wanted to see and learn beyond the filtered knowledge and perspectives, safe and incomplete, given to me on a silver spoon. It itches my mind raw to find a meaning, an understanding, a grasp on the sense of the beauty and value of the world that we live in; and where I stand in it.
Yet, for a generation of parents whose marking point in life is a chaotic refugee exodus from their homeland, relocating thousands of miles away in a foreign country, the psychological legacy associated with travel is not a good one. It is incomprehensible to them that I could crave going away; how I do not see the logical appeal of fitting within the cogs of this societal infrastructure, so safely Canadian.
It will always be the slowest thing to sink into their head, how happy I envision it. Happy to be leaving.
[...]
I do want to end this on a happy note, however, so let me just say that it's the year's wrap-up that I find daunting. The Christmas spirit? I love it. Between December 1st and 24th, I float in a giddy feeling, with occasional fits of giggles, enjoying gift wrapping and cookie baking; making cranberry jelly, boiling and straining and pouring liquid garnet into sterilized glass jars.
Even though I'm not a fan of crowd wiggling and feet tripping, there is an unmistakable energy that permeates shopping centers during the Holidays, and it's easy to get swept up in it. Come sunset, I love the sounds of jazzy Christmas and crackling logs that rise throughout our open-air, pop-up winter markets. Speaking of which, I found this amazing honey wine whiskey from Miel Nature, a Beauharnois meadery, at one of them. I've been shoving it in everyone's face these past 2 weeks to avoid polishing it off all by myself (but resistance was futile).
Yet, for a generation of parents whose marking point in life is a chaotic refugee exodus from their homeland, relocating thousands of miles away in a foreign country, the psychological legacy associated with travel is not a good one. It is incomprehensible to them that I could crave going away; how I do not see the logical appeal of fitting within the cogs of this societal infrastructure, so safely Canadian.
It will always be the slowest thing to sink into their head, how happy I envision it. Happy to be leaving.
[...]
I do want to end this on a happy note, however, so let me just say that it's the year's wrap-up that I find daunting. The Christmas spirit? I love it. Between December 1st and 24th, I float in a giddy feeling, with occasional fits of giggles, enjoying gift wrapping and cookie baking; making cranberry jelly, boiling and straining and pouring liquid garnet into sterilized glass jars.
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| Japanese Gift Wrapping. Thank you Paper Guru tutorials (: |
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| I love music sheet patterns. |
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| Kimono Japanese Wrapping |
Even though I'm not a fan of crowd wiggling and feet tripping, there is an unmistakable energy that permeates shopping centers during the Holidays, and it's easy to get swept up in it. Come sunset, I love the sounds of jazzy Christmas and crackling logs that rise throughout our open-air, pop-up winter markets. Speaking of which, I found this amazing honey wine whiskey from Miel Nature, a Beauharnois meadery, at one of them. I've been shoving it in everyone's face these past 2 weeks to avoid polishing it off all by myself (but resistance was futile).
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| Place-des-Spectacles: Le Grand Marché de Noël |
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| Place-des-Spectacles: Le Grand Marché de Noël; Choo-Choo Train for Kids |
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| Marché des Artisans: Just the best whiskey ever. 'Nuff said. |
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| Marché des Artisans: These mugs were way too adorable to stroll by without a quick snap. |
Keeping true to the holidays, our office had a cookie exchange party last week, and I snatched the opportunity to finally try out Lila Loa's The End-All for Chocolate Cookies (who wouldn't, with a name like that?) I switched a couple of ingredients around to 1) make these eggless; 2) make these Red Velvet.
The flavor is perfectly chocolate-y, and combined with the red velvet emulsion it tastes lovely. DeLorann's red velvet emulsion is difficult to describe - it has this lingering whiff of Slushie Raspberry mixed with what David's Teas' blends with chocolate nibs smell like when brewed; but the magic happens when cocoa hits the bowl. It smells heavenly. I'm also really happy with how the egg substitution turned out - the texture was exactly as Lila Loa had described it. Finally, I like my cut-out cookies with a good crunch and thickness, so my baking time is longer than Lila Loa's, but feel free to make thinner cookies (you monster) and decrease the baking time if that is what you prefer.
Red Velvet Cut-Out Cookies
Adapted from Lila Loa's The End-All for Chocolate Cookies
Servings: ~30 cookies (21 Mickey Mice & 9 Minnie Mice)
Ingredients:
1 cup / 215g butter, softened
2/3 cup / 60g powdered cocoa
1/2 cup / 100g reduced-fat cream cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon red velvet emulsion extract (I used DeLorann's - Can be found on Amazon or at Michael's seasonally)
3 cups all-purpose flour
Rolling pin (Joseph Joseph's Adjustable Rolling Pin works like a charm for cut-out cookies)
Cookie cutters (I bought my Mickey & Minnie cookie cutters on Amazon)
Preparation:
1. In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
2. In another small bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and red velvet emulsion. Set aside.
3. With the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then beat in the red velvet-cream cheese mixture and vanilla extract.
4. Slowly add the cocoa powder blend, stirring it into the creamed mixture until well blended (if you do this on high speed you'll get cocoa everywhere - it's like a chocolate version of powdered icing sugar's messiness).
5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. On medium-low speed, add the flour in 3 increments, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Stir in the next addition as soon as the previous one looks just incorporated.
6. If the dough seems too dry here, add 1 teaspoon of milk (necessity of doing so may vary depending on the altitude and humidity you're at).
7. Cover tightly with a plastic wrap and chill the dough ~15 minutes before using it.
8. Line cookie pans with parchment paper, and preheat your oven to 375F.
9. Flour your work surface and rolling pin, and roll out your cookie dough to 1/4" inch thick.
10. Cut out desired cookies shapes and transfer them to the lined cookie pans (I used a pie/cake shovel to do that - if you're doing Mickeys or Minnies, be warned that the most delicate sections are the ears and the bow). Re-roll dough scraps with repeat.
11. Bake at 375F for 10-13 minutes.
12. Let them cool completely before decorating them with the icing of your choice.
13. Nom. P.S.: These keep really well for a week, decorated and stored in a metal container. Keep in mind that they get crunchier with time as moisture continues to evaporate.
The flavor is perfectly chocolate-y, and combined with the red velvet emulsion it tastes lovely. DeLorann's red velvet emulsion is difficult to describe - it has this lingering whiff of Slushie Raspberry mixed with what David's Teas' blends with chocolate nibs smell like when brewed; but the magic happens when cocoa hits the bowl. It smells heavenly. I'm also really happy with how the egg substitution turned out - the texture was exactly as Lila Loa had described it. Finally, I like my cut-out cookies with a good crunch and thickness, so my baking time is longer than Lila Loa's, but feel free to make thinner cookies (you monster) and decrease the baking time if that is what you prefer.
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| The whole holiday Mickey & Minnie family |
Red Velvet Cut-Out Cookies
Adapted from Lila Loa's The End-All for Chocolate Cookies
Servings: ~30 cookies (21 Mickey Mice & 9 Minnie Mice)
Ingredients:
1 cup / 215g butter, softened
2/3 cup / 60g powdered cocoa
1/2 cup / 100g reduced-fat cream cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon red velvet emulsion extract (I used DeLorann's - Can be found on Amazon or at Michael's seasonally)
3 cups all-purpose flour
Rolling pin (Joseph Joseph's Adjustable Rolling Pin works like a charm for cut-out cookies)
Cookie cutters (I bought my Mickey & Minnie cookie cutters on Amazon)
Preparation:
1. In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
2. In another small bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and red velvet emulsion. Set aside.
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| DeLorann's Red Velvet Emulsion & Tablespoon with Cream Cheese |
3. With the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then beat in the red velvet-cream cheese mixture and vanilla extract.
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| Sugar & buttah. Match in heaven. |
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| Blending in that red velvet cream cheese. |
4. Slowly add the cocoa powder blend, stirring it into the creamed mixture until well blended (if you do this on high speed you'll get cocoa everywhere - it's like a chocolate version of powdered icing sugar's messiness).
5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. On medium-low speed, add the flour in 3 increments, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Stir in the next addition as soon as the previous one looks just incorporated.
6. If the dough seems too dry here, add 1 teaspoon of milk (necessity of doing so may vary depending on the altitude and humidity you're at).
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| Red Velvet Cut-Out Cookie Dough: What's great about this being eggless is that I can finally eat it raw without having Salmonella creeping up in the back of my mind. Oh, that and an allergic reaction. Nifty. |
7. Cover tightly with a plastic wrap and chill the dough ~15 minutes before using it.
8. Line cookie pans with parchment paper, and preheat your oven to 375F.
9. Flour your work surface and rolling pin, and roll out your cookie dough to 1/4" inch thick.
- Psst! I just discovered this Joseph Joseph adjustable rolling pin and it's the new love of my kitchen life. The rolling pin comes with four sets of measuring rings, which raise the dough to different levels of thickness and ensures that the surface is uniform all over (because my doughs always looked like a curved up damp piece of cardboard). It's beautiful, and magical, and I love it. End of parenthesis.
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| Cutting out Mickeys & Minnies. I don't think that there are many circumstances under which this sentence would be acceptable. |
10. Cut out desired cookies shapes and transfer them to the lined cookie pans (I used a pie/cake shovel to do that - if you're doing Mickeys or Minnies, be warned that the most delicate sections are the ears and the bow). Re-roll dough scraps with repeat.
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| Look at that beautiful, thick layer of cookie goodness. |
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| Mickey scraps are still a Mickey. |
11. Bake at 375F for 10-13 minutes.
12. Let them cool completely before decorating them with the icing of your choice.
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| Cookie icing. I don't have a good recipe which dries smooth and shiny, so I won't be sharing the recipe that I used here. |
13. Nom. P.S.: These keep really well for a week, decorated and stored in a metal container. Keep in mind that they get crunchier with time as moisture continues to evaporate.
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