Lemon Cupcakes with Meringue Frosting

While I was home, mom and I baked a few different things! We tried s'mores cupcakes, which were..not as good as they sound, in my opinion. I'm not going to blog about them. But I AM going to blog about the best cupcakes on the planet: These lemon cupcakes!

The cupcakes were filled with lemon curd, and then topped with meringue, which we toasted with the kitchen torch that mom got for Christmas. She got one from me and one from dad, and we liked the one he bought more..but still!
Mom asked me to rate these on a scale from 1-10. I gave them a 9/10 at first, and then decided that no, these were a 10/10. The perfect cupcake.

They're lemony without being over-the-top sour. There's also no actual frosting, so it doesn't suffer from too-sweet-frosting syndrome either! The lemon curd in the middle is enough to give the cupcake a little 'pop', while being balanced with the meringue.

Getting torched!

I regret only eating one and a half. She took them to work the next day, and they were gone. Gooone gone gone... I want more now!

We had a hard time finding the lemon curd, but I found it in the grocery store aisle where they have jelly and jam! So if you're looking for it, look there.

Lemon Cupcakes Recipe

• 1 box lemon cake mix
• 1 package instant lemon pudding
• 1 c sour cream
• 3/4 c veggie oil
• 3/4 c water
• 4 eggs
• 1 container lemon curd

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350
• Mix everything but the lemon curd in an electric mixer on medium for two minutes.
• Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full, and bake 15-18 minutes.
• Cool completely.
• Core cupcakes, and fill with lemon curd. Use the cores of the cupcakes as caps to fill the hole.

Lemon Meringue Recipe

• 8 large egg whites
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 1/3 c sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• Pinch of salt

Preparation

• Bring 1-2" of water to boil in a saucepan.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk ingredients well. Place above the boiling water.
• Continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch, and sugar is dissolved, around 2-3 minutes.
• Move to stand mixer if available, and using the whisk attachment, beat at next-to-high speed until it holds a soft peak, around five minutes.
• Pipe onto cupcakes, and toast lightly with a kitchen torch if available.

Orange Dreamcicle Cheesecake

Laura and I took a daytrip to the Louisburg Cider Mill this weekend! Suuuuch a fun day!

It's like heaven in a country store!

Along with all of the cider, and cider doughnuts I bought, I also bought a jar of peach butter, some caramel apple sprinkles (which taste like french vanilla, actually), and a package of "orange dreamcicle cheesecake mix." (OH! AND SORRY! The next two pictures did that automatic-rotate thing and I can't get them back. Head, meet shoulder.)

I'm trying to find a recipe to use peach butter in, but no luck so far, and I might do something with the cider, but for now I went with the mix.
You can't buy this mix in any regular store I don't think, but you CAN order it online. The cheesecake was really really sweet, but reminded me of those orange ice cream push-pops-- you know, the Flinstones ones. Quite tasty! You can buy the mix at http://www.peculiarspice.com/ named for Peculiar, Missouri. You can probably make this from scratch too, but I never would've thought of it!

Hamilton helped me today, instead of Maisy! (aka: handheld vs kitchenaid)

Orange Dreamcicle Cheesecake Recipe

• 1 package O.D.C. mix (see website above)
• 2 - 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 c milk
• 1 graham cracker crust

Preparation

• Combine packaged mix, cream cheese, and milk in a large bowl. Beat until well blended.
• Put into graham cracker crust.
• Chill until served!

Cinnamon Apple Slices

Fall is here! It smacked me in the face last night when the temperature dropped to 36 and my room was freeeeezing. So what better day to celebrate autumn than with cinnamon sugar apples slices?I love apple pie, but I have one measly issue: I don't like the crust. I'm not a crust person! With french silk pie (my favorite!) I eat the chocolate and the whipped cream, and leave a triangle of crust sitting on my plate when I'm done. So I figured I'd make the cinnamon apples without that pesky crust getting in my way.

There were a lot of recipes online, but none were really what I was looking for. Several call for brown sugar, which I was going to try, but my brown sugar smelled weird, like it had gotten mixed in with allspice and ginger or something. And of course, when something smells weird it'll taste weird too, so I didn't want to risk it.
I wound up using three small Granny Smith apples (because the store only had small ones. Uh..okay?) and a simple cinnamon-sugar mixture. The brown sugar surely would've made it thicker, but this was still pretty tasty.

This recipe is the epitome of my "quick and easy" tag: Three ingredients, two and a half minutes in the microwave. The only thing that takes time is the peeling of the apples, but really, how much longer does that take?
Cinnamon Apple Slices Recipe

• 3 small Granny Smith apples
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/3 c granulated sugar

Preparation

• Peel, quarter, and slice each apple.
• Cut each quarter into relatively thick slices.
• Mix cinnamon and sugar in a separate bowl. Slowly sprinkle over apple slices, stirring to ensure that it's evenly distributed.
• In a large, microwave safe bowl (I have a large ceramic dish that resembles-- or is?-- a giant ramekin) put the apples in layers, preferably as even as you can.
• Cook on high for 2-5 minutes (our microwave heats HOT)-- I did for 2.5 minutes-- until the apples are soft.
• Stir, then let sit so the apples absorb the liquid. Stir again, then enjoy!

Lemon Poppyseed Cookies

I got another new cookbook! This one is just called The Cookie Bible and it has amaaazing recipes in it. I already marked about a dozen pages that I want to try straight away.
The first recipe I tried is called HUNGARIAN Lemon Poppyseed Cookies. I'm not really sure what makes them Hungarian, but that doesn't really matter, does it?

Whoever tested this recipe didn't record it right though, I don't think. It says to measure them by 'heaping teaspoons', and then says to bake for 11-12 minutes, which overcooked them. It also says that it makes 2 dozen cookies, and it made a little more than 3 dozen for me. So I'm going to adjust the recipe for you! For this recipe, you'll need just one lemon, too.

Maaan, these things are great. I'm taking them to my writing group, but I want to keep them all for myself. But then, I'm addicted to anything lemon, so that's why!

Lemon Poppyseed Cookie Recipe

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp grated lemon peel
• 1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp poppyseeds

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350
• Beat granulated sugar and butter until creamy.
• Beat in egg and lemon peel.
• Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in separate bowl. Add gradually to first mixture.
• Beat in poppyseeds on low speed until fully combined.
• Drop by teaspoon full, 2" apart on a baking sheet-- cookies will spread.
• Bake 7-9 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.
• Let cool 1 minute on sheet before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon Glaze Recipe

• 1 c powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Preparation

• Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice.
• Blend until fully mixed.
• Put into a small zip-loc bag, and cut off a small corner. Drizzle over cooled cookies.

Apple Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

I've wanted to make ice cream cone cupcakes for so long, but I never knew how!
Surprisingly, it was really, really, really easy.

So I made an apple ice cream cone cupcake, with cinnamon buttercream frosting. This frosting will make people bow down to you, because it's SO GOOD. It's SO GOOD in fact, that capital letters are warranted for it!

BUT. I wasn't paying attention (I was watching King Of The Hill with my little bro) so I wound up adding, instead of 1 1/2 cups of grated apple (which the recipe called for), two grated apples. I'm reaaally not sure how much extra apple I added.. but they were delicioso! Actually, I suggest it!

The batter wasn't runny like regular cake batter. It was oddly dry to begin with. Before I added the apple, it looked like fine bread crumbs. After I added the apple and mixed it in it got more liquidy, but with the apple it was more like a heavy muffin mix.
But it smelled so good! And tasted so good! There's no egg in it, so don't feel nervous about sneaking a spoonful of the batter while you're putting it in the pan.

The batter can be used in regular cupcake tins or in the ice cream cones (obviously.) My suggestion, though, is to make 20 instead of 24. Because they don't rise exponentially, this'll let you fill the cups more fully.

As for the cinnamon buttercream, depending on whether you frost it on with a knife or use a piping bag, you'll either need one batch or two (two batches being a full bag of powdered sugar.)
Really, I cannot recommend this frosting enough. It would be good thinned out as a glaze for muffins, or added to waffles, or even as an accent on ice cream. Om nom nom!
Have an enemy? Give them one of these cupcakes. They will never say another bad thing about you.

Apple Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream (in an ice cream cone!) Recipe

• 20 ice cream cones, or 20 cupcake papers
• 1/4 c butter, softened
• 2/3 c sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 c all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and grated

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350
• Beat butter until fluffy.
• Add sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla and cream together. (Texture will be weird)
• Combine flour and baking soda, then add slowly to mixture and beat. (Texture will resemble bread crumbs.)
• Add apples, and beat together on a low speed so the apple juice gets into the mixture, but so the grated apples are still visible.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes. (See below for what a finished cupcake will look like inside.)
• Let cool completely.

Cinnamon Buttercream Recipe

• 1 lb (1/2 bag) powdered sugar
• 1/3 c butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 c milk

Preparation

• Use a mixing spoon to combine cinnamon and powdered sugar. This will ensure that the cinnamon is fully infused later.
• Add in butter, vanilla, and about half of the milk.
• Blend together until thoroughly mixed, adding more milk if neccessary.
• Note: Don't overdo the milk. You want THICK frosting.
• Note: If you plan to pipe, definitely make the double batch.
• Pipe onto the tops of the cooled cupcakes.
• Then, sit back and enjoy as eeeverybody who sees them fawns over them!

Tip for piping the ice cream cone design:
Start in the middle of the cupcake, and pipe slowly in a spiral until all of the cupcake is covered.
Pipe a second spiral in the center, on top of that.
In the very center, squeeze out one more bit of frosting, then push down and pull up to get the tip!

Center of the cooked cupcake

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cherry Cream Cheese Frosting

Wow, that title is a mouthful. Almost as much as a mouthful as the treat itself!
My original plan was to make a Coca Cola cupcake, with cherry icing. However, I made a batch of Coca Cola cupcakes last night and they just turned out funky. The taste was bland, and the recipe called for marshmallows, which gave it a really spongy texture.

So I went to the store today, and just bought a box of chocolate cake mix (because I'm lazy, okay??)
I do have to say that, after making cakes from scratch, the boxed stuff doesn't taste as good anymore!
I had a hard time deciding between buttercream frosting, and cream cheese frosting. And I figured that since I cheated with the cupcakes, I'd go for the cream cheese frosting instead of the buttercream (which I make so often that I could whip it up in my sleep.) The recipe I have made a tooooon of icing, though. As in, I used half of it, MAYBE. So the recipe I'm giving you is halved for your convenience.

The frosting was still a liiittle on the runny side, which disappointed me because it piped out so beautifully, then sort of..sank together. But hey, there's sprinkles!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe:

Cupcakes

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix (I used chocolate fudge)
• 1 1/3c water
• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• Cupcake liners

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350
• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
• Beat with electic mixer on low for 30 seconds, then medium/high for one minute, until fully blended.
• Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Pour batter into the cups until 1/2-3/4 of the way full.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave to cool.

Frosting

• 1/2 package (4 oz) of cream cheese, softened
• 6 tbsp butter, softened
• 1/4c cherry juice
• 1/2 bag powdered sugar (plus a little more, to get the right consistency)
• Red food coloring (2-3 drops)
• Red sprinkles for accenting

Preparation

• In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy.
• Slowly beat in cherry juice, until mixture is smooth and creamy.
• Gradually beat in powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want. (Very thick if you plan to pipe it!)
• Beat in the food coloring to get a pretty pink color-- Beat well.
• Frost onto cooled cupcakes, using a knife or piping bag.
• Sprinkle with red sprinkles if desired.

Chocolate-dipped Orange Cookies

What a busy week this has been! I was offered the opportunity to make treats for a WEDDING! Now granted, they're being served at the tail-end of the reception, after the cake has been served, but still! The woman (whose son is getting married) said she'd take pictures of the treats on display at the wedding and send them to me, so hopefully I'll get those and be able to post them here, too!

I decided to make three different treats. I made my Cinnamon Pinwheels, Cookies au Creme, and a new recipe: Cake mix cookies! Specifically, chocolate-dipped orange cookies.
I got the recipe from a friend of mine, Nikki (who is amazing in the kitchen). The recipe is reaaally simple. I did an orange cookie, half-dipped in chocolate. I wanted something with a little extra sass, that was also unusual, for people to "ooh" and "ahh" at at the wedding. I think I succeeded with these!

Everybody that I fed these to as samples LOVED them. Not one person thought they were less than amazing!

The great thing about the recipe is that you can use ANY boxed cake mix. Because I couldn't find an actual box of orange cake mix, I used white cake mix and added 4tsp of orange extract. Yummm!

I also used a box of strawberry (See below!) but it had that artificial-strawberry flavor. I've come to the conclusion that strawberry cookies should not exist.

Now, the first time I made these I used my KitchenAid. I also rolled out the dough and cut it into shapes, which probably had to do with why I didn't add any extra flour to the dough itself.

The second time (when I made a batch for work) I used a hand held mixer, and I had to add a LOT of flour to get it to be a good texture. When I scooped them, I used a 1/2 tablespoon measuring spoon to get them the same size.

Cake Mix Cookie Recipe:

• One box cake mix (any flavor)
• Two eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• Flour (Not sure how much-- it varies)
• 4tsp orange extract (if you go for the orange cookies)
• One bag chocolate chips, melted (you pick what sort!)

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 300
• Beat together the cake mix, eggs, and vegetable oil.
• If needed, add enough flour to get it to a cookie dough-like consistency.
• Either roll out and cut cookies into shapes, or drop onto cookie sheet.
• If dropping onto cookie sheet, press down so they're about 1/4" thick. They don't seem to spread at all, or VERY little.
• Bake for 9-12 minutes, or until just firm to the touch.
• Leave to cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
• Serve plain, or dip in melted chocolate-- or drizzle with melted chocolate.

Note: I used milk chocolate for the orange cookies, and dark chocolate for the strawberry. Try mixing it up!

Lemon Cookies

Well, this was a coincidence! I was in the mood for something lemon so I decided to make lemon cookies. When I went to the store to buy the ingredients I needed, a bright yellow sign greeted me: The sign for Alex's Lemonade Stand.

Each year the foundation sets up a stand outside of the grocery store where I work (among other places) and sells cups of lemonade to raise money for childhood cancer. Check out the site!

Back to the topic at hand, I made lemon cookies! They came out much more cakey than I expected them to, but they were still good.

They didn't spread as much as I thought they would, either. I used a tablespoon (measuring spoon) to scoop the dough. After doing this, I suggest flattening them down some, because they do rise a little but they don't spread, so flattening them will make them more even.

Another reason to flatten them: It makes the cookie more round. In the pictures you can tell the difference between the ones I pressed, and the ones that I simply lumped-- they're the ones that came out more jagged. Having them flat adds a little extra to the presentation.

The cookie recipe is from one recipe online, and the icing recipe is from another. Both were found on Cooks.com but I tweaked both of them so much that I couldn't find the originals later!
Lemon Cookie Recipe

• Cookie Recipe
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. shortening
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 1/2 lemon rind, grated
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 1/2 c. flour
• 1/4 c. milk
• Icing Recipe
• 1 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp milk (with a little extra on-hand to get the right consistency)

Preparation

• Cream sugar and shortening.
• Add the egg and beat until fluffy.
• Add lemon juice and grated rind, beat together.
• Beat in baking soda and baking powder.
• Mix in the flour, alternating with the milk.
• Chill for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°
• Use a tablespoon to scoop the dough (against the side of the bowl to flatten it) and drop onto a cookie sheet. Flatten with your fingers slightly.
• Bake 12-15 minutes. Let cool.
• Blend together the powdered sugar and lemon juice.
• Slowly add milk until you get a proper consistency for icing.
• Drizzle over the cookies.

Proof that I put effort into the display pictures I take. (;

Luscious Lemon Bars

My two favorite things in the baking world are recipes that involve a) cinnamon, and b) lemon.

Since I've used cinnamon lately, I thought I'd switch to lemon!

These are your basic lemon bars-- but I've never made them from scratch before! It's always the stuff that comes in the box, where all you do is add liquid (and maybe an egg) and then bake.

To be honest, these tasted just like the ones out of the box. Unless you have the desire to actually make them from scratch, save the money (and time!) and just use the box.

This was fun! And the whole house smells soooo good! It really only took me about 40 minutes to make this-- and that includes baking and clean-up time. And the house smells SO GOOD! (:

And I've never had a chance to cut and squeeze the juice from a lemon before-- I've really just never had a reason to do so. And I FINALLY got to use the trick that I picked up from Rachael Ray 2-3 years ago: Squeeze the juice out cut-side up to keep the seeds from falling into the mixture!
Lemon Bars Recipe

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 7 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and diced
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  
• Topping Ingredients
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 lemon -- The finely grated rind, and juice, of
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Powdered sugar for topping (which I ALWAYS overdo by accident!)
  

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°
• Grease the inside of an 8in square cake pan
• Using a food processor (I used an electric mixer, which was more work) blend the flour, butter, and powdered sugar.
• When it "comes together as a firm dough" press it into the pan, and spread smooth.
• Bake 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden. Leave in the tin to cool.

Topping Preparation

• Whisk the eggs in a bowl until frothy.
• Add the sugar, a little at a time, and whisk until fully blended.
• Whisk in the lemon rind, lemon juice, flour, and baking soda.
• Pour over the cookie base, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until set and golden.
• Leave to cool in the pan.
• Once slightly cooled, cut into bars (recipe says 12, I made 36 by doing smaller bites) and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

(Virgin) Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CINDY!

Well, not yet. Her birthday is on the 15th but we're celebrating tonight instead.
She's turning 21, but her (other) best friend is still only 20 so we can't go out to celebrate.
To compromise I took on the responsibility of baking her cake. Or rather, cakes. What better way to celebrate a non-alcoholic 21st birthday than with alcoholic imitations?
So for her birthday I'm making her strawberry margarita cupcakes! They're super adorable, and delicious! You can make regular margarita cupcakes with key limes, but she doesn't like limes and LOVES the color pink and anything strawberry. And so here we are!

Strawberries tossed with sugar, for the frosting.

Strawberry Margarita Cupcake Recipe
Note: Start on the frosting first because the strawberries have to sit for 2 hours beforehand.

• One box of strawberry cake mix
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cups vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
  
• 1 pint (or 1 pound/1 package-- same thing) of strawberries
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 tbsp softened butter
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 
  
• A package of neon bendy straws
• Coarse sugar crystals

Preparation

• Line 2 cupcake pans with cupcake liners (makes sense, right?) I suggest either pink or white.
• Mix and bake the mix according to directions on the back of the box.
• Leave to let cool.

Frosting Preparation

• Wash 1/2 of the strawberries (Since these will be blended, I chose the less pretty ones), then 'hull' them (aka cut off the leafy tops).
• Slice the berries and put in a bowl.
• Pour the granulated sugar over the strawberries and mix well.
• Chill for two hours.
• In another bowl, beat the butter until it's fluffy.
• Drain the extra juice from the strawberries, then mash them up and add them to the butter. Add in half of the powdered sugar.
• Blend until it's all mixed in, then slowly add in more powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want for spreading the frosting.

Decoration

• After frosting your cupcakes, sprinkle the edges with coarse sugar crystals. Note: Sprinkle as you go, because once the frosting sets it begins to reject having any sugar sprinkled on)
• Wash/hull the rest of your strawberries, and slice in half (longway) and place one half on the edge of each cupcake.
• Cut a bendy straw until it's about 4" long, then stick in the cupcake.

Because the frosting is made from fresh strawberries, the recipe suggests keeping your cupcakes refrigerated.

Personally, I think this would dry out the cupcakes way too fast and make them soggy, so I just waited until the last possible moment then frosted the cupcakes, so they could sit out.

Because of the freshness involved, I suggest making these the day of the event and consuming them the day of. I mean, you know how strawberries get...

Strawberry frosting recipe found here:
http://southernfood.about.com/od/icingrecipes/r/r70225c.htm

Glazed Apple Cookies

I'm in Lawrence instead of Olathe tonight, so I had to look up a recipe online instead of using my book. So I went to http://www.allrecipes.com/ and typed in "cinnamon", and this is what popped up!

Now, I made one batch (to feed my roommate and his friends who are over) and I intend to make another later tonight, but my first batch came out...weird.

They flattened a TON, and also fell apart when i tried to use a spatula to get them off of the parchment paper (which I use in place of a greased cookie sheet.)

The walnuts in the recipe are optional, but I don't like walnuts, and I don't like raisins (in my cookies!) either so I left both out and replaced them with cinnamon chips. Tasty!

Some of the reviews suggested grating the apple instead of dicing. I grated one and diced the rest (I used 1.5 apples, roughly). I also used a paper towel to absorb the juice from the apple (HIGHLY suggested) but the dough was still really, really runny.

I think I'm going to leave the milk out of the next batch, and when I put the dough on the paper try to make it really high instead of spread on the paper, to keep it from spreading AS much.

As for the glaze:
I'm not sure who did the measuring for this, but everything seems off. I think by the time I got the consistency I wanted I'd used almost 1/4 cup of Half and Half (and they suggest 2.5 tablespoons) so just keep the H&H on hand.

They sure are cute, though!!

Glazed Apple Cookie Recipe:

• 1/2 cup shortening (I'm going to use butter for the 2nd batch)
• 1 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 cup raisins (or cinnamon chips-- or neither!)
• 1 cup peeled, finely diced apple (I used 2 Granny Smith)
• 1/4 cup milk

• 1 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup half-and-half (use as needed to get proper consistency)

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Beat shortening (or butter) and brown sugar together. The recipe says "until light and fluffy" but with this much sugar it didn't get fluffy at all. Beat in the egg; here's where it got light and fluffy.
• In another bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
• Blend half of the mixture into the butter/brown sugar. Add apples, walnuts/raisins/cinnamon chips, then stir in the rest of the mixture.
• Use a tablespoon to put on a greased cookie sheet (or parchment paper) and put them WELL apart. Recipe says 1 1/2 inch..I suggest more.
• Cook for 10-12 minutes, put on cooling rack.

Glaze Preparation

• Blend powdered sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and H&H
• Get to a thin consistency for spreading, but not too runny.
• Either spread over the entire (still warm) cookie, or:
• Put in a Zip-Loc bag, snip off a corner, and drizzle designs!

This recipe has my tweaks that I think will make better cookies in the future. For the original, go here!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Glazed-Apple-Cookies/Detail.aspx