Natural Food Coloring

Winter is officially here which means the days are shorter, the weather is colder and we are all spending more time inside.  So what do you do when you and your little ones are feeling cooped up indoors? You decorate cookies! Cookie decorating is a great way to get your kiddos excited about being in the kitchen AND make a delicious holiday inspired treat to give as gifts to family and friends. 

How do we give your cookie decorating party a Peas of Mind twist? That’s easy, by using homemade food coloring! So this year opt out of using store bought brands filled with chemicals and make your own with fruits, veggies and spices!

Natural Food Coloring

-2 C powdered sugar

-1 TBL water

-1 tsp vanilla extract

-pinch of salt

-pinch of turmeric (yellow color)

-1/2 tsp paprika (red color)

-juice of 1 carrot (orange color)

-juice of 1/2 C spinach (green color)

-juice of 1/2 C blueberries (blue color)

Combine 1 cup of powdered sugar with water and vanilla. Divide icing evenly into five small bowls.

For yellow and red colors: mix in the turmeric in one of the bowls and the paprika into another bowl. Stir until combined, adding more water or powdered sugar for your desired consistency.

For orange, green and blue colors: mix 1 tsp of the juice into the remaining bowls. Continue to add more juice and powdered sugar until you get the desired color and consistency.

Voila you now have food coloring that contains ingredients you can actually pronounce! Hope this brings a little Peas of Mind to your cookie baking party this year.

Customize your Cookies

Everyone likes a little something special, something made just the way they like it, and who doesn't love cookies?! Although most people think baking is a science not to be messed with, we'd like to encourage you to experiment with any old fashioned recipe to get the cookie results that suit your kids' (or your own) taste buds!

Here are a few tricks that can help you take an old cookie recipe in a new direction and bake experimentally with confidence!

For Flat, Crispy Cookies:

• Use butter
• Replace 1 egg with 3 Tbs milk
• Use a high ratio of white to brown sugar (i.e., for a combined total of 1 1/2 cups sugar, use 1 1/4 cups white sugar and 1/4 brown sugar)
  

For Cakey, Puffy, Fluffy Cookies:

• Use margerine/shortening
• Use cake flour instead of all purpose. (If you don't have cake flour, use my grandma's substitution: measure 1 cup all purpose flour, then remove 1 Tablespoon and 1 teaspoon and replace with 1 Tablespoon and 1 teaspoon of corn starch. Viola, you have makeshift cake flour.)
  
• Use baking powder in place of baking soda
• Chill dough before scooping to minimize spreading
  

For Moist, Chewy Cookies:

• Melt the butter
• Replace 1 egg white with 2 Tbs milk
• Use a high ratio of brown to white sugar (i.e., for a combined total of 1 1/2 cups sugar, use 1/4 cups white sugar and 1 1/4 brown sugar)
• *Note: If you're baking any cookie recipe a day or two in advance, using a larger proportion of brown sugar to white will encourage moisture to stay in the cookie, making the cookies seem fresher longer (delaying the staling process).

So, next time you're making cookies with the kids, it'll be easy to satisfy whatever texture suits their day!



References: Alton Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB-KVveLp3k&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWoN0PtsIIQ