Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies | Midwest Food Photographers

Sugar cookies are the most versatile cookie for decorating. Perfect for any shape, icing, and sprinkle you can imagine. I can't say this is the best sugar cookie recipe in the world, but it might be your favorite. How do you know unless you try it?

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For a little while when we were younger, my brother and I spent a LOT of time icing cookies. His was done at Cheryl's Cookies and mine was at a deli that had a large variety of pastries and sweets. We both got really good at it, and I still find it comforting to take out a tray of cookies and smear the icing on. Maybe he and I will do a How-to video someday.

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 cup butter, softened
* 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 egg yolk
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, almond and vanilla extracts, and egg yolk. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour until well blended. Chill the dough for 8 hours, or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/3 at a time to 1/8 inch thickness, refrigerating remaining dough until ready to use. Cut into desired shapes with lightly floured cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Leave cookies plain for frosting, or brush with slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with candy sprinkles or colored sugar.
4. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until light and golden brown. Cool cookies completely before frosting.

Commercial Food Photography Studio

Recipe of the Month:
Blueberry Boy Bait

This recipe came to me by request, from a certain someone who loves blueberries. He found the recipe on SmittenKitchen, and I figured, why not? Trader Joe's had blueberries that looked too good to pass up, and I was on a baking spree anyway, so I figured I'd throw this one in the mix. It was very simple to make, and will be perfect for breakfast (like a mix between a muffin and coffee cake), and a snack, and dinner....Don't worry, it's healthy; there's fruit in it!

Here are a few photos of the batter. I always scrape the bowl clean, no batter will go to waste at my house!


And here are a few hurried shots of the final product. Every food photo shoot is a process. I start with what I like most, but then move onto different angles, and points of focus. Then I begin to add in elements and deconstruct the subject. You can't go backwards with food, so I always start with the least destructive option.
1. The first image was shot from the back of the piece of cake I cut. I say the back, because it was the side that was falling apart, but I liked how it looked anyway.
2. The second shot is of the clean side, the front. While it looks okay, I think it's too straight, and doesn't look as bite-worthy as the other side.
3. The third one is shot from higher up so the focus goes further in the background and you get to see the fork cutting into the cake. I like this one best, because it shows the product well, but is also interactive. I feel like I'm about to eat it.
4. The fourth one I shot to get closer up into the cake with the fork, but the piece in the front doesn't look all that appealing, so I'd stick with #3.


Which one do you like best?

A Cookie Kind of Holiday

The best thing about cookies is they come in so many shapes and sizes, colors and designs, flavors and textures. You can dress them up however you like, you can make them in a hurry or take all day. The variety is endless and the eating is divine!