Egg Nog Snickerdoodles | Commercial Food Photographer

Two perfect reasons to make these cookies:
1. You love Egg Nog.
2. You hate Egg Nog but someone left it at your house.

Either way, you'll like these cookies! If you don't, take them to work and make your coworkers eat them. They're really light and the flavors are subtle, a nice contrast to the majority of holiday treats.

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The paper trees in the background have been my favorite part of this holiday season. I've really enjoyed making them, thanks to fellow photographer and blogger Davina Fear, who happily shared the idea. Those of you who are parents, Davina has some of the cutest crafts and activities I have EVER seen.

Eggnog Snickerdoodle Cookies
www.whatkatiesbaking.com

1 ½ c flour
½ stick butter
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup egg nog (I used soy Silk Egg Nog, and it worked perfectly.)
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 cup sugar + 1 tbsp cinnamon for rolling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter and 1/2 cup sugar. (I used the paddle attachment like it says, but I used a regular beater for my next cookie recipe (also to combine butter and sugar) and it worked just fine.
4. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl.
5. Add egg and eggnog, and beat to combine.
6. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine. Don't overmix.
7. You can chill the dough for an hour or more to make the dough easier to scoop, or go ahead and scoop them a little messier.
8. In a small bowl, combine 1/8 cup sugar and 1 tbsp ground cinnamon.
9. Use a small ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon to form balls of the dough, and roll in cinnamon sugar.
10. Place about two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
11. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack, about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after five minutes. The cookies will feel a little doughy when you touch them, but trust me, they're finished.
12. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack as soon as they are cool enough to not fall apart. Yields 18-20 cookies.

Thumbprint Cookies | Food Photography Columbus Ohio

Thumbprint Cookies are maybe the easiest cookies in the world to make. I don't eat many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but I often find an open jar of jam in the fridge that needs to be used up. This is my preferred way to get rid of unwanted jam.

OR, if I feel like splurging, I use Sweet Thing Gourmet's jam. This jam is so good, I can't see myself ever wasting it on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I often eat it on a banana or with cream cheese and crackers, or of course, in these cookies, so I can truly enjoy how fantastic it is without covering it up with other flavors. My favorite (shown here) is the Brandied Apricot Jam. I swear, I don't love it just because it's orange.

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Thumbprint Cookies
from Betty Crocker

 

¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup shortening
¼ cup butter or margarine, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, separated
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup finely chopped nuts (optional)
Jelly of your choice

Heat oven to 350ºF. Mix brown sugar, shortening, butter, vanilla and egg yolk in medium bowl. Stir in flour and salt until dough holds together. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Beat egg white slightly. Dip each ball into egg white. Optional: roll in nuts. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press thumb deeply in center of each.
Bake about 10 minutes or until light brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Fill thumbprints with jelly.

Cocktail Couture: OYO Vodka White Russian

White Russian sounds and looks like the perfect drink for a snowy winter day. Since we'll be seeing many of those coming up soon, why not cheers to one right now? For this final drink in our Cocktail Couture series featuring local spirits from around Columbus, Jenna Sais Quois, a super-talented graphic designer and my favorite fashion blogger, lent us her amazing collection of white and silver jewelry. Staring at all the glittering white reminds me of freshly fallen snow, which I absolutely love. Yes, an Ohioan who loves snow. Feel free to hate, I'm used to it. Many times I've been blamed for the very existence of snow.

We've featured Middle West Spirits once before in this series for their whiskey, but their first love was vodka. When touring the distillery, they share that vodka is often described as flavorless and odorless, but they didn't want to rid the drink of all it's naturally occurring flavors and odors. In fact, the International Review of Spirits describes OYO vodka as “Clear, bright aromas of dried pear, custard and buttery honeyed praline with a supple, soft off-dry medium-full body with a long, spicy apple pie crust, cream and mineral finish. Exceptional, flavorful and delicious.”

OYO Vodka White Russian

Fill a lowball glass with ice

Add 1 oz. of OYO Vodka

1.5 oz. Kahlua

1 oz. of Cream, or half & half

The recipe calls for 1 oz. of cream, but I pour enough to fill the glass. Otherwise I find it to be too strong. To drink, stir well, but I think it looks prettier with the cream floating on top and the swirls of brown running through. To create this effect, turn a spoon upside down and pour the cream over it and into the glass. It stops the pour from disturbing the liquor in the bottom of the glass. 

For our other Cocktail Couture posts, visit:
Tessora Lemon Cappuccini  
Watershed Gin Pumpkin Drop
OYO Whiskey Hot Apple Toddy
Camelot Cellars Pinot Noir
And visit Jenna Sais Quois for her super cute recipe cards and her take on these delicious local spirits.

A Food Photographer's Holiday Gift Guide to Columbus: Top 10

Tomorrow is small business Saturday, and I'm here to suggest some great gifts from 10 of my favorite Columbus small local businesses.

1. To make the most of your local restaurant giving, Dine Originals has gift certificates at discounted prices, While you're at it, buy a few for yourself. This dessert is from Deepwood Restaurant. Yum!








2. For a nice bottle of spirits, check out our Cocktail Couture Series, featuring Watershed Distillery, Middle West Spirits, Camelot Cellars, and Tessora Limone (shown). There's also Brothers Drake Meadery, and local breweries, such as Columbus Brewing Company. Attach a cute recipe card to the bottle for a personal touch.









3. Celebrate Local is a new pop-up shop at Easton, a one-stop-shop for local gifts. Here's a partial list of vendors selling at Celebrate Local. For more information, fan them on Facebook.

 4. The Candle Lab might not serve food, but tell me you don't smell toasted marshmallows and cranberry sauce when you walk in. Leave the mixing to the experts or create your own. I made a Campfire, Mulled Cider and Leather mix on a night out with friends. Entertainment and gift shopping in one.









5. For the kitchen dweller in your circle, grab some spices from North Market Spices. They're super friendly and would love to help you find the perfect mixes.

6. Grab some sweet goodies from Sugardaddy's . Now with 3 store locations (Polaris, Downtown and Easton), they're hard to miss.

7. How about a Clintonville Farmer's Market favorite that can be ordered online? Brezel Pretzels are fantastic, and a fun, unexpected gift.

8. For some dishes to eat all that food on, and much more, The Swanky Abode is a stylish, eclectic place to shop. (These cute coasters came from The Swanky Abode.)

9. Cooking classes are a fun activity to do as a couple, with friends, or with the kids. Here's a list of the best cooking class resources in Columbus, all with local businesses.









10. An easy gift that made it onto my list last year as well, is a subscription to Edible Columbus.












11. This is a top 10 guide, but how could I leave out Photo Kitchen, with an online photo library of over 10,000 photos to choose from and 150 products to print them on, you're sure to find the perfect gift. Search by subject or browse the collections, from oceans to skeleton keys, peaches to honey, and a whole lot in between.