Quick Spinach Canopies

I had harvested a fresh batch of Organic Baby Spinach from my garden and was thinking of how to use them differently. Came up with the idea to keep it simple. This one is a quick fix finger food, the perfect starter for any parties or gatherings. And even better, it has only 5 ingredients. I am not adding the quantities, as it depends totally on your liking.

Difficulty level: Super easy

Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 0 min

Ingredients
Organic baby spinach
Goat cheese- plain or spiced
Dried cranberries/raisins
Balsamic vinegar

Olive Oil

Arrange the baby spinach leaves on a serving plate. Scoop about 1 tsp roughly (make adjustments depending on the size of the leaf) of the goat cheese & add a few dried cranberries before drizzling some Olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top. It is a good mix of flavours & textures from all the ingredients in there. You don't even need to add salt as the goat cheese will have enough. Enjoy the freshness & crunch of the spinach with the burst of flavors from the other goodies.

Soft & yummy Homemade Pizza

Most people love pizza, especially kids. You can let them eat guilt-free if you make it at home for two reasons. 1. You know what exactly has gone into it and 2. I can guarantee that it will be healthier than any other one out there. When you realize how easy it is, you will never want to get the store-bought one or delivery.

Difficulty level- Medium
Preparation time- 2-3 hrs
Baking time- 18-22 min

Prepare 1 batch of the dough as given in my Best Homemade Garlic knots recipe. I have attached the link below, just in case you missed it.

http://priyahobbies.blogspot.com/2021/01/best-homemade-garlic-knots.html

Proceed as the recipe says until you let it rise for 1- 2 hrs until the dough has doubled. When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Using floured hands on a lightly floured work surface, make the dough into two with a very sharp knife, pizza cutter, or bench scraper. You can strech out the dough to roughly the size of your baking pan. You can try your flipping-in-the-air tricks if you are confident or use a rolling pin or even with just your fingers. Roll out both the balls onto the baking trays. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for atleast 30 min.

Towards the end of the rise time, preheat oven to 400°F (204°).

Topping: 

Generously spread a layer of your favorite pizza sauce. Garnish with any topping of your choice, the options are endless. Here I have a Margarita (cheese) pizza and a Veggie Pizza (with artichokes, olives, jalapenos, sundried tomatoes, pesto sauce , pine nuts, and cheese).

Bake for about 18-23 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven & sprinkle with parmesan cheese and/or parsley, if using.

Cover and store leftover pizza at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freeze baked and cooled pizza for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter, then reheat as desired. (I usually just microwave them for a few seconds.)

Best Homemade Garlic Knots

These are the best homemade garlic knots. They are made from homemade dough, leftovers freeze beautifully, are super soft and fluffy, golden brown and works best with extra garlic butter.


Who doesn't love the aroma of fresh home-made breads & rolls filling the air? This simple recipe gives you soft, fluffy rolls and the garlic herb butter adds a nice flavour to the already piece of heaven.

This batch yields 2 lbs of dough for 16 knots or 1 pizza plus 8 knots. I use the same dough for cheesy breadsticks as well. You can buy the store-bought pizza dough, but I like to make it from scratch if you can allow 60-90 minutes to rise. Also make sure that the yeast is fresh and use the correct temperature (between 100-110°F/ 38-43°C) water.

Difficulty: Easy
Preparation time: about 2 hrs
Baking time: 18-22 min

Ingredients
1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water
2 and 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast(1 standard sachet)
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 and 1/2 cups (450g) all-purpose flour plus more for hands and work surface

Topping:
5 Tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, melted
3 garlic cloves, minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
optional after baking: 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
optional after baking: 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley



Whisk the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. *If you don’t have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula in the next step.

Add the olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and half of the flour. Beat for 15 seconds, then add the remaining flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 3-4 minutes. The dough can be a little too heavy for a mixer to knead it, but you can certainly use the mixer on low speed instead. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger – if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.

Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray– just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it’s doubled in size, remove from the oven.)

Shape the dough: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Using floured hands on a lightly floured work surface, shape the dough into a 16×5 inch log. (5 inch width really isn’t as important as the 16 inch length here, no need to be exact.) Using a very sharp knife, pizza cutter, or bench scraper, slice into 16 1-inch strips. Roll each strip into 8 inch ropes. Tie each into knots. You can tuck the two ends of the knots underneath the knot or leave them out, that’s up to you. Arrange the knots on 2 lined baking sheets. (Either parchment paper or silicone baking mats work.)

Lightly cover the shaped knots and let them rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 45 minutes. They will slightly puff up during this time, producing softer rolls.

Towards the end of the rise time, preheat oven to 400°F (204°).

Topping: Stir the melted butter, garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt together. Brush on the knots. Reserve some of the topping for when the knots come out of the oven.

Bake for about 18-23 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and brush the warm knots with remaining garlic butter. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and/or parsley, if using.

Serve plain or with marinara sauce for dipping.

Cover and store leftover knots at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freeze baked and cooled knots for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter, then reheat as desired. (I usually just microwave them for a few seconds.)

Spicy Artichoke Wraps

Artichokes have a very subtle taste and flavor. It is a seasonal vegetable, except may be not in California. 

Even though subtle, it really comes through when you combine it with a mild cheese and may be some bread crumbs. I always indulge in the fresh ones when it is available. During the rest of the months, I keep a couple of canned artichoke hearts handy in the hope of transforming them into something yummy.

Here I made the artichoke hearts which is originally from USA with Indian spices and combined it with Middle-eastern tahini sauce and kaboos(Arabic bread) pairing it with Peri-peri sauce for the spread. It also adds in a Mediterranean touch with Kalamata olives and onions, making it a truly International dish. You can substitute the peri-peri sauce with any spicy sauce and kaboos with tortilla or chapathi, depending on what is available to you. 

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking time: 20 min


Ingredients
Artichoke hearts- Canned, in water- 1(240 g ,drained)
Cooking oil- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Red chilly powder- 3/4 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt-to taste
Tahini sauce - 2 tsp
Peri-peri sauce- 1 tsp
Red onion- half of an onion, cut into long strips
Kalamata olives- 10 nos., pitted & cut into long pieces





Chop up the well-drained artichoke hearts roughly. Heat oil in a pan and add the spices. Stir for a minute and add the chopped artichoke hearts. Add salt to taste . Mix well and cook for a few minutes on a low flame, until the water is all gone and it gets the artichoke gets a good coating of the spices all over it.

In the meantime, warm up a large kaboos. In a small bowl, mix the tahini with the peri-peri sauce well. Pour the mix on the kaboos and spread uniformly all over it. Spread a layer of the onions and olives in a single line . Add the cooked artichoke right on top. Tightly roll the kaboos into a tight log making sure everything can be tasted in every bite. Enjoy the wrap warm right away, as it gets soggy if left assembled for a long time.

Creme' Brulee' Sugar cookies

Holidays are always festive with a lot of eating, singing and bonding with your family and friends. I wanted to do something different this time. I usually love gifting my friends with a bunch of handmade goodies, including both food and non-food items.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 15 min
Baking time: about 40 min

Ingredients

FOR THE COOKIES
3/4 Cup. (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
2 Cup. All-purpose flour
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kosher salt


FOR THE FROSTING
1 (8-oz.) block cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 Cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 Cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350° and line two cookie sheets with parchment. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt, then add mixture to wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Dough will be thick. Using a small cookie scoop ( I used 2 teaspoons- 1 to scoop the batter and the other to slide it out), place tablespoon balls of dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Press down lightly on each cookie to flatten slightly. Bake until edges are just starting to brown, 9 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

For the frosting: Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until smooth.Put sugar into a small bowl. Spread about a tablespoon of frosting onto tops of each cookie, then press into granulated sugar, coating frosting with sugar.Just before serving, use a kitchen torch to caramelize sugar on top, then set aside to cool. Store cookies in the fridge for up to 4 days. If you do not have a flaming torch, your broiler works just fine.

Chili's Inspired Black bean burger with Ground peppercorn sauce & blue cheese

I used to love going to Chili's ever since that life-changing discovery on one of my early visits.  Their burgers are phenomenal and they can serve  a vegetarian black-bean substitute with all the other toppings, on request. I have been addicted ever since. Shockingly, they do not serve it in any of their locations worldwide outside of US.  I was so addicted to the extent that I wrote to Chili's USA and they responded saying they have logistics issue serving them worldwide as they do not want to compromise on the quality. I hence decided to make them in my kitchen whenever I was craving them. 

Difficulty level- Medium
Preparation time- 15 min
Cooking time- 30 min, for both the sauce & patty together



Ingredients

Cooked black beans- 1/2 cup(refer to my notes on how to cook dry black beans) or 1 14 oz can of black beans
Onion- 1 small
Garlic- 2 cloves crushed or 1/4 tsp minced or powdered garlic
Cajun seasoning- 2 tsp
Bread crumbs- 1/2 cup
Egg-1
Hot sauce- 1/2 to 1 tsp , as desired
Dried herbs- 1/2 tsp
Fresh ground black pepper- 1 tsp
Blue cheese crumbles- 1 tbsp
Salt-to taste
Burger buns, lettuce, tomato, cheese, ketchup- to your liking

For the Ground peppercorn sauce

Butter-35 gms
All purpose flour - 35 gms
Milk- 200 ml( any fat-level will work)
Vegetable stock- 100 ml
Black peppercorns- about 4 tsp
Brandy- optional, 1 tbsp

Preparing the sauce

Crack the black peppercorns in a pestle and mortar (if you don’t have one, put them in a plastic bag, wrap in a tea towel, and hit a few times with a rolling pin) – You want to make sure that the peppercorns are cracked, but do not over-grind otherwise the sauce will lose its intense peppery flavour. In a small saucepan, melt the butter on a low heat. Once the butter is fully melted, gradually add the flour. After each addition mix well to ensure it is fully combined with the butter. Once all the flour is added you should have a thick smooth paste. Cook the butter and flour mix for a couple of minutes stirring regularly – Cooking the butter and flour mix for a couple of minutes before adding the other ingredients ensures that the flour is cooked. If you skip this step your finished sauce may have an odd floury taste. If you decide to add the brandy, add it at this tage and mix well to combine with the butter and flour – adding the brandy at this stage ensures that the alcohol is cooked off.Gradually add the milk , mixing well after each addition to combine with the butter and flour – I like to switch to using a whisk at this stage as it helps to break down any lumps. Once all the milk is combined, add the chicken stock and black peppercorns and season with salt. Simmer gently until the sauce has reduced to your required consistency.

Making the black bean patty

Drain beans well. Put onion and garlic in food processor and blend until fine. Add beans and blend well until mashed consistency. Place into a mixing bowl and add bread crumbs, egg, hot sauce, parsley, Cajun seasoning, and stir. Mix well and shape 4 patties (I opted to make 3 larger patties). Make a dent in the middle top portion and add some fresh ground pepper and some blue cheese crumbles. Seal the opening well. Place on a well-greased stovetop grill pan like I did or use an outdoor grill. Cook 5-6 minutes on each side. You can also broil in the oven for 10-12 minutes per side on a greased, foil-lined pan. Once thoroughly cooked, spread the remaining blue cheese crumbles on top of the patty. If using a pan, add some water all around the patty and close the lid covering the entire pan , after sprinkling the blue cheese. It creates a steaming effect, and makes the cheese melt beautifully over the patty.
Stack them along with all the accompaniments, to your liking and enjoy..

Note- Soak the dry black beans overnight or 8-9 hrs. Cook in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles.

Chewy Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you are the lover of a chewy chocolate chip cookie , your journey ends here.



Difficulty level- Easy
Preparation time- 10 min
Baking time- about 15 minutes per batch

Ingredients

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour(if you do not have cake flour, please see my 'Note' at the bottom to see how to make it by yourself)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ cups butter, softened
1 ¼ cups white sugar
1 ¼ cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (Optional)
M & M for garnish(optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Sift together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, until well blended. Gradually stir in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon, stir in walnuts if desired. Drop cookies by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Garnish with M & Ms. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are light brown. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Note: Measure 1 cup of all -purpose flour. Measure out 2 tbsp of it and replace it by the same 2 tbsp of Corn flour. Your cake flour is ready.

Quick Kesar Malai Laddoo

Happy Diwali everyone...

During these odd times, nobody wants to spend hours in the kitchen preparing Diwali sweets. I am in the same boat and hence came up with a laddoo, so instant ( when you compare it to the rest of the sweets usually prepared for Diwali), you would never believe how easy this is with no compromise on the taste.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 2-3 min


Ingredients

• Milk powder- 1 cup
• Ghee( clarified butter)- 1/ 4 cup plus 1 tbsp, and a couple of drops to grease your palm to make the laddoos
• Cashews- 12-15
• Raisins-25
• Granulated sugar- 1/4 cup
• Cardamom- 3 pods
• Saffron- a few strands

In a skillet, heat 1 tbsp ghee(clarified butter) on medium-low heat and roast the cashews until they turn golden brown and put aside. To the same ghee, add the raisins and fry them until they puff up. Keep aside. Add the rest of the ghee and allow to melt completely. Turn off the stove and after 3-4 minutes add the strands of saffron. This will allow the flavors to infuse into the ghee slowly.

While the ghee cools completely, powder the sugar and the seeds inside the pods of cardamom into a fine powder. Also crush the roasted cashews using a mortar and pestle or a food processor (just pulse it a couple of times). In a mixing bowl, add the milk powder, powdered sugar, crushed cashews, roasted raisins and mix well. Pour the saffron-infused ghee on top and mix well using a spatula. Once it is thoroughly mixed, grease your palms and roll the mixture into small lemon-sized balls. This yields 14 such laddoos. The number may vary depending on the size of your balls. It stays fresh at room temperature for 3-4 days.

Oreo Fudgy Brownies

Oreos are a kids' favorite and a lot of the adults I know love it too. I have incorporated Oreos and marshmallows to the brownie to make it all the more chewy. It is a fudgy, chewy, brownie goodness which will make you go back for more. 

Ingredients

1 cup butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
30 Oreo cookies coarsely chopped

Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C. Line 9×13 pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside. In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Mix on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute. Add in salt and the cocoa powder and mix on medium until combined, 30 seconds to a minute. Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour until incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. Spread half of the batter into the pan. Top with the Oreos and spread the remaining batter on top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the centre is almost set. It can stay fresh in an airtight container for about 3 days..I doubt this will remain at the end of the 3rd day anyway...

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Coconut Burfi (Microwave)

During the Navrathri(festive) season, everyone is in the lookout for quick sweets you can whip up in a jiffy with this recipe from Tarla Dalal. You could add some color, but I decided to keep it colorless as it is for offering to Goddess Saraswathi for the Navrathri pooja. As the preparation is completely in the microwave, it will save you a lot of time and energy you would otherwise spend in front of the stove.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 5 min
Setting time: 1 hr.

Ingredients
Grated coconut- 1 cup
Ghee- 2 tsp
Milk- 1/4 cup
Sugar- 3 tbsp
Cardamom- 1/4 tsp
Color-optional, a pinch

Mix the grated coconut and ghee well in a microwave safe bowl, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute. Take the bowl out, add in the rest of the ingredients. Mix them thoroughly and cook for another 2 minutes , stirring after 1 minute. Transfer on to a greased dish with 5" diameter and allow to set for 1 hr. Cut into desired shapes and enjoy.

Mango Peda/Mango Fudge

Peda is a very traditional Indian sweet. It can very well be made instantly at home with a little bit of  patience and elbow grease. I wanted to combine the flavour of mangoes to give it a twist. Who doesn't like mangoes? I have made minor changes to the recipe from Archana Hebbar here. This stays in room temperature for a week, so feel free to make plenty to share. 

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Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking time: 30-40 min

Ingredients

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Ghee( clarified butter)- 2 tbsp

A few strands of saffron
Mango pulp- 1 cup
Granulated sugar- 1/4 cup
Milk powder- 1 cup
Powdered cashew- 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder- 1/4 tsp

In a large frying pan heat 2 tbsp ghee, ¼ cup milk, few thread saffron and 1 cup mango pulp.

Stir well making sure everything is well combined.
Now add ¼ cup sugar and stir until sugar dissolves completely.
Further, add 1 cup milk powder and ¼ cup cashew powder.
Mix well making sure the mixture is well combined.
Mash well making sure there are no lumps present.

keeping the flame on low, stir continuously. the mixture thickens after 5 minutes.

Further, add ¼ tsp cardamom powder and mix well.
After 15 minutes, the mixture starts to separate the pan and holds shape. do not overcook as the peda hardens.
Transfer the prepared mixture into a greased plate and spread uniformly.
Cool for 5 minutes, and start preparing ball-sized peda.
Design using the flower mould if you happen to have it. you can also decorate using a toothpick or fork. I have kept it naked here.
Mango peda stays fresh for a week when stored in an airtight container.

Cheesy straws

With the kids studying from home due to the pandemic, there is an insatiable need for a variety of snacks at home. I decided to whip something up with things I had in hand. The more cheese you add, the yummier it gets. And who doesn't like cheese....

Difficulty level: Easy

Preparation time: 15 min

Baking time: 25 min

Ingredients

Puff pastry sqaure sheets- 10

Shredded cheese- atleast 1 1/4 cups(I used cheddar & parmesan combined)

Italian seasoning- 2 tbsp

Fresh ground black pepper- 2 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Thaw the puff pastry sheets for atleast 3 hrs. Preheat the oven to 400F. 

Combine the shredded cheese, Italian seasoning, fresh ground black pepper and salt well and keep aside. 

On a working surface, spread some the cheese mixture evenly. Put one of the puff pastry sheets and press down lightly so that the cheese mix sticks to the sheet. Spread more of the cheese mix evenly and pat down. Make 1 inch wide strips using a pizza cutter. Twist the strips to make them  curly. Transfer to a baking tray. Bake for 25 minutes until the cheese has melted and and the puff pastry has turned crisp. Enjoy them right away. 

                                         

                                                    

Peppermint Bark

I first made this in 2006. Ever since, this has become like a tradition during the holidays. It is an easy way to make the holidays more festive. This recipe is from Ms.Paula Deen of Food Network.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking time: 10 min
Inactive/ setting time: 45 min
Makes: 2 lbs. of candy

Ingredients:


White chocolate: 2 lbs.(about 1 kg.)
Candy canes, crushed: 1- 1 1/4 cups
Peppermint extract(optional)

Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into 1/4-inch chunks or smaller. Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler. Combine candy cane chunks with chocolate (add peppermint flavouring at this point, if desired). Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet layered with parchment or wax paper and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes until firm. Remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces (like peanut brittle).

Ginger-bread man

Ever since I read the book on the Ginger-bread man to my son, he has wanted me to make them at home. So, I decided to make him some, with his help to prep. Also, he cut out the men all by himself(with the cutter, of course). What better time to make it other than for the Holidays? This recipe is from www.simplyrecipes.com. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate

Preparation time: 15 min

Cooking time: 8- 10 min/ batch

Makes: 16 (5-inch long) cookies

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour: 3 1/4cups, sifted

Baking soda: 3/4 tsp

Unsalted butter: 3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks), room temperature/ softened

Dark brown sugar: 1/2 cup, packed

Ground ginger: 1 tbsp

Ground cinnamon: 1 tbsp

Ground cloves: 1/2 tsp

Ground nutmeg: 1/2 tsp

Black pepper: 1/4 tsp, finely ground

Salt: 1/2 tsp

Egg: 1, large

Unsulfered molasses: 1/2 cup

Raisins, chocolate chips, candy pieces: optional

For the Royal Icing: 

Egg white: 1

Lemon juice: 1/2 tsp

Confectioner's sugar: 1 3/4 cup

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and spices. Set aside.

In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses. Gradually add the flour mixture; combine on low speed. (You may need to work it with your hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.) Divide dough in thirds; wrap each in plastic. Chill for atleast 1 hr, or overnight. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for 5- 10 min. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll out, work in a little more flour. 

Heat oven to 350 degree F. Place a dough third on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate again for 5- 10 min to make it easier to cut out the cookies. Use either a cookie cutter or place a stencil over the dough and use a knife to cut into desired shapes. Press raisins, chocolate chips or candy pieces in the center of each cookie, if desired for "buttons". 

Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Bake until crisp, but not darkened, 8 to 10 min. Remove from oven.  Let sit a few minutes and then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired. 

To make Royal Icing:

The traditional way to make Royal Icing is to beat egg whites and lemon juice together, adding the powdered sugar until the mixture holds stiff peaks. With modern concerns about salmonella from raw eggs,you can either use powdered egg whites or heat the egg whites first to kill any bacteria. With the heating method, mix the egg white and lemon juice with a third of the sugar, hat in a microwave until the mixture's temperature is 160 deg F. Then remove from microwave, and beat in the remaining sugar until stiff peaks form. Using the powdered egg whites method, combine 1 tbsp egg white powder with 2 tbsp water. Proceed as you would otherwise. (Raw egg white alternatives from the 2006 Joy of Cooking)

If the icing is too runny, add more powdered sugar until you get the desired consistency. Fill a piping bag with the icing to pipe out into different shapes(or use a plastic sandwich bag, with the tip of one corner of the bag cut off). Keep the icing covered while you work with it or it will dry out.