Blog posts of '2018' 'July'

I am completely adicted to sugar cookies - I cannot turn them down but am often dissapointed in texture and flavor of anything mass produced and many home recipies.  My favorite set of cooks and chefs over at America's Test Kitchen produced a great sugar cookie recipe with just the right texture and loaded with subtle flavors in their magazine  Cooks Illustrated.  For something a bit different I took their basic recipe and added the bright flavor of lemon and sweet blueberries for a summery flavored sugar cookie that we devour at our store and home.

Yields 18-24 cookies

• 2 1/4 cups + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Zest from one lemon (about 1 tablespoon) - divided
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar PLUS additional 1/2 cup for rolling
• 2 ounces cream cheese - room temprature
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (I prefer the amazing Plugra brand butter, which is a European Style but actually made in the USA.)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 4 ounce package dried blueberries - coarse chop

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and put rack on top position. I bake on partchment paper always!

• Wisk flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt in medium bowl
• In small shallow bowl mix 1/2 of the lemon zest with 1/2 cup sugar - mix thouroughly and break up lumps - you will have mix this several times because the moisture in the zest causes clumping - might want to place in warmer part of kitchen to help evaporate the moisture a bit.
• In large mixing bowl combine remaining lemon zest, cream cheese and sugar. Mix thouroughly but dont worry if it is lumpy.
• Add melted butter to sugar/cream cheese mix and combine until smooth.  Add vegatable oil, egg, milk and both extracts to this and stir thoroughly with each addition until a smooth even texture.
• Add chopped dried blueberries and flour mixture to batter.  Mix gently until combined and no dry flour remains.
• take 1/4 cup portions of the batter and form smooth ball, roll in sugar/lemon zest mixture and place on partchment lined cooking sheet approximately 2 to 2 1/2 inches apart.  I get about 9 cookies per sheet.
• Using flat bottomed glass or measuring cup press ball down until about 1/4 inch thick
• Dust tops of cookies with more sugar/zest mixture lightly
• Bake 11 13 minutes at 350 Degrees.  Cookies should look dry at edges and only slightly darker at edges - you DON'Twant to over bake to brown crispy.
• Let Cool on parchment paper (on cookie sheet or off) cooling on the partchment retains lots of the moisture - once mostly cooled (15-20 minutes move to wire rack to finish.
• Store airtight container - flavors meld overnight and are even better 2 and 3 days later

It is Hot.  Not just a little .... but mind draining body beating hard to breath kind of hot this year.  If you think this heat takes your breath away and wears you out, just think how that little metabolic engine know as your new infant feels out and about in this heat.

Babies all tend to run a bit warmer that the adults that care for them.  The are just little engines that are burning food, building bone & muscle and all that metabolic energy gives off heat! We tend to think that we need to protect our little ones and dress them up, often over-dressing for the weather.  Given the extreem heat in the south (and throughout the country this year) you should be extra careful to dress down your little one.  Lightweight fabrics and minimal clothing should be the go to so your little metabolic engine is as comfortable as possible.  Dressing down the little one will help them when facing the 90 degree plus weather we can expect for the next few months.  Many many parents know this and do a great job of keeping the little ones comfortable in their home, but then venture outside and make some choices that are less wise.

As any parent can tell you, random strangers are often suprisingly familiar with little babies.  Most new parents are shocked how many people just walk up to your new infant child and start touching without asking.  It is for this reason that the car-seat cover has become an important part of the parent's 'out with baby arsenal'  Parents often use a cover over their carseat to function as both protection from sun and wind as well as strangers that want to reach into the carseat carrier and give the baby a little squeeze.  Carseat covers and carseat canopies are great products but have some draw backs as well.

enclosed stretch knit carseat cover

fuzzy minky blanket carseat cover

Most carseat covers are just blankets of some type that have been sewn to neatly wrap around or over an infant carrier type of carseat.  They come in a myriad of styles and types.  A majority of the most popular carseat covers are made of a stretch knit fabric that wraps around the entire seat, leaving the baby protected and the handle free for carrying.  The problem with stetch knit is it is just not that breathable.  The inside of the carseat and the baby therein can start to overheat.  Recently there have been more and more warnings from health and safety professionals about taking care wit respect to blankets and covers on carseats and strollers in the hot summer months. 

The solution is Muslin:

Muslin.  Yes the lightweight open weave fabric that is all the rage in the baby industry is probably the best answer to how to cover the carseat.  This fabric is super breathable since is is so thin lightly woven together.  Muslin is slightly tigher weave than cheesecloth but not much and allows supieror breathability.  It is the fabric of choice in swaddling blankets for this very reason.  Because it is so breathable it allows the heat to flow out quickly and not build up inside a swaddled baby as well as in a carseat if using as cover.  Muslin swaddle blankets are extreemly popular and pretty much everybody receives a few for the baby shower.  Muslin swaddling blankets can range from a few dollars to twenty-five dollars or more depending on brand and style, with most popular designer brands less than $20. 

At a minimum grab a lightweight muslin swaddling blanket and toss it over the carseat or stroller when out and about in this heat and leave the stretch knit or minky covers at home. 

Our Favorite Carseat Covers:

By far our favorite (and only product we sell in this category) are the dedicated muslin carseat covers from Little Unicorn.  They are single layer of super breathable 100% cotton muslin that is sewn to function as a carseat cover.  They have an elastic band sewn at the bottom to fit around the carseat and snaps at the top to attach to the carrier handle.... but the best part is that they have a magnetic closure so you can open them up without removing the entire cover to check on the baby.  Eventhough a simple muslin swaddling blanket will work as a good breathable carseat cover, these dedicated products do provide a fitted and easy to function approach.   All the lovely fashion doesnt hurt either.

Little Unicorn Carseat Cover

magnetic peek-a-boo window in muslin cover

magnetic peek-a-boo window in muslin cover