Takeout Mishap

New ideas for recipes can come from the most unexpected places. One of those food adventures happened after bringing home a takeout container with a sandwich and a cookie sitting side by side. Quilting often takes me to Big Timber, MT to spend time at the Little Timber Quilt Shop. Across the street is the Big Timber Bakery, which has baked goods second to none. I wasn’t hungry on that particular day but didn’t want to pass up a stop at the bakery, so I ordered to go. When I got home, after the 80-mile drive, and opened the takeout container, I notice the mayo and mustard had oozed out of the sandwich onto the frosted sugar cookie. Trying to salvage the cookie, I started scraping off the mayo and mustard, but suddenly had the urge to see how the two sauces had affected the cookie. My tastebuds were in for a shock because the combined flavors were surprisingly good. At that moment, I knew I had to find a way to make mustard frosting. Searching the internet, I couldn’t find a frosting recipe with mustard, and probably for good reason. But being the food experimenter, I am, I knew there was always a first time for everything. Butter Crunch Cookies with Mustard Frosting have become a food experiment with a happy ending.

I’m not sure why I decided to start the experiment with a basic cream cheese frosting, but it worked so well, I haven’t tried any other type of frosting. Maybe the tang of the cream cheese is compatible with the mustard, so it seemed a good place to start.

This recipe can be doubled, which is the way my mom made it for her Dutch Apple Cake. For the Mustard Frosting, I cut the recipe in half and added a tablespoon of whipping cream for softer results.

Cream Cheese Frosting
¼ cup softened butter
4 oz of cream cheese softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
By hand, or with a mixer, blend the softened butter and cream cheese. Slowly incorporate the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla.

1 – 1 ½ teaspoons mustard to make it Mustard Frosting

I started out with one teaspoon of yellow mustard (French’s regular mustard). I added more than that the first time, and I thought it was good, but my taste testers (once they were brave enough to try it!) though 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of mustard was enough. The amount of whipping cream added to make the right spreading consistence can be adjusted to taste.

No more than 1/8 teaspoon of dried Mexican Oregano – rubbed well to break it down.

I grow and use a lot of herbs in my cooking. I don’t think I will ever remember why I thought it might be a good idea to add Mexican oregano to the mustard frosting, but why not give it a try. The oregano has a strong flavor, so go easy at first and let the frosting rest a while before you add more.

A good pinch of coarse salt seems to round all the flavors together. The longer this frosting sits, the more the flavors blend.

This Mustard Frosting is delicious!! I guarantee that no one will guess that it has mustard in it, or even Mexican oregano. It’s just that “something, something” I’m always looking for when I am in an experimenting mood.

I have several good sugar cookie recipes but the following one came to mind when I was trying to decide which one could stand up to the Mustard Frosting. This is an unusual bar type cookie that I also haven’t found anywhere on the internet. I had a roommate in Denver named Marlys, who was from North Dakota. She is gone now, but she was wise beyond her years and a particularly good influence on me, who was fresh out of high school. She grew up with Norwegian traditions and she was a good cook. The following recipe is one of several she shared with me and I have used it many times. She was single at that time and thought she would never marry or have children, so her name, Marlys, is my second daughter’s middle name, in her honor. Marlys later married a widower from Florida with four children, so her life became very full and we went our separate ways, not reconnecting until just a few years ago.

Butter Crunch Cookies
1 cup sugar
½ pound softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg yolk (save the white)
2 cups flour
Cream butter and sugar; add vanilla and egg yolk. Slowly stir in flour. Dough will be stiff.
Press firmly and evenly into a 10×15 baking sheet with a rim.
Slightly whip the egg white to make it more spreadable. You will need to use your fingers to evenly distribute the egg white over the cookie dough.
Sprinkle with 1 cup of chopped nuts

Because of a nut allergy in my family, I often substitute Swedish Sugar Pearls, sprinkled liberally over the egg whites. They add a bit of texture and crunch and looks nice.

Bake in a 275-degree oven, 45 minutes to one hour. But I have never been able to leave it in that long. The ones in the photo were only in for 30 minutes. Do not let over cook. Should not allow to get too brown. They should be soft when taken out of the oven. Cut them into bars while slightly warm.

I leave the frosting on the side, letting guests put on the cookies the amount they feel brave enough to try.

In today’s photo, the leaf plate is sitting on a quilted table cover that I made at quilt retreat up the Boulder River in October. A round table presents problems when it comes to tablecloths because they are always sliding around. Using a long wedge shaped, Dresden ruler, I cut tapered shapes out of two different complementary batik fabrics. Once sewn together, I trimmed the round circle to just fit the 48” top; then I covered the center hole with large circle of fabric and bound the topper with the same fabric. The topper has a thin layer of batting between it and the backing, so it protects the wooden tabletop and is safe for hot food to be set on. This idea worked so well; I plan to make several more for variety.

I used to collect snowmen for the winter holidays, but now I collect deer, which is fitting for Montana. But just so we are clear, I already have all the deer I want. Just saying!