by Heather Weems
If you could have only one organic ingredient to cook with, what would it be? I took my question to the hallways of CMC Edwards to find out what local people think is most important. Here are the results:
David—poultry
Paula—dairy
Larry—fruit
Jeanne—vegetables
Carol—corn, soy
Wendy—corn, soy
Christy—lettuce
While conducting my admittedly limited poll, people talked about hormones, antibiotics and in-humane practices used in raising meat, as well as all of the carcinogenic herbicides and pesticides used on produce. They wondered which will harm you least. The one thing everyone agreed on is that it is not an easy question to answer. Everyone waffled at least once on their choice. I was trying to key in the “cook with” part of the question (aka the taste) and not so much the “save-the-planet” part.
Maybe it was not such a good question. How is this one?
Is there an organic product that truly tastes better than its non-organic counterpart? Here what the Chipolte restaurant chain had to say about it recently, “Organic is great, but it’s not always appropriate for the food we serve. Sometimes we can find farmers who focus on responsible or sustainable practices but aren’t certified organic. We make that call market-by-market, ingredient-by-ingredient, always keeping the big picture in mind.” I think that was nicely said, and I couldn’t agree more. However, exploring “natural” and/or “organic” ingredients has, on occasion, left me wishing for my old “kill the planet” brand. But, there is one organic product I found about a year ago that I can honestly say I would never consider buying non-organic again. That ingredient is powdered sugar, or 10x sugar, or confectioner’s sugar, or icing sugar, or whatever you prefer to call it.
Have you ever eaten a home-baked treat that contains powdered sugar only to feel a tinge of disappointment? There is that taste at the very end—chemical, sharp, almost like aluminum foil. Are you sure? Better eat another bite just to be sure. Yep. Again? Yep. Still there. Why does it taste like that? Because regular powdered sugar is sooooooo processed! Affination, phosphatation, filtration, supersaturation, and crystallization, just to name a few. No wonder it tastes processed. Remember, it’s nature’s job to manufacture and the body’s job to process. If a manufacturer is doing the processing, there probably won’t be much left for your body to do or use. If I had my way, all of you would toss out all of your non-organic powdered sugar, go buy an organic version and make the recipe below. If you have never eaten organic powdered sugar, you are in for a real treat!
Organic Powdered Sugar Cookies with Powdered Sugar Icing
| Butter, Softened | 1 cup |
| 10X Sugar | 1 ½ cup |
| Egg | 1 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp |
| Almond Extract | ½ tsp |
| Flour | 2 ½ cups |
| Baking Soda | 1 t |
| Cream of Tartar | 1 t |
Baking Temperature: 325 degrees
Other Items Needed:
Flour (for rolling and cutting)
Parchment Paper
Cookie Cutters
Waxed or Parchment Paper for Storage
Mise en Place. I have one small grocery store within 25 miles of my house. “Fresh” and “organic” are often hard to find, and sometimes I have to just take what I can get.
- Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla and almond extract.
Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy and pale yellow.
- Combine dry ingredients.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to butter but do not over mix.
Don’t overmix the dough after you add the flour. It should just start to come together.
- Form dough into two discs. Wrap in saran and refrigerate 15 minutes.
Form the dough into discs and wrap, then put in the frig.
- Roll dough and cut into desired shapes.
- Place at least ¾” apart on parchment-lined cookie sheets.
Cut and going into the oven.
- Options—dough may also be formed into balls and flattened before baking or rolled into logs, sliced and baked. Coat generously in powdered sugar as they cool.
- Bake at 325 degrees. Turn pan once during baking for even doneness.
Frosted and waiting for hungry mouths to feed.
Sugar Cookie Icing
| 10X Sugar | 2 cups |
| Butter | ¼ cup |
| Whole Milk | 2 ½ T |
| Vanilla | ½ tsp |
- Whip butter until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and combine well.
- Color frosting desired colors and spread or pipe onto cookies.
- Hint—If making more than one frosting color for piping, double the frosting recipe.
Organic Powered Sugar Cookies…ready to eat!
TIP #1! If using a previously opened bag of powdered sugar—sift before use. There is no anti-caking agent in the organic version and it will clump. For perfect results, sift the unopened bag too.
TIP #2! To measure flour correctly, sift into a separate bowl and then spoon, don’t scoop, the flour into the measuring cup. Level cup before adding to the recipe.
As you are munching on your now-delicious Powdered Sugar Cookies, think about the one organic ingredient you can’t cook without. What is it? Share in the comments below.
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