Ethan's Eagle Scout of Honor Reception (including recipes)

It was a bit of a challenge to plan what we would have at Ethan's reception for his Eagle Scout Court of Honor. We had sent out 50 invitations, but did not ask for R.S.V.P.s as I find that people don't really respond much anymore.

I wanted to have a few nice things, but not too much. Ethan does not like cake or cupcakes, so I had to pick something else. After a bit of research I was inspired by the cookies some others has created for their boys. I had grand plans, but in the end I did not have time to bag them up. Everyone seemed to like them and the recipe I used was perfect. It is not too sweet, holds nicely, but also has a pleasant crumb once in the mouth. I decorated some of them with royal icing and left others plain. Ellie liked the iced ones, but I think next time I would do fewer of those.


Our good friend Karin sent one of those edible arrangements for Ethan. It was a big hit, especially the chocolate covered strawberries and banana pieces.

The favorite things I made for the reception was the special water bottles. They were easy and fun to do. I was inspired by those that Amanda made. I simply made a template in Adobe Photoshop. I was able to fit 7 strips that were 1.5" by 8". I made 4 different designs: A young Ethan, Ethan and his Patches, A Boy Scout and awards, and a pergola design. I did not bother to remove the original label, but simply used my tape runner to apply double sided tape, being careful to place it right the ends and a few in the middle.





Sugar Cookie Recipe
from: Sweetopia blog

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups butter (at room temperature)

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

seeds from 1 vanilla bean (or 3 tsp vanilla)

5 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt
Instructions:

1. Cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer on low to medium speed. (Use the paddle attachment). Mix until thoroughly incorporated – for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula and mix again for a few seconds more.

Over mixing the butter and sugar in this step will cause too much air to be incorporated into the dough. If you’d like a light and fluffy cookie, that’s ideal, however the dough will spread more during baking; not ideal if you’d like the cookie to hold its shape.

2. Add eggs slowly and mix. Scrape down the bowl with your spatula at least once and mix again.

3. Cut open your vanilla bean and scrape the seeds out. Add to mixing bowl. Alternatively, add liquid vanilla extract. Stir briefly.

4. Sift your dry ingredients together. (Flour, baking powder and salt).

5. Add all of the flour mixture to the bowl. Place a large tea towel or two small tea towels between the edge of the bowl and the electric mixer so that the flour won’t escape. Mix on low speed for 3o seconds. Remove the tea towels and observe the dough mixing; when it clumps around the paddle attachment it’s ready. It’s also important at this stage not to over mix the dough (the glutens in the flour develop and the dough can become tough).

6. Roll the dough out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper. Place on a baking sheet and into the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.

7. Roll out the dough further if you need to, and cut out cookie shapes. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Re-roll scraps and repeat.

8. Put cookie dough shapes back into the fridge for 10 minutes to 1 hour to chill again. They will then hold their shape better when baked.

9. Preheat your oven to 350°F or 176°C.

10. Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the edges become golden brown. The baking time will depend on the size of your cookie.

11. Let cookies cool to room temperature and decorate!

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Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:
from: JoyofBaking.com

2 large egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

For Royal Icing with Egg Whites: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.

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Savory Cranberry, Pistachio 7 Goat Cheese Palmiers
Adapted From: Tasty Kitchen
1 whole Sheet Of Purchased Puff Pastry, Thawed
2-3 ounces, weight Goat Cheese (chevre), Room Temperature
1/2-3/4 cups (slightly Packed) Dried Cranberries
1/4-1/2 cups Pistachios, Roughly Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Roll the puff pastry sheet into a rectangle that is at least 8 inches wide and no less than 1/8-inch thick. With the standard puff pastry sheets found in the grocery stores, you won’t have much rolling to do.

Spread goat cheese over the puff pastry and top with dried cranberries and pistachios. Using your hand, lightly press the cranberries and pistachios into the cheese. Roll each long end of the rectangle into the center. Chill for about 15 minutes.

Cut the roll crosswise into 1/8-inch slices and divide the palmiers between two baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Bake the palmiers until they are puffed and light golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Quickly flip the palmiers and place back in the oven, switching positions of the baking sheets. Bake for an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the palmiers to a cooling rack and cool completely before serving.

Make ahead: The palmiers can be baked and then store in the fridge in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days, or frozen. Before serving, place unthawed palmiers on a baking sheet in a 350 degree F oven for 5 minutes.

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Sausage and Cheese Pinwheels
Adapted from: Tasty Kitchen

2 rolls of Crescent Dough
1 pound Pork Sausage
1 1/2 cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded


Preparation Instructions

Using store-bought or homemade crescent dough, lightly flour a surface and roll the dough into as much of a rectangular shape as you can (they won’t be perfect, don’t worry). Using a tube or package of flavored pork sausage, spread half of the sausage onto each piece if dough. Do the same with the cheese. Roll up each crust into a log and slice with a serrated knife, making them about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Discard the end pieces without sausage. Reshape the pinwheels if necessary and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 375ºF for 25 minutes or until the sausage is cooked and the crust is golden brown. Enjoy!