Every four years bobsledding becomes cool – along with speed skating and a whole list of sports I would otherwise flip past versus sitting down to watch. Anyone else have 2010 Winter Olympic fever? If not, what are you waiting for?
My children are now regularly talking about the South Korean team’s speed skating strategy against Apolo Ohno‘s reserved-but-winning approach (remember, Ohno’s the one who always wears the bandana on his head and appeared on Dancing with the Stars?). Along with discussing whether Lindsey Vonn can still ski well after a crash on a downhill run.
We’re watching (or, rather, DVR’ing) every minute. I’ve even noticed random Olympic mentions in conversations with my kids over the past week. “Mom, do you think the Flying Tomato (Shaun White‘s least favorite nickname) will ever cut his hair?” or “If I practiced really hard, could I go to the Olympics?”
Sure, the chances of one of my children becoming a world-class bobsledder are pretty slim, but I’m still doing everything I can to fill our house with a little Olympic spirit. To celebrate the games, we made gold medal cookies this week using a thick, puffy sugar cookie recipe. This recipe makes nearly six-dozen cookies, depending on how thick you make them. It’s a great recipe to feed a crowd – and the cookies turn out soft and cakey. They’re akin to the Lofthouse cookies you find in the store.
Sugar cookies can have a fairly bland flavor unless you give them a boost. I add almond extract to both the batter and the frosting for that kick. You can also add a little orange or lemon zest to give the cookies even more zing.
We decorated our cookies with a creamy, butter-based frosting that we tried to make gold. I emptied the whole canister of non-toxic frosting gold dust trying to get a glistening look. Too bad the frosting only looked a bit more yellow, despite my efforts. My solution? My kids and I added some gold, decorative balls to the frosting at the end.
These cookies are fun and easy to make with your crew – the perfect treat to have on hand while watching the final Olympic events this weekend. You can easily cut this cookie recipe in half – or even a third. But why not make plenty to share? After all, they’re good to the last crumb!
