Well the 4th of July is right around the corner. If you haven’t had your picnics yet, I’m sure they are soon. In order to please Zach (I feel like I’m always pleasing Zach in the form of sweet treats (=), I decided to make him a peppermint cookie. Now I normally would not go the peppermint route unless it was Christmas time, but Zach loves peppermint, and I thought it would be a fun way to incorporate a red, white and blue theme. Besides, tomorrow is July 1st. Maybe this is my attempt at “Christmas in July?” No, I am not ready for Christmas talk quite yet. But really, who cares. I apologize for the relentless tangent =). Let’s talk food. These cookies are superbly scrumptious. They are super easy and with a tweak here and a tweak there, you can customize them anyway you choose. I seriously suggest making sure you incorporate a red, white and blue theme somewhere though! This is the whole point right? We also paired these cookies with a super fun brown ale. These cookies can only be described in one word: yum. I don’t think there’s need for anymore explanation than that. Peppermint & White Chocolate Sugar Cookies are the way to go.
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Although, you may find these cookies just a tad Christmasy, they are actually extremely cool and refreshing. That’s why I love them for summertime. It’s not like they are going to physically cool you down, but at least it will feel like they are! I may have mentioned that a couple of tweaks can be made to satisfy your cravings. You can skip the peppermint all together if you wish (although you would loose the “red”). If you are not a huge fan of peppermint, all you need to do is eliminate the peppermint extract ingredient from both the cookies and frosting. If you want just a little less peppermint flavor, you can always just subtract the extract from one of the recipes. There is white chocolate in the frosting, so there is already a ton of flavor going on. Oh and food coloring can be a magical thing. Use it wisely though =).
Cigar City is one of the greatest breweries in the South (in my opinion). We don’t get a TON of great beer from the great state of Florida, but Cigar City is pretty special. The reason I decided to go with Maduro, Cigar City’s brown ale, is because it is so pumped up with flavor; ESPECIALLY for a brown ale. They have also made a mint version over Christmas time, which is what had me thinking of Maduro in the first place. It’s toasty, caramel-ly and chocolatey. In my book (if I had a book), this is the definition a perfect dessert beer. The only thing that drives me crazy about Cigar City is that we can’t get it here in Colorado. =( It’s always a sad day when we can’t get a beer. If you CAN get your hands on this beer, try it, please.
I hope everyone had a great weekend! The next one is just 5 days away =).
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