Posted on 11/26/2010 5:23:08 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
I see that no one has started a Christmas Cookie thread...so I will!
I start my Holiday Baking with Dear Old Mom this upcoming Thursday. It's always SO much fun! It's Mom, me, usually my sister (but she can't make it this year), our 'Cherished Grandma Hazel' and a few assorted family friends. (You truly DO have to be on the A-List to attend, LOL!) Mom has a huge kitchen and two ovens, so we all descend upon her house for a day of baking & candy making.
We break for a simple lunch (and usually an Old Fashioned or two!) but when all is done the cookies (usually 24 or so things to choose from) are piled on the (covered) pool table and we walk around and fill our tins and we're DONE! Amen!
So...what's your favorite/traditional Christmas Cookie? And why? And recipes, please!
My grandma made the best molasses cookies, and I think she used real lard.
Last year I tried this “Ina” rugelach recipe. It may be my oven, but as I recall they did not bake evenly and I had to eat the rejects. Tee hee. It is very labor intensive, but got good reviews from the crowd, better than the thumbprint cookies I took, as well.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/rugelach-recipe/index.html
Gorgeous photos!
I am a pretty good baker but cookies elude me - always taste a bit off in my estimation. But two cookies I do well: a basic chocolate chip (easiest cookie in the world!) and the Italian pinoli (pine nut cookie) which is basically a macaroon. I can’t make a simple butter cookie to save my life.
Cherry Snowballs
These are perfect for Christmas. Buttery dough is almost like shortbread, kind of melts in your mouth. Easy to make and SO addictive. HINT Double batter, use 1/2 red, 1/2 green cherries.
Blend cup soft butter, 1/2 cup conf/sugar, tea vanilla. Then add 2 1/4 cups flour, 1/4 tea salt, 3/4 cup chp pecans. Mix well to form dough; chill well.
Form 30 small balls around drained maraschino cherries. Bake 400 deg 10-15 min (do not brown).
Roll warm balls in 1/2 cup conf; roll again when cool.
I'm craving cookies!
Looking for a great soft and chewy gingerbread man (person?) recipe with a white icing vanilla/almond flavored icing.....
Memories of childhood.....
ROFL!
These are my favorite cookies to make:
STARLIGHT MINT SURPRISE COOKIES
3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c soft butter
2 eggs
1/2 c dark brown sugar, packed
1 tsp vanilla
2 (6 1/2 oz) pkg thin mints
walnut halves (optional)
Combine all ingredients except mints and walnuts in mixing bowl. Blend until dough forms. Take approximately 2 tsp of dough and wrap around 1 thin mint. Make sure there are no gaps in dough or peppermint will leak out while baking. Smooth edges, press 1/2 walnut into top and bake at 375 for 9 - 12 minutes on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
You may need more than 2 pkgs of thin mints as they don’t have as many mints in the package as they did when this recipe was created. The plainness of the cookie dough is balanced by the chocolate and mint for a very unique cookie.
You know, I’ve been looking for a mint cookie recipe - thanks! I just made the mint cookie recipe on Allrecipes.com named “Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies. Basically, it’s Betty Crocker’s sugar cookie pouch mix with 6 drops of green food coloring, 1/4 teas mint extract and 1 cup Andes mint baking chips (or crushed Andes Mints) plus 1 cup bittersweet (or other dark) chocolate chips. Can’t complain too much about the convenience! My mint-o-phile friend loved them. I thought they were kind of pretty tinted slightly green like that. Now I gotta try your mint recipe!
I agree, Islander7! The Royal Dansk cookies are absolutely delicious, and very hard to limit to just 1 or 2!
Well, just barely, and I don’t drink, LOL!
Glad I could help! :~) I got this recipe from my sister quite a while ago. I don’t know where she got it.
Make sure you take note of wrapping the mint with no gaps and using parchment paper. That mint is a b!tch to get off pans after it hardens upon cooling! That’s why I started using the parchment paper.
Grandma Hazel's Most Awesome Molasses Cookies! Oops! Add another two pounds and put on your 'stretchy pants', LOL!
nothing like frosty weather to make it so nice in the kitchen with the oven on or a big pot of soup on the stove and Christmas music on....my favorite day....
We have an even harder time making cookies in our house because certain family members have celiac disease and can't tolerate wheat gluten. That means having to use all sorts of substitute flours like rice, millet, tapioca and etc. and that can really change a recipe....
Personal favorites: pfeffernusse and cream cheese pecan cookies.
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
2 TBS all purpose flour sifted
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 Cup butter
1/3 Cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 Cup finely chopped almonds
1/3 Cup molasses
1/3 Cup anisette
1 TBS lemon juice
Sift first nine ingredients together; set asside
Cream together butter, sugar, egg, and almonds
Mix molasses, anisette, and lemon juice together
Then add the flour mix alternately with the liquid mix into the creamed mixture. Beat well, and refigerate over night.
Pre heat oven to 350F
Shape into 1 inch balls, bake on a greased cookie sheet 10 to 15 minutes. While still warm, roll in powdered sugar.
1 Cup butter
8 oz cream cheese
2/3 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup brown sugar
2 Cups flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 Cup chopped pecans
Cream butter and cream cheese; add sugar, and blend well
Mix in flour
Add pecans, and roll in wax paper.
CHILL AT LEAST 24 HOURS; or, may be placed in freezer.
Preheat oven to 350F
Slice about 1/4 inch thick, and place on ungreased cookie sheet, and bake for 12-15 minutes.
Easy, versatile, impressive-looking jam cookies. (not the ordinary thumbprint cookie)
Any preserves work, (blueberry is delicious) or almond filling. Can also flavor the dough with extracts for variety.
*Hint: When making the indentation down the center, don’t leave the ends open, or the jam will leak out.
*Hint: sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar after baking because these are not a very sweet cookie.
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-jam-filled-cookies-107774.aspx
later
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