As Promised - Christmas Cookie Recipes

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LEMON ICED COOKIES

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Blend the white sugar and shortening until light. Beat in the eggs, milk, vanilla and 1 teaspoon lemon extract. Mix until well blended.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the shortening mixture. Mix until combined (the dough will be sticky). Drop spoonfuls of dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cookies cool then frost with icing.
5. To Make Icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar, water and lemon extract to taste. Beat until smooth and make icing thick enough to spread on cooled cookies

 

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Festive Shortbread Logs

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 teaspoons shortening
• 3/4 cup ground walnuts

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar. Add vanilla. Gradually add flour; mix well.
2. With lightly floured hands, shape tablespoonfuls into 2-in. logs. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 9-11 minutes or until edges and bottom are lightly browned. Cool for 2-3 minutes before removing to wire racks.
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle chocolate over half of the cookies. Dip one end of remaining cookies into chocolate, then sprinkle with walnuts.

 

[suzybeezy]

Fudge-Filled Dessert Strips

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups chopped walnuts
• confectioners' sugar

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and cream cheese. Gradually add the flour. Turn onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth, about 3 minutes. Divide dough into fourths; cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until easy to handle.
2. In a heavy saucepan, melt the chocolate chips and milk. Stir in the walnuts. Cool to room temperature. Roll out each portion of dough onto an ungreased baking sheet into an 11-in. x 6-1/2-in. rectangle. Spread 3/4 cup chocolate filling down the center; press left side over middle, then right half over top to make alog, then seal all edges. Turn over so seam side is down.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 27-32 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Cut into 1/2-in. slices. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

 

[suzybeezy]

It's that time of year again, when I update the list with some new recipes we're going to try this year for our Christmas cookie tray. Hope ya'all enjoy!

 

[suzybeezy]

Chocolate Cherry Snowballs
Yields approx 4 dozen


1 cup butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 oz) candied cherries, finely chopped
½ cup powdered sugar
½ cup dark chocolate chips


1 Heat oven to 400°F. In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in almond extract. In medium bowl, mix flour and salt. On low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture until well blended. Stir in cherries.
2 Shape dough into 1-inch balls. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls 2 inches apart.
3 Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges just begin to brown. Cool slightly. Measure 1/2 cup powdered sugar into small bowl. Roll each cookie in powdered sugar. Place on cooling rack to cool completely.
4 Place chocolate chips in small resealable freezer plastic bag. Microwave on High 45 to 60 seconds, turning bag over every 20 seconds. Squeeze bag until chips are melted and smooth. Cut small tip off one corner of bag, and drizzle over cooled cookies. Let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes until chocolate hardens before storing.

To make it easier to chop the cherries, dip knife in water or use a kitchen scissors sprayed with cooking spray.

 

[suzybeezy]

Puff Pastry Pillows Recipe
Yield: about 3-1/2 dozen.

1 package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 to 2 tablespoons coarse or granulated sugar

FILLING:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Carefully open each puff pastry sheet. Cut each sheet of pastry at creases, forming 3 strips. Cut each strip widthwise into 7 pieces.
Combine egg and milk; lightly brush egg mixture over pastry. Sprinkle with sugar. Place on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. Split into top and bottom halves.
In a saucepan, combine the flour and milk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Cool.
Transfer to a bowl; beat in the butter, sugar, vanilla, almond extract and salt until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Spread 1 tablespoonful on bottom half of each pastry; replace tops. Store in refrigerator.

 

[suzybeezy]

Brown Eyed Susan Cookies

*note: do not overcook these as they'll turn out really hard (you'll have to watch these really closely and pull out as soona s they seem set)

Ingredients:
For the Cookies : Makes 2 dozen
8 Tbsp Butter ,(unsalted) room temperature
1/2 Cup Confectioners Sugar (Sifted)
1/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour (Sifted)
1-2 Tbsp Milk (Only if neccesary)

For the Center
2 oz Chocolate, Chopped (any variety you like, I used bittersweet)
2 tbsp Butter, Unsalted
3/4th Tsp Corn Syrup

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease your cookie sheet and set aside. You can use parchment paper or a baking mat too.
In the bowl of your mixer fitted with paddle attachment, Beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until fluffy. you can do this with your hand or with a powerful hand mixer if you don't have a stand mixer.
Add the flour gradually, in small portions.
Add the milk only if you feel the dough is really dry. The dough will look crumbly but when you make a ball it will hold together well.
Scoop out heaping teaspoons of dough to form a dough ball and place on the baking sheet. I placed them about 1 inch away from each other.
This step was not there in the original recipe- I very lightly flattened the cookie dough before putting it into the oven. Bake in the middle rack for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and make an indentation with your finger (Ouch!) or the back of a small spoon or something (I used the nicely rounded bottom of my icecream scoop). This might lightly crack the sides of the cookie, but that is totally OK. Also the cookies will be very soft at this stage so be careful not to disfigure them like I did the first time!
Put the cookies back into the oven and bake for another 8 minutes. Once baked, place on a cooling rack to cool.
Melt the chocolate, butter and corn syrup over a double boiler or microwave (at 50% power at 30 seconds interval), until smooth and shiny. You can spoon the melted chocolate into the indentations or you can pipe it in. I used a squeezy bottle it made my life much easier and I got neater cookies. Allow the chocolate to set a bit before you can eat it all up!

 

[suzybeezy]

Homemade Thin Mints
Yields - approx. 3 dozen

1 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon mint extract

(1 ounce) semisweet chocolate chips
(2 oz.) Andes Creme De Menthe Chips
1/3 tsp of mint extract to the melted chocolate,


In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter or margarine until creamy. Add the sugar, and beat until mixed well. Beat in egg and mint extract.
Sift flour, cocoa, and salt together into a small bowl. Add flour mixture by halves into creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.
Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface roll dough into two 1 1/2 inch diameter cylinders. Wrap each cylinder in waxed paper, and refrigerate 5 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Thirty minutes prior to baking, place both cylinders in freezer.
Remove one cylinder at a time, and slice 1/4 inch thick pieces with very sharp knife. Place on cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake 10 to 12 minutes.
Melt the semisweet chocolate and Andes chips in a double boiler or in the microwave. Mix in 1/3 tsp of mint extract. Dip cookies to cover completely. Place on wire racks, and let cool and harden completely.

 

[suzybeezy]

Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Frosting

Ingredients
Cookies:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
Frosting:
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Stir in pumpkin. In a medium bowl, sift together the baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, salt and flour. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
To make frosting: In a medium saucepan, combine butter, cream, and brown sugar over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture just begins to boil; remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool then stir in confectioner's sugar. Spread frosting over cooled cookies. Lightly sprinkle cinnamon on top.

 

[suzybeezy]

We've already done a test run on these cookies and they are FABULOUS! Caution though - don't make them too big, because its a very rich cookie and can be a bit too much if you make them big or put too much icing in between.

Homemade Nutter Butter Cookies
yield: about 4 dozen sandwiches

1 c butter flavored Crisco
1 c creamy peanut butter
1 c sugar
1 c packed brown sugar
1 t vanilla
3 eggs
3 c flour
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/3 c milk
Additional white sugar for rolling

Filling:
1 c creamy peanut butter
1/2 c butter, softened
4 c powdered sugar
2 t vanilla
6 Tbs milk

Cookies:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream shortening, peanut butter, and sugars together until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add in vanilla, and eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt and add to dough. Mix to combine. Add milk until dough is soft enough to roll into balls without crumbling. Roll dough into 1/2 inch (or a little larger) balls, roll in sugar, place on ungreased cookie sheet and use a fork to make the design on top. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until puffy. You do not want them to be golden brown or overcooked.

Filling:
Beat peanut butter, butter, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Add milk until desired consistency is reached. When cookies are completely cooled, spread a layer of frosting on one side and sandwich together.