Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies

I got this recipe for Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies in an email from Challenge Butter before Christmas and finally got around to making it a couple of weeks ago.

The tender, buttery cookie and the orange-cranberry flavor make it hard to leave these alone.
I’ll definitely be keeping this recipe to make again.

Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies

1 cup butter
½ cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 Tbsp orange zest
1 Tbsp orange juice
½ tsp salt
2 ½ cups flour
1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in yolks, zest, juice, and salt. Add flour. Shape into 1 inch ball. Make an indentation in each ball, then bake at 350 degrees until light, golden brown, about 18 minutes. Fill each cookie with cranberry sauce. Return to oven for 2-3 minutes. Enjoy.

Notes:
I thought the dough was a little dry and crumbly. I think the next time I make them I will reduce it by ¼ cup and see what happens.

I also found it was best to store these in the refrigerator.

Brown sugar and cookies!

Yesterday I was craving a good, homemade cookie, so I headed into my kitchen to see what I could come up with.

I found a new recipe for chocolate chip cookies to try and started to gather up the ingredients. Unfortunately, when I got out my brown sugar it was as hard as a rock. I really didn't want to go to the store to get more, so I decided to try and make my own.

It is really easy to do, and now that I've tried it, I may never go back to buying the packaged kind again. All you do is take a cup of sugar, and depending on how dark you want it, 1 to 2 tablespoons of molasses. Stir it together with a fork, and voila - nice, fluffy brown sugar. Here's a picture of the finished product.

Now on to the cookies. The recipe I used comes from Kraft's website.

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies
2/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Cream the butter and sugars. Add the sour cream, egg and vanilla. Mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the creamed mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

I didn't have any pecans, so I left them out, but I think it's still a good cookie without them. Before I put them in a storage container, they were really nice. Crispy on the outside and really soft inside. Today, they are just soft. But I like that, too.

Twelve Days of Baking - Day 5

I found this recipe last week some time, and basically decided to add it to my holiday baking list because I like the name.

 

Butter Ball Chiffons.

 

Isn't that cute. I was also intrigued by the flavor combination. They are essentially a shortbread cookie, but flavored lemon with toffee pieces in the mix.

 

 

 

Butter Ball Chiffons

1 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 pkg (3.4 oz) instant lemon pudding

2 tsp water

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 cup chopped walnuts

2 Heath candy bars (1.4 oz each), chopped

 

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in pudding, water, and vanilla. Gradually add flour. Stir in nuts and candy. Roll into 1" balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 325 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until light brown.

 

Notes: After mixing the dough, it was really crumbly and wouldn't form a ball, so I sprinkled a couple more teaspoons of water over the dough. This helped it come together. Also, these don't spread at all, so you can fit a lot of them on one baking sheet.



Twelve Days of Baking - Day 4

So I had big plans to knock out several of my 12 holiday recipes this weekend. That way I only had to do the blog during the week, but here it is, getting late on Sunday night, and I've only made two batches of cookies this entire weekend. Hmmm. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the week goes.

For today's recipe, I baked some sandwich cookies. I know they don't look very impressive. They're not very festive or colorful or in a cute Christmassy shape, but the filling is made with browned butter, and that makes for a flavor explosion! I'm guessing the flavors will get even better as they sit. 

They're easy to make. Here's the recipe. It also comes from my Taste of Home Cookies cookbook.

Sweet Sandwich Cookies

Cookie:
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg yolk
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

Browned Butter Filling:
2 tbsp butter
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
4-5 tsp milk

Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk. Combine flour and salt. Gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and chill for 20 minutes.

Shape into 1" balls. Place on baking sheets and flatten with the bottom of a glass. Bake ate 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes Cool.

For the filling, heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat until golden brown. Remove from the heat and stir in powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Sandwich cookies together with the filling. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Notes: The original recipe says to flatten the cookies with a fork in a criss-cross pattern. To me, that is what you do with a peanut butter cookie, so that's why I used a glass instead. I had to dip it in a little flour or it would stick to the cookies. Also, I didn't think the filling recipe looked like it would make enough for my taste, so I doubled it, because when it comes to fillings, more is always better. Right?

Twelve Days of Baking - Day 3

Pomegranates are showing up in abundance in the grocery stores here. I bought one the other day just for fun, but I really had no idea what I was going do with it. I'm not very fond of the seeds by themselves, but I figured there must be some recipes out there to try.

Enter Pinterest.

After a quick search, I found cookie recipe that looked promising. It's basically a recipe for a chocolate flavored chocolate chip cookie with the addition of the pomegranate seeds. The combination of sweet from the chocolate and cookie and tart from the pomegranate juice makes for one of the best cookies I've had in a long time.

Double Dark chocolate Pomegranate Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup pomegranate seeds

Cream butter, shortening, sugars, vanilla, and eggs. Mix dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture and stir to combine. Add chocolate chips and pomegranate seeds. Shape into balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes.

Notes: This recipe is pretty strait forward. The only thing I changed was after rolling the dough into balls and placing them on the sheet, I stuck 3-4 more seeds on the top. I thought it made the cookies a little prettier.

Twelve Days of Baking - Day 2

This cookie recipe happened to be on the same page of the cookbook as yesterday's, which is how I ended up making these for my baking challenge. They're kind of cute and yummy.

Cream Cheese Delights
1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
12 maraschino cherries, halved

Cream the shortening, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla. Combine the flour and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets. Top each with a cherry half. Bake at 3500 for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Notes: I actually rolled the cookies into balls instead of dropping them to make the cookies a little more uniform. The first batch didn't quite get done, so on the second, I flattened them a little before adding the cherry, and they were much better that way.

Twelve Days of Baking - Day 1

For some unknown reason, I'm not in the mood to make all the traditional Christmas goodies that I usually make each year for Christmas. So, this year I've given myself a challenge of making twelve new holiday recipes for the twelve days leading up to Christmas.

I have a list which I'll be working through in the next few days and posting the results here.

My first recipe is for Cranberry Swirl Biscotti. I adapted this from a recipe in a Taste of Home Cookies cookbook. They're a little time consuming to make, but the results are festive and delicious.

 

Cranberry Swirl Biscotti

 

2/3 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup plum jam

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

 

Process cranberries, jam, and cinnamon in a food processor until smooth; set aside. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture and mix well.

 

Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface roll each half into a 12x8 inch rectangle. Spread each half with the cranberry filling then roll up, jelly-roll style.

 

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes. Cool for five minutes then slice diagonally with a serrated knife. Bake 15-20 minutes more, turning the biscotti over once, until the center are firm and dry. Makes about 30 cookies. 

 

Notes: The original recipe calls for cherry jam, but I changed it to plum because that's what I had on hand. Either would be good. It also calls to drizzle them with a powdered sugar glaze, but I decided that was unnecessary as the filling makes them sweet enough for my taste. 

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

There's a recipe going around like crazy on Pinterest for pumpkin snickerdoodles. Of course I had to try it.

In general, I'm not a huge fan of snickerdoodles, but I embrace them for two reasons. First,  the name is just so fun. Say it. Out loud. Snickerdoodle. :) Here's a fun fact: according to The Joy of Cooking, the name probably comes from the German word schneckennudeln which translates at crinkly noodles. Who knew?

The second reason I like snickerdoodles is that they are the only thing I recall my dad baking over the years. Not very often, but from time to time he will make a batch for me or my sister. Isn't that sweet?

So, on to the pumpkin flavored ones.

Here is the recipe.

For the cookies:
3 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla

For the coating
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
dash allspice
*or, you can do like I did and just use sugar and a couple teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.

Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together to blend. Beat butter and sugar on medium speed until combined. Beat in pumpkin. Add egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Beat until combined, but don't over mix. Chill 1 hour or until firm. Roll into balls then roll in coating mixture. Flatten with a glass dipped in coating mixture. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Slightly cool before removing from the pan.

 

 

 

These smelled really nice while baking, and I was eager to taste them. I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed in the texture as they are a bit more cakey than I would like. But that always seems to be an issue with cookies made from pumpkin. I'm glad I baked them, but probably won't ever make them again. I think I'll save my pumpkin for pie.

Biscotti and Bread

Well, it has finally cooled off in my neck of the woods. This morning it's a cool 46 degrees. After a summer of scorching temperatures, I'm loving the change.

The cooler weather means that I've finally been able to turn my oven on again and do some baking, and I've got two recipes to share.

The first is for biscotti. I got this recipe from my grandma, who got it from an Italian lady she met somewhere. I think it is pretty authentic. It's flavored with almond and anise, which I love. If you don't like anise flavor I'm sure you can leave it out and just use the almond.

Be warned that the recipe makes a lot. I usually only make half.

Biscotti
6 cups flour
5 tsp baking powder
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup melted butter
6 eggs
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp anise extract
1/4 cup anise seed
1 cup chopped almonds

Beat the eggs. Add the melted butter, almond extract, anise extract, and sugar. Mix well. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, anise seed and almonds. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix until a dough forms. Divide the dough into six equal parts. Roll each part into a rope about 15 inches long. Place the ropes on cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before slicing. Return the cookies to the pan and bake for 8-10 minutes more, turning once.

 

 

My second recipe is for Savory Wild Rice Bread. I've been making this bread for at least ten years. It's one of my favorites. Very savory and hearty. It goes really well with soup on a cold day, but I usually just toast mine and eat it with butter and honey. 

Savory Wild Rice Bread 1/2 cup wild rice 2 cups water 5 1/2-6 cups flour 2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley 2 tablespoons snipped fresh sage or thyme or 2 teaspoons dried sage or thyme, crushed 1 package yeast  1 cup sour cream                                                 1 cup water 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon butter  1 teaspoon salt  1 slightly beaten egg                                                1 tablespoon water                                                 4 sprigs sage Rinse wild rice in a fine-mesh sieve under cold water for 1 minute. In a medium saucepan combine wild rice and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, until tender and most of water is absorbed. Drain well; cool. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, parsley, sage or thyme, and yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat and stir sour cream, 1 cup water, the sugar, butter and salt until mixture is warm (120-130 degrees) and butter is almost melted. Add to flour mixture. beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the wild rice and as much of the remaining flour as you can. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes total). Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl; turn once. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double (45 minutes). Punch dough down. Turn out into a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Lightly grease two 8x4x2 inch loaf pans. Shape each half of dough into a loaf. Place shaped dough in prepared loaf pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double (30-40 minutes). With a sharp knife, cut a grain like design by making a slice lengthwise down the center of the loaf with 3 small branches on each side. Or, brush loaves with a mixture of egg and 1 tablespoon water. If desired, place sage sprigs on top of loaves. Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, or till bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pans immediately; cool on racks.       Now, here is my cheat for making this recipe. Instead of messing with the wild rice and herbs, I buy a box of Uncle Ben's long grain and wild rice mix, cook it, and use a cup of it in place of the wild rice and herbs. It's practically the same thing, and much cheaper. The long grain rice kind of disappears into the bread, leaving the wild rice behind, and the flavor is delicious.

Cookies and a Pulitzer Shake-up

 These are cooling on my counter right now. Don't you wish you were at my house? Butterscotch and chocolate chip cookies. Yum.

In other news, this year's Pulitzer Prizes were awarded today, and *gasp* one was not awarded for fiction. Three novels were shortlisted: Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson, Swamplandia, by Karen Russell, and The Pale King, by David Foster Wallace, but none won the prize. While not unprecedented - it's happened 9 other times but not since 1977, it is still a bit of a surprise. I have to admit I'm a little disappointed not to have a new book to add to my "to be read" list.

Lofthouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies

As a rule, I don't like heart shaped things, and I also don't like the color pink.

I make an exception on Valentine's Day when it comes to cookies.

This year, I made a pink heart copycats of  Lofthouse frosted sugar cookies.

If you have never had a Lofthouse frosted sugar cookie, you're missing out. You can find them in almost any supermarket bakery section, or you can bake your own like I did. They are a thick, round sugar cookie with frosting and sprinkles. The colors usually coordinate to the season or holidays.

I came across this copycat recipe on Pinterest and had to give it a try.

Lofthouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies

For the cookies:
6 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream

For the frosting:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
6 tbsp heavy cream
food coloring sprinkles

Cream the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Dough will be a bit sticky. Divide dough into two sections. Flatten into rectangles about 1 1/2 inches thick, then wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or at least two hours until firm.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.

Roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out shapes and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes, until pale golden. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

To make the frosting, cream together the butter and vanilla. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired spreading consistency is achieved. Add food coloring and beat until combined.

Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container. Let cookies sit for several hours before serving to allow the flavors to develop.

Notes: This recipe makes a lot of cookies. I only made half of it and got about fifty 2 1/2 inch heart shaped cookies. Make sure not to roll the dough too thin - the thicker the better. Also, I didn't have to add any cream to the frosting mix. It was a perfect spreading consistency with just the butter, sugar, and vanilla.

Andes Mint Cookies

I came across this recipe and had to try it immediately. They are excellent, tasting a lot like a girl scout thin mint cookie, but chewier. I'll definitely be making these again in the future.

Andes Mint Cookies

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp water
2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Andes mints, 1 for each cookie

Cook butter, sugar, and water until melted. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted. Pour into a bowl and let cool for 10 minutes. Beat in eggs one at at time at high speed. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients. Beat until just blended. Chill at least on hour for easier handling. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 11-12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately place a mint on each cookie. Allow melt then swirl over the top. Makes about 80 cookies.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Twists

Yesterday I baked some Christmas cookies using a recipe I haven't made in several years: Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Twists. Little chocolate pretzel shaped cookies, dipped in a chocolate glaze and sprinkled with crushed peppermint. It doesn't get much more Christmassy than this. They are a little time consuming, but worth the work. I can also tell you from experience that they're really good for breakfast.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Twists
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp salt

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix butter, shortening, powdered sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir in flour, cocoa, and salt. Knead a level Tbsp of dough with hands until right consistency for molding. Roll into pencil-like strips about 9" long. Twist into pretzel shape and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake until set about 8-9 minutes. Let stand 1-2 minutes before removing from cookie sheet; cool. Dip tops of cookies into chocolate glaze. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint.

Chocolate Glaze
Heat 2 squares (1 oz each) unsweetened chocolate and 2 Tbsp butter over low heat until melted. Remove from heat. Beat in 2 cups of powdered sugar and 3-4 Tbsp water until smooth and of desired consistency.

Snow day...and cookies!!!

It's a beautiful, snowy day. This is the view from my front window earlier this morning.

Luckily, I've been able to stay cozy and warm indoors, although I have plans for a little snow traipsing later this afternoon. Here is what I did with my morning.

What is that yummy-looking deliciousness? How about caramel-stuffed apple cider cookies. 

These are amazing. I'm so glad I baked them. Now if only I could stop eating them.

I found the recipe on a food blog called The Cooking Photographer. Click here for the recipe. If you like caramel apples, I guarantee you'll love these.

Caramelized Sugar Cookies

I'm sad to say that sugar cookies are probably my least favorite cookie. I'll eat them if I have to, but I don't usually go out of my way to find them.

However, today I found and tried a recipe for caramelized sugar cookies, and I must say that they are pretty tasty.

The recipe is a little time consuming, but very easy at the same time. Here is the recipe, adapted from Sunset Magazine's website.

Caramelized Sugar Cookies
1 cup sugar (divided)
3/4 cup butter
2 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Melt 1/2 cup of sugar until light golden in color (about 6 minutes). Pour onto a buttered piece of foil set on a baking sheet. Let stand until hard (about 5 minutes). Break into chunks then smash into 1/8"-1/4" pieces.

Beat butter and remaining 1/2 cup sugar until well blended. Beat in 2 Tbsp water and vanilla until smooth. Mix flour and baking powder. Stir into butter mixture until well incorporated. Stir in crushed caramel. Drop dough in 1 1/2 tsp portions on greased baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Makes 55 cookies. (I only got 36).

Notes: 1. I crushed my caramel in a mini chopper and it worked fine. 2. The 2 Tbsp water seemed to make the dough a little loose, so I added an extra 1/4 cup of flour. I might try it next time without the water to see if it is absolutely necessary. 3. Greasing the cookie sheets well is crucial - that caramel really sticks! Parchment or a silpat would be even better. 4. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Bars

I've never been a huge fan of baking bar cookies, mostly because you get so many more if you drop them instead, and as you can see from the picture, I have a really hard time cutting them evenly.

However, I came across this recipe and wanted to give it a try. I was a bit intrigued by it since there is no baking soda or eggs or any other type of leavening.

It's a super easy and quick recipe to make, and I was happy with the results. So happy, in fact, that I had one for breakfast everyday last week. The texture of the bars ended up being like a sandie or shortbread. The recipe is definitely a keeper.

Chocolate Chip Bars

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt (this wasn't in the original recipe, but I thought it would be better with a little salt)

1-2 cups chocolate chips

Mix everything together. Press into a greased 12x8 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Cool before cutting into squares. Makes approximately 24 bars.

Think Pink!

When I was a kid, I had a book of Valentine's Day poems, and I've always remembered the start of one.

It's Valentines Day, so I'll create,
a special cake to celebrate
a cake that's good as cake can be
I'm using my own recipe.

I can't remember the rest, but I think the speaker puts all kinds of strange ingredients in the cake, like licorice and jelly beans and rice and I don't know what else, and of course the cake doesn't turn out all that great.

I like to bake for Valentine's Day, and while I didn't make a cake this year, I did give my pink food coloring quite a workout.

On Saturday, I baked some heart shaped sugar cookies and decorated them with royal icing using the flooding method. I had never used that technique before, and they are far from perfect, but I think they turned out kind of cute. Here are some of them.

I also made some oreo truffles, which I dipped in pink colored almond bark. I was kind of sloppy with my dipping, but they still taste good. If you've never made these before, they are super simple and really yummy.

Take a package of oreos and crush them. I put mine through the food processor. Then, mix the crumbs with a softened block of cream cheese. Shape the mixture into balls and chill it for about an hour. Then dip the balls into almond bark. If you are going to color almond bark, make sure to use a gel color. Liquid ones will make the almond bark do weird things.


Finally, today I made Cream Wafers. I usually make these around Valentine's Day, because that's what we did when I was a kid. They are a little time consuming, but worth it. The recipe is after the picture, and I believe it originally came from an old Betty Crocker cookbook.


Cream Wafers

Wafers:
2 cups flour
1 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
granulated sugar

Filling:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
food color

Mix flour, butter and whipping cream. Cover and chill about 1 hour or until firm.
Roll 1/3 of the dough at a time 1/8" thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes with 1 1/2" cookie cutters. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Prick each cutout with a fork.
Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 9 minutes or until set but not brown. Cool completely.
Mix filling ingredients until smooth. Add a few drops of water if necessary. Spread about 1/2 teaspoon filling between pairs of cookies.
Makes about 5 dozen sandwich cookies.

Now, just so you know, I have no intention of eating all of this stuff. I plan on packaging it up and passing it out to the people I come into contact with tomorrow. Who knows, maybe it will be you!

The end...

of Christmas goodie making that is. Here are the last of the goodies I made for Christmas.



Carrot Cake Jam. I took a break from cookies and candy one afternoon and made some jam to give as gifts.



Teriffic Toffee. This is a really easy and really yummy toffee recipe.



Chocolate Chip Biscotti. This was a new recipe I tried this year, and it was really yummy, too.



Peppermint Meltaways. A freind sent me this recipe, and if you are a peppermint lover, this one is for you. I thought they were a nice addition to my cookie trays.



Cranberry-Pear Crumb Pie. I made this on Christmas morning for Christmas dinner. It was beautiful and delicious.



Candy Cane Cookies. I really don't like making these cookies, but I love eating them. They have been our family's favorite Christmas cookie for as long as I can remember. I didn't make any this year, but luckily for me, my mom brought me this tin full of them for Christmas. How great is that?

More Goodies!

I added a few more goodies to my Christmas cookie arsenal today.



Spritz Cookies. Lightly spiced and tasting like Christmas. I make these every year, but this year I couldn't get my cookie press to cooperate and this is the only shape I could get to turn out. I like it though. Kind of reminds me of a poinsettia.



Chocolate Covered Cherries. These are actually very easy to make and so much better than what you buy in the store, and they get even better after sitting for a weeks or so. They should be perfect by Christmas Day.



Spoon Cookies. This is a new recipe for me this year, and I have to admit it could quite possibly be one of the best cookies I have ever tasted. They are tedious to make, but worth the effort. The texture of the cookie is kind of like a pecan sandie, and I sandwiched them together with some lovely plum jam my mom made this summer. Click here to go to the recipe.

Oh, Goodie!

I took a little trip to see my folks over the past weekend. I hadn't baked any Christmas cookies yet, so while I was home, my mom and I made some Christmas treats. Here are some of our goodies.



Russian Tea Cakes or Mexican Wedding Cakes. These are usually the first Christmas cookie I bake, and this year was no exception. I love the simplicity of these. Butter, flour, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla are the only ingredients. Some add nuts, but I prefer them without.



Peanut Brittle. This is the best peanut brittle you will ever eat. The addition of baking soda gives it the light, airy texture you can see in the picture. Yum!



Divinity. Yes, it's divine - so smooth and sweet. Candy making is always tricky, but we got this right.



Chai Birch Logs. My sister and brother-in-law make these every year at Christmastime, but since they aren't living down the street from me anymore, I had to make my own this year.

I was really pleased with how everything turned out, but I still have lots more to make. If you need me in the next couple of days, check in the kitchen. That's probably where I'll probably be.