Cookies for Christmas!!!!

I'll be busy from now until Christmas making cookies and breads, muffins and rolls. I'm going to share my Christmas cookie baking list and recipes!

Christmas Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
  
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Frosting

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• various food coloring
• colored sprinkles

Directions

In a mixing bowl, cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Stir together dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture until completely blended. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with various shaped cookie cutters dipped in flour. Transfer cookies to ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Frosting:

Mix together sugar, butter, vanilla and milk until desired degree of spreading consistency; add milk if you want thinner frosting. Add food coloring to obtain desired color. Spread frosting over cookies and decorate with sprinkles.

Chocolate Cherry Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 ounces neufchatel cheese or cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons maraschino cherries, drained &,finely chopped
• 24 maraschino cherries, cut into halves,well drained

Directions

Using an electric mixer, beat together butter and the granulated sugar until well blended. Add cocoa powder and beat until combined. Add egg and beat until mixed well. Add half of the flour and mix just until combined. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the remaining flour until well blended (do not use mixer at this point or you will toughen the dough). Cover and chill at least 1 hour or until easy to handle. Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in the chopped cherries; set aside. Form chilled cookie dough into 48 balls (1 inch in diameter each). Place about 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheets, then gently press each ball with your thumb to make a dent. Fill each dent with 1 tsp of the filling, then top each with a cherry half, cut side down. Bake in a preheated 375 F for 10-12 minutes or until filling is set. Let cool 1 minute on pans, then remove to racks to cool completely. These must be stored in the refigerator, but you may bring them to room temperature to serve; these freeze well.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 7 teaspoons baking cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• additional sugar, for rolling and topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 375*. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. Cream butter with sugar on medium speed until light, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well. Gradually add flour mixture and blend well. Gather dough into a ball and cover with foil or wrap. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours, until firm. Using half of dough at a time, roll out a 1/4 inch thick on sugar sprinkled counter or pastry cloth. Cut out cookies and then lift with spatula onto sheets, leaving about 1 1/2" between cookies. Sprinkle with sugar or sprinkles, if desired. Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until cookies are firm and edges are just starting to brown. Remove to wire rack to cool. Frost or decorate as desired.

Chocolate Crinkles

• 1 18 oz. box devil's food cake mix
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 2 eggs

Mix all ingredients together until well blended. Chill 1 hour. Roll into balls and then roll in powdered sugar. Bake 8 - 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

NOTE: I've substituted lemon cake mix for the devil's food for lemon crinkles and they turned out GREAT! Feel free to substitute other flavors!

Snowball Cookies

1 c. butter or margarine

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 c. all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 c. finely chopped nuts

Mix butter, sugar and vanilla thoroughly. Stir flour and salt together; blend in. Mix in nuts. Chill dough for about 1 hour. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet, cookies do not spread. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until set but not brown. While still warm, roll in more powdered sugar. Cool, then roll in powdered sugar again.

BonBon Cookies

1/2 c. butter or margarine

3/4 c. powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla

food coloring, if desired

1 1/2 c. flour

1/8 tsp. salt

fillings: maraschino cherries, pitted dates, nuts, chocolate pieces

Icing:1 c. powdered sugar, 2 1/2 tsp. cream or milk, 1 tsp vanilla and red, green or yellow food coloring if desired.

Toppings: chopped nuts, coconut, shaved chocolate, colored sugar or sprinkles

Mix butter, sugar, vanilla and food coloring if desired. Blend flour and salt in thoroughly by hand. If dough is too dry, add 1 to 2 Tbsp. cream.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. For each cookie, wrap 1 level Tablespoonful of dough around one of a filling piece. Bake 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet 12 to 15 minutes or until set but not brown. Cool; dip tops of cookies in Icing. Add one of the suggested toppings if desired.

Gingerbread Biscotti

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients; In another bowl, combine the egg and egg whites, brown sugar, molasses and vanilla until smooth. Stir the egg mixture into dry ingredients just until moistened; fold in pecans and currants; cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Divide dough in half; shape each half into a ball; on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray, roll each ball into a 14-inch x 1 1/2-inch rectangle;Bake at 325 for 24 to 28 minutes or until frim to touch; remove from the oven and reduce heat to 300 degrees. Cool for 5 minutes, transfer to cutting board; cut diagonally with a serrated knife into 1/2-inch slices; place cut side down on baking sheets coated with nonstick cooking spray; bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned turning once, remove to wire racks to cool, store in an airtight container.

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

• 1 3/4 c. sifted flour
• 1 tsp. soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. margarine or butter
• 1/2 c. peanut butter (smooth or crunchy, your choice)
• 1/2 c. white sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 egg
• Hershey's chocolate kisses, unwrapped

Sift together flour, soda and salt. Cream margarine or butter, peanut butter and sugars. Add milk, vanilla and egg and mix. Add dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Shape by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. Roll ball in additional granulated sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and place a Kiss on top of each cookie, pressing down so that cookie cracks a bit around the edge. Return to oven and bake 2 - 4 minutes longer. Remove to rack to cool.



Empire Biscuits

• 1/2 c. butter at room temp
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 c. flour
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• Strawberry jam or seedless raspberry jam

In medium mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar. Add egg; mix well. Sift together frour, cream of tartar and bakind soda. Add to creamed mixture. Mix well. Roll out dough on floured surface to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out with 2 inch round or fluted cookie cutter. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Cookies do not brown. When cool, spread a cookie bottom with jam and top with another cookie, bottoms together. Repeat with all cookies.

Icing:

• 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Spread icing on each cookie. Top with 1/2 candied cherry or small cinnamon red hot candy. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.


Scotch Shortbread

• 1 lb. butter or margarine (best with butter)
• 1 c. white sugar
• 4 c. flour
• pinch of salt

Cream butter, add sugar gradually and beat until light and fluffy. Mix flour and salt and add gradually and mix well. Press into 2 ungreased 8 x 8 square pan or 1 9 x 13 ungreased pan. Prick with fork and sprinkle with colored sugar. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 - 35 minutes until light brown. Cut into small squares while warm.