Children's Christmas Cookies

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope you have been enjoying your holidays. We sure have.

We actually still are. Have you taken down your Christmas Tree and put away your decorations? We haven't. In my world, the first day of Christmas is Christmas Eve (not the day after Thanksgiving). And the 12th day of Christmas is January 5th. Today is Epiphany and marks the day the wise men met the Christ child and bestowed Him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. After today, my Christmas season will be over.

I finally got my camera back from the shop and what is the first thing I photographed? Christmas Cookies. My camera had to have its aperture control unit replaced (for the second time) and I have only had it for two years. Meanwhile, it went on quite an adventure--two local places, then on to Arizona, then Connecticut, and finally back home. It now seems perky, clean, and ready to go.

(Phone photo)

Once our favorite girl was out of school for the holidays, she came and spent a few days with us so we could bake cookies. The first one was a basic sugar cookie. She did all the measuring and mixing, I just supervised. While the dough was mixing, we made a mixture of sugar and red sprinkles to roll them in.. I scooped out the dough, then she rolled it into balls and then into the sugar. Perfect job for little hands.

We made more cookies and goodies than what is shown here, but they have been eaten/given away by now.
























She kept telling me she wanted to make shape cookies, so shape cookies it was. Once again, she measured and mixed and I supervised. We made a cookie dough which can be rolled out right away without needing to be chilled. We rolled it out on sheets of parchment (she is also getting quite accomplished with the rolling pin) and slipped the sheets onto the baking pan.

Easier cutting is achieved if the dough is chilled after it is rolled out. We just sat a pan of dough outside for a few minutes while we rolled out the next batch. Once the dough is chilled, it cuts beautifully, with sharp edges.

Shape Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in egg, vanilla, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Add flour, one cup at a time, mixing until combined after each addition.

Divide dough into thirds and roll onto a piece of parchment paper to about 1/4 inch thick. No need to flour the parchment, but you may need to lightly flour the rolling pin to avoid sticking. Slide the parchment onto a baking sheet and chill 20 to 30 minutes for easier cutting.

Cut into desired shapes right on the sheet pan, then peel away the excess dough, which can be re-rolled. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes. The cookies will remain blonde but be set. Let cool completely before removing from the trays and decorate as desired.

Peanut butter cookies are my personal favorite. Once again, I scooped and she rolled into balls and then into sugar for a little extra sweetness and sparkle. She had a little trouble with the crisscross fork marks and asked me to finish. I suspect she was over it and wanted to get back to her Barbies.

Peanut Butter Cookies
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In mixing bowl, combine butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar. Beat well until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until well mixed.

Add flour and stir until combined.

Roll dough, by tablespoons, into balls, then roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten balls with a fork using a crisscross pattern.

Bake 10 - 12 minutes.

Saltine Cracker Toffee Bark

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, A WOMAN AT MY OFFICE brought in a plate of these tasty treats to share. She called them "Mock Heath Bars". I loved them and was amazed when she told me how she made them. . .with saltine crackers.

Mention the words, Heath Bars, and I am transported to happy memories from childhood. My Mother and her best friend loved those things. So many summer afternoons were spent swimming at the lake with Mama and her friend with her two daughters. On the way home, we would stop by the country store for ice cream--fudgcycles, drumsticks, sherbert push-ups, little cups of ice cream eaten with a wooden spoons, eskimo pie, whatever we chose. Mama and her friend would get Heath ice cream bars and practically swoon while savoring them.

And isn't that part of what Christmas Baking is about? Recreating joyous memories while making new ones for the children?

Saltine Cracker Toffee Bark
35 saltine crackers (about 2 sleeves)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. (about 1 1/3 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a 15x10x1-inch rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray with cooking spray.

Place crackers, salty side up, in prepared pan. In a saucepan, boil butter and sugar for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over crackers and bake for 4 - 6 minutes.

Remove from oven, and sprinkle chocolate chips all over the top. Spread evenly as chocolate begins to melt. Cool slightly and transfer to wax paper. Allow to cool completely before cutting or breaking into smaller pieces.

Sugar Plums

I AM TAKING A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO MY CHRISTMAS BAKING this year. Rather than baking one batch of cookies from start to finish one by one, I have had a few days of mixing doughs. Some are refrigerated, some frozen.

I have rolls of dough to use as slice and bake cookies. I have balls of dough which would traditionally be drop cookies. Some will be pressed into sheet pans for bar cookies. Also, my husband gave me a beautiful shortbread pan last month for my birthday, so I will be baking those too.

I feel much more productive this year and I don't have to worry if my cookies will be fresh when the time comes for sharing. We will see how this approach works when it comes to baking days.

Meanwhile, here is a no-bake goody that is actually pretty healthy.

Sugar Plums
4 cups rice krispies cereal
2 cups toasted pecans
15 oz. golden raisins
10 oz. pitted dates
3/4 cup honey
2 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Pour cereal into a large mixing bowl.

Finely chop the pecans, raisins, and dates. (Or grind in food processor if you have one).

In a small bowl, combine the honey, orange zest, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.

Pour the fruit mixture and the honey mixture into the bowl with the cereal. Mix all together with a wooden spoon. Roll into 1 1/2" balls with greased hands.

Cinnamon Roll Pretzels

CHRISTMAS BAKING IS IN FULL SWING. Today, I give you a quick and easy snack to placate cookie monsters around the house while you get some more serious cookie baking done.

These Cinnamon Roll Pretzels have that sweet and salty taste we love. Although I am not ordinarily a fan of white chocolate, I do use it for these treats. I think it gives a more "cinnamon roll" look. Vanilla candy melt will also work if you prefer.

Cinnamon Roll Pretzels
4 heaping cups pretzels
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup melted white chocolate or vanilla candy melt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss the pretzels with melted butter. In a small bowl stir together the sugar and cinnamon until well blended. Sprinkle over the buttered pretzels and mix until evenly coated.

Spread the pretzels into an even layer on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes.

Drizzle with melted white chocolate or vanilla candy melt.

Allow the pretzels to cool and the candy to harden before serving.

Clementine Ambrosia

IF YOU HAVE THE WHEREWITHAL, as my Grandmother did, to wrestle and conquer a fresh coconut, I highly recommend you do it. There is really nothing like the taste of fresh, right out of the shell, coconut. I have done it in the past, but I'm afraid I have become a wimp and now used frozen coconut, which is a fine substitute. 

My Grandmother always made a big bowl of Ambrosia for Christmas. The aroma of the oranges and the sight of the sunshiny colors bathed in a sweetened creamy sauce always provides for me fond memories of her. 

Southerners love something sweet right along with dinner which is why you see so many sweet salads in Southern cuisine. Such is the case with Ambrosia which tastes marvelous with your Christmas ham.  It can also be served for dessert along with a slice of pound cake, or for a snack with a cup of hot coffee. Dare I say this salad can be served over ice cream? 

Clementine Ambrosia
8 - 10 Clementine tangerines, peeled, sectioned, and sections halved
2 cups fresh chopped pineapple
2 cups fresh (or frozen, thawed) coconut
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup sour cream

Mix all ingredients and chill overnight. The acidity of the fruit and sour cream melt the marshmallows forming a sweet, creamy sauce. 

Chocolate Dipped Ribbons and Wands

TURNS OUT, THIS WAS my favorite Christmas cookie. Especially the ones dipped in crushed peppermint. I used the same recipe as the Chocolate Pillows I made, but finished them differently

 

For the wands, I fitted the cookie press with the star tip and extruded the dough slowly making a fat, wiggly line. I then scored the lines and baked as usual. After the cookies cooled, I dipped them into melted chocolate and sprinkled with chopped, salted, roasted peanuts. So pretty and so tasty. 

   

 

 

The Ribbons were made by fitting the cookie press with the stencil that makes a continuous ridged line of dough. Score the cookies before baking. After cooling, I dipped them into the same melted chocolate as the wands but this time I sprinkled them with crushed peppermint candy.

The taste is reminiscent of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies!

Toffee Bars

There is no telling how many batches of these cookies I have made over the years. It is one that I bake at times other than Christmas and it is always a crowd pleaser.

A bar cookie, consisting of brown sugar shortbread covered with chocolate and nuts, this recipe is very flexible and simple to bake.  I have made them thicker and thinner, softer and crunchier. I have used milk chocolate and pecans (my personal favorite), white chocolate and sliced almonds, semi-sweet chocolate and walnuts, dark chocolate and pistachios. All combinations seem to work swimmingly.

Toffee Bars
(From Betty Crocker)
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
4 oz. chocolate chips or bars broken into pieces
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9 inch baking pan.

Mix thoroughly butter, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla. Blend in flour and salt. Press evenly in bottom of prepared pan.

Bake 25 - 30 minutes or until very light brown. Crust will be soft. Remove from oven; immediately place chocolate chips or pieces on crust. Ass soon as the chocolate is soft, spread evenly. Sprinkle with nuts. While warm, cut into bars.

Pretzel Kisses

 Last Christmas, our niece gave us a dishful of these dandy tidbits. I'm not exaggerating when I say, we could not stop eating them. Every time either of us passed by that little bowl, our hand went out. Finally, after about three days, they were all gone.

These morsels are super simple to make and deceptively delicious to snack on--crunchy, salty, sweet, and chocolatey and a great project to make with the children. The most time consuming part of it is unwrapping all the candies. 

Pretzel Kisses
Small pretzels
Hershey's Kisses
M&M candies
Toasted pecans, if desired

Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Arrange pretzels on a sheet pan and top each with a kiss. Place into the oven for 5 minutes. The candies will not look melted but they will be soft. Place an M&M, pecan, or another pretzel on top of each and press lightly.  Chill until the chocolate has hardened. 

Chocolate Pillows

 These buttery vanilla cookies have a secret center. They were made with a cookie press and I loved making them!

A continuous line of cookie dough is extruded then a piece of chocolate candy is placed along the line of dough. That line of dough is topped with another and the pieces are sealed together and scored to make individual cookies.

The recipe was new to me and since I made them I have thought of all the variations that could be made using this method. Peanut butter dough could be used and filled with jam. Chocolate dough filled with a cherry. Spice dough filled with dried fruit. Cheddar dough filled with a pecan to make cheese straws.

They could also be decorated with sprinkles, jimmies, or icing. I'll be baking more of these.

Chocolate Pillows
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 Hershey bars, broken along score lines

Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Stir in flour and salt until combined.

Fill cookie press and fit with the ribbon stencil. Press a continuous line of dough onto an ungreased baking sheet with the ridged side down.  Place a piece of the candy along the strip of dough spacing them about 1/4 apart. Press another strip of cookie dough on top of the candies, this time with the ridges up.

Press the two strips together gently.  Score the dough between the chocolate pieces and trim the ends to make them straight. (The trimmed off piece of dough can be used again).

Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Cut into pieces along each scored line. Let them cool on the pans for a couple of minutes them remove to racks to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Spritz Cookies

If you want to make large quantities of shaped cookies for your cookie trays, the cookie press can be your friend. I received one as a gift and have really been enjoying using it. So much faster than rolling and cutting out and the cookies are really pretty.

This recipe makes a lot of cookies--16 dozen! And they are quite good; everything you want your homemade peanut butter cookies to be.

I decorated them a few different ways. On some I placed an M & M in the center, others a dark chocolate chip, and on some I dabbed a small spoonful of raspberry jam. Also, as an experiment, I attached a star tip to the press and made rosettes and ribbons.

Peanut Butter Spritz Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Place butter and peanut butter in large mixing bowl and cream thoroughly on medium-high speed. Add sugars gradually. Beat until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla; mix well using medium speed.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to peanut butter mixture in 3 additions, mixing well after each.

Assemble and fill cookie press with dough following the directions for your press. Select desired disc and press cookies onto ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 - 12 minutes or until golden around the edges.

 

 

Have one of each, I'll be right back. I am off to the kitchen to bake Gingerbread Spritz. 

 

 

Big Crispy Chocolate Dipped Oatmeal Cookies

I like to start my Christmas cookie baking each year with a big, sturdy, bold cookie for my husband. I don't want him to feel trepidation about digging into as many freshly baked cookies as he wants to eat.

Knowing him as I do, I know he would hesitate about seeing some prissy and fragile looking little dainties that appeared like they were difficult to make. I'm not saying he doesn't enjoy and savor those cookies--oh he does. I just like to start the season with a no holds barred eat with enthusiasm and vigor model.

I am not one to bake cookies and forbid anyone from eating them--saving them for gifts, planning to serve them another day. I plan for those things and plenty to "sample" all along the way. Can you imagine coming into someones home, seeing cookies and smelling cookies, and not being able to EAT any cookies? Or someone grudgingly saying, "Well OK, but just one". 

Nope, not happening in Rocquie's kitchen. When I bake cookies, we eat cookies.

This is a very flexible oatmeal cookie recipe. I added dried cranberries and chopped roasted walnuts, then dipped them in melted dark chocolate. And I made them big. You can make them smaller and thinner if desired. You can add any nuts, fruit, or chocolate chips you wish, or you can leave them plain. Bake them a little longer if you like them more crisp. Add spices if you like. I've done all those things very successfully with this basic recipe.

Crisp Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup milk
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup dried fruit

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream butter, shortening, and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs, then beat until the mixture is light.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Stir in the oats until combined well.

Add one third of the oat mixture to the butter mixture, then add the milk. Blend well then stir in the remaining dry ingredients. Fold in nuts and fruit.

Drop dough by teaspoon for smaller cookies or tablespoons for larger cookies. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, depending on size, until the edges and tops are beginning to brown.

Let cool for a couple of minutes on the pan, then place on racks to cool completely.

Rosemary Shortbread

"There's rosemary, that's for rememberance."

----Shakespeare's Hamlet to Ophelia

This was my most popular cookie last Christmas. Shortbread is traditional for Christmas and always a crowd pleaser. The idea of adding rosemary to a cookie seemed odd to me, but at the same time I was so intrigued I couldn't resist trying it. Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs and we have a nice shrub of it growing in our border garden.

Tradition says that rosemary will grow for 33 years, until it reaches the height of Christ when he was crucified, then it will die. Sprigs of rosemary were placed under pillows at night to ward off evil spirits and bad dreams. The wood was used to make lutes and musical instruments.

Scientists are now saying that the scent of rosemary is an effective memory stimulant.

All I know is I loved the beautiful aroma I experienced as I cut a few stems, brought them in, rinsed and placed them upon my cutting board, and proceeded to mince them very finely.

Rosemary Shortbread

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
2/3 cups sugar
2 Tbsp. chopped, fresh, rosemary
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar for topping

Cream the butter and the 2/3 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour, salt, and rosemary until well blended. The dough will be soft. Bring together into a disk, wrap, and refrigerate for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 13x9 inch baking pan. Press the dough into the pan evenly, smoothing as you go. (This part is very fun so take your time.) Once you are satisfied with the eveness, prick holes all about the dough.

Bake for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until the edges are just becoming golden. Cool the shortbread completely before cutting into squares or rectangles, or triangles as I did.
I am sending this to Food Blogga for Susan's 3rd Annual Christmas Cookie Event

Merry Christmas

I am feeling so much better than I was the last time I posted.  I have even cooked a few meals. And I have baked several batches of cookies!

I haven't blogged about any of these things, even though that fish chowder was delicious and some of my cookies are beautiful, because my computer has crashed.

I am pecking this out on a tablet. I don't know if there is a way to move photos from my camera to this device and if so how.

Meanwhile, here are pictures of some of our family ornament collection which I posted last year.

Thank you so much for all your positive thoughts and prayers. They have meant so much to me.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.

Peace on Earth