One of my favorite Christmas traditions is to bake cookies for family, friends. and those who touch our lives throughout the year. I can fondly remember making cookies with my mom and now I make them with my children, though Alec at the age of 9 is not into making cookies anymore, but he still enjoys eating them. I hope as he gets older he will want to start this tradition again. I still have Emily who is great big help to me. I decided this year to post the recipes and pictures for those who received cookies from us, so they would know what each kind was and if they liked them they could make them for themselves. I have a few tried and true ones which I make every year and others come and go.
Peanut butter Bon Bons
Makes about 5 dozen 1 inch balls
1 1/2 sticks of butter or margarine melted
2 cups regular peanut butter
3 cups crushed rice krispies
2 2/3 cup of powdered sugar
Heat top two ingredients together and mix next two ingredients together then mix all ingredients together.
In a double boiler, melt 1 package chocolate chips with 1/2 bar of paraffin. Form balls from peanut butter mixture. Dip balls in chocolate. Place on cookie sheet lined with tin foil. Chill in fridge.
Triple Delicious Cookie Bars
Makes 24 to 36
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14 0z.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup of peanut butter chips
3/4 cup of butterscotch chips
Preheat oven to 350 (325 for glass dish). In 13x9 inch pan, melt margarine in oven. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over margarine; pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs. Top with chips, press down firmly. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until light brown. Cool then cut into bars. store covered at room temperature.
Simply Sensational Mint Truffles
Makes about 2 dozen
1 box (8oz) semi sweet bakers chocolate 8 squares
1 package cream cheese (8oz)
1 package mint chocolate chips ( I used Andes)
Melt semi sweet chocolate. Beat cream cheese until creamy then blend in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until firm. Shape into 1 inch balls then dip into mint chips which are melted in a double boiler. Place on a cookie sheet covered with tin foil, then place in frig til firm.
I double the recipe but did not need to double the mint chips, I also added a fourth of a bar of paraffin to the mint chips.
Chocolate Cherry Khris Kringles
Makes about 2 dozen
1/2 Cups margarine or butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 T. juice from cherries
1 1/2 Cup flour
20-25 cherries pitted patted dry
40-50 chocolate chips and 1 cup chips
Cream sugar and margarine, add vanilla, juice and flour then mix well. Chill 1 hour.
Stuff each cherry with 2 chocolate chips, wrap in 1 tbsp. of dough, and bake at 350 on un-greased sheet for 12-15 minutes. Cool then melt on cup of chocolate chips in double boiler, dip top of cookies.
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Makes about 3 dozen
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix all ingredients then chill for 30 minutes. Make 1 inch balls bake at 375 for 12 minutes. Then push kisses on top then return to oven for about 1 minute then remove and cool.
KOLACHKI
Makes about 5 dozen
2 cups flour
1/2 lb. margarine (do not use butter)
9 oz of cream cheese
Mix and chill overnight.
This is my grandmothers recipe and the first time I made them I could not understand how my grandmother got the dough to be so thin, so the cookies would be nice and light and not real thick. My grandmothers tip is to roll on a cold marble stone with a mixture of half powder sugar and flour to roll out on (pictured down below). I do not have a marble board so I use my large Pampered Chef cutting board. Which I place in the freezer for about an hour before. Cut rolled dough into squares about 2x2 size. Place a dollop of filling, I use Solo's apricot and raspberry filling. I also like to have a lot of filling in mine, the turn up two corners and pinch together. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes. On a side note I make a recipe and a half and use two cans of filling for this amount. You can also use preserves as filling. I also call this recipe my mixer killer. See I have killed more than one mixer making this dough since it is very sticky. To no avail I killed one this year though it was not on this one, it is not Christmas if I do not have a hand mixer go out on me making cookies.
White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge and
Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
For this recipe I used Martha Stewarts Foolproof Holiday Fudge.
The white chocolate fudge I changed on thing, I let the fudge set for about an hour then I put the crushed peppermint candy on top then pushed it in so it would stay on top.
To make the chocolate peanut butter fudge I used 1 1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups of peanut butter chips. After the mixture has been heated I placed half of it in a bowl with the peanut butter chips and the chocolate chips in the pot. Then in the pan placed the chocolate then the peanut butter fudge on top.
M and M Cookies
1 cup of butter flavor Crisco
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cup flour
mix first 5 ingredients together first then remaining. Add M & M's. Bake at 375 for 9 to 11 minutes.
Russian Teacakes
Makes about 4 dozen
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts
1/4 tsp. salt
powdered sugar
Heat oven to 400. Mix margarine, powdered sugar and vanilla. Then add remaining ingredients. Shape into 1 inch balls. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes should not be brown. Roll in powdered sugar while warm, cool. May want to roll in powdered sugar again when cool.
Reese Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
These are real simple I use a brownie mix which I fill a tassie cup 3/4 the way full the stick in a small Reese's peanut butter in the middle. I baked at the temperature the brownies called for and cooked for about 12 minutes.
Peppermint Meltaways
Makes about 3 1/2 dozen
Cookies:
1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter softened
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cornstarch
Glaze:
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp. butter softened
1 to 2 tbsp. milk
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
2 to 3 drops red food coloring
Hard peppermint candies crushed
Mix sugar, butter and extract. add remaining ingredients. Cover, refrigerate until firm ( 30 to 60 minutes). Heat oven to 350. Make 1 inch balls and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, cool.
For glaze, combine powdered sugar, butter, and extract. Gradually add mild until desired consistency. Stir in food coloring until desired color is reached. Drizzle over cookies, then immediately sprinkle with crushed candy.
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