Twelve Days of Cookies: Molasses Sugar Cookies

These are Alex’s favorite cookies. They were originally made by his Grandmother and now his Mother makes them.  They taste very similar to a gingerbread or gingersnap cookie but they are far softer than either of those.  These are definitely the best smelling cookies that I made this year. My whole house smelled like Christmas while they were baking. If you are looking for a last minute cookie to take to your celebration this is an amazing choice.

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Molasses Sugar Cookies:1 ½ c. shortening2 c. sugar½ c. molasses2 eggs4 c. flour4 tsp. baking soda1 tsp. cloves1 tsp. ginger2 tsp. cinnamon1 tsp. saltAdditional Sugar for rolling Preheat the oven to 350. In a separate bowl, melt shortening.Remove from heat and let cool a bit (so eggs don’t cook when added!).Add sugar, molasses, and eggs.Beat well with electric mixer.Add dry ingredients and mix well.Chill dough for several hours (or overnight).Roll in 1” balls and then roll in sugar.Bake 8-10 minutes.

Twelve Days of Cookies: Gingerbread Men

I have tried several gingerbread recipes over the years. This is by far my favorite recipe. With the other recipes I have tried they have never truly turned out.  These cookies are deliciously spicy and are especially fantastic when decorated with royal icing. This year I didn’t really have time to add any icing to these, but I have done it in the past and they turn out amazing.

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Gingerbread Men:1 Cup Butter1 Cup Sugar1 Cup Molasses1 Egg4 Cups Flour1 Teaspoon Salt1 ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder½ Teaspoon Baking Soda½ Teaspoon Vanilla1 Teaspoon Cinnamon1 ½ Teaspoon Ground Cloves2 Teaspoons Ginger1 Teaspoon NutmegPreheat the oven to 350. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy.Mix in molasses and egg until well combined.Add the vanilla, soda, powder and spices. Combine well.Add the flour and mix until incorporated.Cover the bowl and chill for at least one hour.Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to approximately a ¼ inch thickness.Cut into the desired shapes. Place cookies onto a prepared baking sheet.Bake for 10 minutes. Decorate as desired.

Twelve Days of Cookies: Snowballs

These are my personal favorite cookies that I made this Christmas season. I love the chocolaty flavor combined with the powdered sugar coating.  Surprisingly this was the only chocolate cookie I made this season. These cookies will be quite popular at any Christmas gathering you might take them to.I strongly urge you to invest in a quality Dutch Process Cocoa powder. You can really taste the difference between the natural cocoa and dutch process cocoa. You will get a richer, more complex chocolaty taste if you use the dutch process. I hear a saying once, “once you go dutch, you don’t go back!” and it is very true! I only use dutch process cocoa powder now to bake. I prefer to get my cocoa powder from Penzey's Spices in Minneapolis. I find they have excellent quality cocoa for a decent price. You can also find dutch process cocoa online if you prefer

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Chocolate Snowballs:½ Cup Butter1 ¼ Brown Sugar1 Egg1 Teaspoon Vanilla1 ½ Cup Flour½ Cup Dutch Process Cocoa Powder¾ Teaspoon Salt¾ Teaspoon Baking Soda Preheat the oven to 350. Cream together the butter and brown sugar.Add the egg and vanilla.Slowly combine the dry ingredients.Cover and chill for 30 minutes.Roll into balls and roll in powdered sugar.Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Twelve Days of Cookies: Raspberry Jam Thumbprints

These are the most versatile cookies I make during the Christmas season. Each year they turn out differently depending what jam I use. This year I used raspberry jam. Last year was strawberry jam. These would also be excellent with a homemade jam on top!One thing I have noticed is that people tend to enjoy the cookies more then there is a mound of jam on top of these cookies. I had one person remark that they hadn’t ever seen cookies this large and jam filled before. I’ve found that these cookies tend to spread out so make sure that you top them with plenty of jam so that each bite has a lot of flavor.

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Raspberry Jam Thumbprints:1 Cup Butter2/3 Cup Sugar2 Eggs1 Teaspoon Vanilla2 Cups Flour½ Teaspoon SaltApproximately 6oz of JamPreheat the oven to 375. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.Beat in the eggs and vanilla.Add the flour and salt and mix until well incorporated and the dough comes together in a ball.Form the dough into 1 inch balls.Flatten the balls slightly with your thumb or the back of a spoon leaving an indentation in the center.Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until the bottoms are just barely golden.Remove the baking sheet from the oven and redefine the indentations. Fill the indentation with a healthy scoop of jam.Bake for an additional 3-4 minutes or until the jam is slightly melted and the edges of the cookies are lightly golden brown.

Twelve Days of Cookies: Snickerdoodles

This classic cookie is one of my Mother’s favorites. I have very fond memories of making these cookies as a child. These cookies have a crunchy, sugary taste that pairs well with a cup of coffee or hot cocoa. It flattens a lot while baking so you want to make sure that you space them out far enough. If you use a baker’s half sheet you can fit about a dozen cookies per sheet.You want to make sure that you coat these generously with the cinnamon sugar mixture. This mixture provides much of the flavor for the cookie so don’t skimp!

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Snickerdoodles:2 ¾ Cup Flour½ Teaspoon Salt2 Teaspoons Baking Powder1 ½ Cup Sugar2 Eggs1 Teaspoon VanillaCoating:1/3 Cup Sugar2 Teaspoons CinnamonPreheat oven to 400. Cream together the butter and sugar until smoothAdd the eggs and vanilla.Slowly add the dry ingredients and beat until the dough is smooth.Wrap and refrigerate until the dough is firm (one or two hours).When the dough is firm enough to handle, roll into 1 inch balls.Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place on a cookie sheet.Gently flatten each ball with the bottom of a glass.Bake 8-10 minutes.(Best if stores in an airtight container at room temperature, and eaten within 10 days.)

Twelve Days of Cookies: Sugar Cookies

These are a great classic sugar cookie.  While you can’t roll these out they have great flavor and are quite chewy. These are a fantastic addition to any Christmas cookie platter and are appropriate throughout the year.  If you wanted to give these an extra special kick they would be great paired with a buttercream frosting.

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Sugar Cookies:1 Cup Butter1 ½ Cup Sugar1 Egg1 Teaspoon Vanilla2 ¾ Cup Flour1 Teaspoon Baking Soda½ Teaspoon Baking PowderPreheat the oven to 375. Beat together the butter and sugar until smooth.Beat in the egg and vanilla.Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.Roll rounded teaspoonful’s of dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Twelve Days of Cookies: Coconut Shortbreads

These cookies were a surprise hit. They were the other new cookie I tried this year, and to be honest I didn’t have high hopes for them. Looking at the ingredient list they looked like they would be pretty bland and nutty. Two things that I don’t enjoy in a cookie!These cookies are surprising flavorful and they don’t taste like coconut. When I first saw the recipe I was especially concerned about that since I don’t really enjoy that flavor. These simply taste like a really nutty sugar cookie. You can use any type of chopped nut that you like, I simply had chopped walnuts on hand. I baked mine for the full 12 minutes suggested. This ended with a great crunchy cookie. If you prefer a softer cookie you may want to bake for less time.I picked up this recipe when we were cleaning up Hubby’s grandparent’s house. The recipe was an old newspaper clipping from the Star Tribune. Unfortunately there is no date or edition number on my small clipping.

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Coconut Shortbread Cookies:1 Cup Shortening½ Cup Sugar½ Cup Brown Sugar1 Egg1 Teaspoon Vanilla2 Cups Flour1 Teaspoon Salt½ Teaspoon Baking Soda¾ Cup Chopped Walnuts½ Cup Shredded CoconutAdditional Sugar for rollingPreheat oven to 350. Cream Shorting and both sugars togetherAdd the egg, vanilla, flour, salt, soda, nuts and coconut.Roll dough into 1 ½ inch balls, and then roll in the granulated sugar.Place on a cookie sheet. Flatten the cookies with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar.Bake 10-12 minutes.

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Source: The Minneapolis Star Tribune

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Twelve Days of Cookies: Peanut Butter Cookies

These are classic Christmas cookies. I have great memories of making these when I was a kid. These have a great peanut butter flavor and are a great crispy cookie. They are very easy to make and are a must for a well-rounded cookie platter.Make sure that you use creamy peanut butter to make these. They spread out quite well and will be lumpy if you use crunchy peanut butter.These cookies would be great to make a cookie butter with if you have leftovers!

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Peanut Butter Cookies1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter1 Cup Butter1 Cup Sugar1 Cup Brown Sugar2 Eggs2 ½ Cups Flour1 Teaspoon Baking Powder1 ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda½ Teaspoon Salt Preheat the oven to 375.Beat together the first four ingredients until they are creamy.Beat in the eggs.Stir in the dry ingredients.Refrigerate for at least one hour.Roll into one inch balls and place on a lined baking sheet.Flatten each ball with a fork with a criss-cross on top.Bake for 10 minutes.

Twelve Days of Cookies: Scotcheroos

This recipe I received from an elderly lady at Church when I was in High School. It is the absolute best Scotcheroo Recipe I have found to date. This recipe has a fantastic blend of peanut butter, chocolate and butterscotch. These are best within the first week after you make them, although in our house they never last more than a few days!

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Scotcheroos1 Cup Corn Syrup1 Cup Sugar1 Cup Peanut Butter6 Cups Rice Krispies6oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips6oz Butterscotch Chips Bring the corn syrup and the sugar to a boil.When the sugar has dissolved mix in the peanut butter until smooth.Pour over the rice krispies in a large bowl. Mix.Press into a greased 13x9 pan.In a double boiler melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips. Spread over the top of the rice krispies.Chill until firm.

Twelve Days of Cookies: Spicy Pretzels

This is one of Hubby’s favorite treats! He loves it so much I had to ask his Mother to give me the recipe. She makes it for special occasions and I figured it would be a unique addition to my Christmas cookie platters. This recipe tends to be on the spicy side so beware! You may need to adjust the seasoning amounts to suit your families' tastes.

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Spicy Pretzels½ Pound Pretzels¼ Cup Vegetable Oil1 (1oz) Packet of Ranch Dressing Mix1 Teaspoon Garlic Salt1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper Put the pretzels in a 13x9 pan.Mix together the oil, dressing, garlic salt and pepper.Pour over the pretzels and toss thoroughly.Bake at 200 for 1.5-2 hours stirring every 30 minutes.

Twelve Days of Cookies: Chocolate Fudge

This fudge recipe was one of the first recipes that I tried adapting. I wasn’t content with the flavor of the fudge recipe I had found so I decided to attempt to make it more what I liked. This recipe always turns out beautifully! It has a delicious complex chocolaty flavor that comes from using both milk and semi-sweet chips.

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Chocolate Fudge7oz Milk Chocolate Chips11oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips14oz Can Sweetened Condensed Milk1tsp Vanilla ExtractLine a pan with foil and butter. I used a silicone baking pan and this made for far easier removal than plain foil.In a double boiler heat the milk and chocolate chips.As soon as the chocolate is melted remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Pour into a pan and refrigerate until firm. Cut into bite sized pieces before serving.

Twelve Days of Cookies: Brown Butter Madeleines

Christmas cookie baking is my favorite baking of the year. It is the only time you can bake so many different flavors and types of cookies. I have been collecting my Christmas cookie recipes since 2008. Each year I make notes on what worked and didn’t work for the next year. Because I keep making these year after year I have adapted these recipes to suit our tastes.Every year I try to include one or two new cookie recipes. This year while looking through my December issue of The Food Network Magazine I found this unique recipe. I have at a Madeleine pan for several years but I’ve never found a recipe that I wanted to try. This recipe seemed like just the thing to christen my pan with!

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Brown Butter Madeleines1 ½ Sticks Butter (12 Tablespoons)1 Cup Flour2/3 Cup Sugar1 Teaspoon Lemon Zest½ Teaspoon ground NutmegPinch of Salt2 EggsPowdered Sugar for dustingPreheat the oven to 350 and grease the Madeleine pan.Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Swirl the skillet occasionally until brown flecks appear and the butter takes on a nutty smell. This will take 3-5 minutes. Set aside to cool.Combine the flour, sugar, lemon zest, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs to moisten. They will not fully blend with the flour.Whisk in the cooled butter, continue whisking until the batter is smooth and shiny.Place 1 Tablespoon of batter into each of the cups of the prepared pan.Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.Immediately remove the cookies from the pan and set on a wire rack to cool. Wash under cold water to remove the oil and repeat with the rest of the batter.

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Source: Food Network Magazine: December 2014