Gingersnaps

These are one of the few cookies that I make that don't have any chocolate in them.  The spice mix screams 'Christmas' and they always turn out well. 

3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 baking powder
1/2 soda

5 tsp ginger
2 cinnamon
1/4 cloves
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup molassas
orange/lemon zest
2 tsp juice

Oven to 350.

Whisk flour, soda, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl and set aside
 Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs (one at a time), salt and vanilla
Add in molassas, zest, and juice
Work in the dry ingredients
Drop onto baking sheets
Bake about 13 minutes

Nutella Cookies

I've been making these for years and they're always very popular.  Nutella is super messy to work with so be forewarned. 

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
26.5 oz jar nutella
1 tsp vanilla

Oven to 375

Whisk flour and baking soda together in a bowl and set aside
Cream butter and sugars
Add eggs (one at a time), vanilla, and then nutella
Mix in the dry ingredients
Roll in sugar
Drop onto baking sheets
Bake 12 minutes

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

 
I only ever make these at Christmas because they're kind of a lot of work.  Unwrapping kisses is time consuming and each cookie must be rolled in sugar before it goes on the baking sheet.  Still, I couldn't imagine Christmas without them.  On cookie baking day, I'm always relieved when I'm finished making these.  The peanut butter cookie recipe comes from Joy of Cooking.

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

Hershey Kisses

Oven to 375

Whisk flour and baking soda together in a bowl and set aside
Cream butter and sugars
Add eggs (one at a time), vanilla, and peanut butter
Mix in the dry ingredients
Drop onto baking sheets
Roll in sugar
Bake 12 minutes
Top with kiss as soon as they come out of the oven.
*Don't unwrap too many kisses as once because unwrapped kisses are basically useless except for these cookies.

Chocolate Cherry Almond Cookies

2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa
3/4 soda
1/4 salt
1 cup mini choc chips
8 oz dried cherries
6 oz slivered almonts


Oven to 350.

Whisk flour, cocoa and baking soda in a bowl and set aside
 Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs (one at a time), salt and vanilla
Work in the dry ingredients
Mix in the chocolate chips and then the cherries and finally the almonds.
Drop onto baking sheets
Bake about 10 minutes

Paula Deen's Fruitcake Drop Cookies

These are bite sized fruitcakes.  I changed the fruit inside from what Paula suggested to use what I had and I was really pleased with the results.  Don't make these if you don't like fruitcake because they end up being really expensive to make. 

1 1/2 cup sugar
1 stick butter
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups flour
16 oz fancy fruitcake mix
4 oz chopped dried apricots
2 oz golden raisins
2 oz currants
16oz chopped pecans

 Oven to 300

Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs (one at a time), salt, vanilla and cinnamon
Slowly add flour
Add nuts and fruit
Bake 25 minutes

M&M Cookies

 
I made these a couple of times this year with varying degrees of success.  The M&M's don't melt, obviously, and that can cause the cookies to spread unevenly if you aren't careful.  I got the best results when I creamed the sugar and butter together very carefully with the butter being very soft.  Also, be careful when scooping them out on the cookie sheet and make sure that they're even and as round as possible.

2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
1 2.6 bag M&M

Heat oven to 375.

Whisk flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside
 Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs (one at a time), salt and vanilla
Work in the dry ingredients
Stir in M&M's by hand or they will break.
Drop onto baking sheets
Bake about 13 minutes

Paula Deen's Chocolate Cheese Fudge

It's hard to believe that fudge can be made out of Velveeta but evidently it can.  The end results look, smell and taste like fudge.  That and the kitsch value of the star ingredient make this recipe a real winner.

8 oz Velveeta "cheese"
2 sticks butter
1 6 oz bag slivered almonds
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs liquor (I used frangelico)
2 16oz boxes powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Toast the almonds.  Be careful not to burn them.  I put them in a 350 degree oven and keep checking them til they're done.

Combine the sugar and the cocoa.  You should probably sift them together but that just takes forever and makes a bit of a mess so I just whisked them together in the mixing bowl.

Melt the cheese and the butter.  Use a whisk to combine it and get it pretty smooth. Add the vanilla and the liquor.  It'll foam a bit as the alcohol boils out.  

Pour the cheese mixture and stir vigorously until it comes together.  I used an electric mixer.

Pat the fudge into a greased, lined 9" square pan.

Let it cool and set.  Paula has a step where you blot off fat that's risen to the top.  I didn't experience that and think it was a combination of all the whisking I did with the cheese and the butter and the cooler climate in Northern California.  Bon Appetit!

Carrot Cake

This recipe is heavily based on Alton Brown's recipe that you can find here.  I've changed the pan size and make more frosting in my version.  The cake above has been further decorated with pecan praline which was made by me and some seasonal cherries whose colors were made by science.

12 oz grated carrots
12 oz flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup cream
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Oven to 350

Whisk flour, baking powder, soda and spices in a bowl
Sprinkle flour mixture over carrots and stir to combine
Combine sugars, eggs, cream and oil.
Mix with flour and carrots until just combined
Put in greased 13/9 inch pan
Start checking at 40 minutes.  It probably needs an hour.
Frost when cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

This makes more than I need for a cake but  I don't really use cream cheese for anything else so I have to scale it to accommodate using only entire packages.

16 oz cream cheese (2 boxes)
4 oz butter
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups sifted powdered sugar

Combine the cream cheese, butter and vanilla
Slowly add sugar
Spread on cake.

Cookie Bonanza II - The Temple of Snacks

I've baked another round of Christmas Cookies.  Because nothing exceeds like excess.
 

Fruitcake Drop Cookies

This is based on a Paula Deen recipe but I changed the fruits to suit what I had.  I was a little troubled that there's no leavening in it but they turned out like I wanted them to so I it wasn't an error in the original recipe.  The end product is fruitcake bites and will be popular with people who like fruitcake.

1 1/2 cup sugar
1 stick butter
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups flour
16 oz fancy fruitcake mix
4 oz chopped dried apricots
2 oz golden raisins
2 oz currants
16oz chopped pecans

Oven to 300

Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs(one at a time), salt, vanilla and cinnamon.
Slowly add flour and mix well.
Fold in fruit and pecans.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 23 to 25 minutes.


Nutella Cookies

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
26.5 oz jar nutella
1 tsp vanilla

Oven to 375

Whisk flour and baking soda together in a bowl and set aside
Cream butter and sugars
Add eggs (one at a time), vanilla, and then nutella
Mix in the dry ingredients
Roll in sugar
Drop onto baking sheets
Bake 12 minutes

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
recipe from Joy of Cookin'

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

Hershey Kisses

Oven to 375

Whisk flour and baking soda together in a bowl and set aside
Cream butter and sugars
Add eggs (one at a time), vanilla, and peanut butter
Mix in the dry ingredients
Drop onto baking sheets
Roll in sugar
Bake 12 minutes
Top with kiss as soon as they come out of the oven.
*Don't unwrap too many kisses as once because unwrapped kisses are basically useless except for these cookies.


Gingersnaps
recipe from Joy of Cookin'

3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 baking powder
1/2 soda

5 tsp ginger
2 cinnamon
1/4 cloves
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup molassas
orange/lemon zest
2 tsp juice

Oven to 350.

Whisk flour, soda, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl and set aside
 Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs (one at a time), salt and vanilla
Add in molassas, zest, and juice
Work in the dry ingredients
Drop onto baking sheets
Bake about 13 minutes

Chocolate-Cherry-Almond Cookies

2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa
3/4 soda
1/4 salt
1 cup mini choc chips
8 oz dried cherries
6 oz slivered almonts


Oven to 350.

Whisk flour, cocoa and baking soda in a bowl and set aside
 Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs (one at a time), salt and vanilla
Work in the dry ingredients
Mix in the chocolate chips and then the cherries and finally the almonds.
Drop onto baking sheets
Bake about 10 minutes
 
Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip-Walnut-Raisin-Currant Cookies

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 sticks butter (1 cup)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups oats
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup currants
1/2 bag butterscotch chips
3/4 - 1 cup walnuts

Oven to 350

Whisk in a bowl flour, soda and baking powder
Cream together butter and sugar
Add salt, eggs(one at a time) and vanilla
Slowly add oats, raising, currants, butterscotch chips and walnuts
Place in golf ball sized amounts on a lined cookie sheet and bake 12-14 minutes.

Christmas Cookie Bonanza

Behold the output of my first run of Christmas cookies.  I adopted a very assembly line process for these and managed to make a surprising amount of cookies without completely destroying the kitchen.  Which completely floored Mr. Poe who had been expecting to arrive home to a horrifying dystopian kitchen.

Here's all of it laid out on the dining room table:

Here are some hints to avoiding bakocolypse:

1) Clean as you go
2) Use a scoop to scoop batter out.  It allows you to keep at least one hand clean the entire time and that really has an impact on the amount of mess you make.  Also, you end up with uniform cookies that are all done at the same time.
3) Schedule your time.  If you're planning on cooking all day, start out with something easy and then move on to cookies that get rolled in sugar because those are the most work.  When you start getting worn out, put cakes in the oven.
4) I use the double shelled cookie trays with silpat mats.  They're easier to deal with and produce superior output.
I'll cover the cakes and the candy in another entry.  Here are the recipes for all of the cookies that are pictured above.  Most of the cookie recipes are just variation on the Toll House recipes and none of these are hard to make.  Keep an eye on baking times.  I'm using the timing for my oven and my oven is terrible.  Keep an eye on yours and don't over bake.  I've tried to note where I got the recipes.


Toll House Cookie
recipe from the chocolate chip bag

2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
12 oz package choc chips

Heat oven to 375.

Whisk flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside
 Cream butter and sugarsAdd eggs (one at a time), salt and vanilla
Work in the dry ingredients
Add chocolate chips
Drop onto baking sheets
Bake about 11 minutes


Chocolate Mint M&M Cookies

2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa
3/4 soda
1/4 salt
9.9 oz bag of mint M&M's

Heat oven to 350.

Whisk flour, cocoa and baking soda in a bowl and set aside
 Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs (one at a time), salt and vanilla
Work in the dry ingredients
Mix in the M&M's by hand or they will get broken.
Drop onto baking sheets
Bake about 10 minutes


Gingersnaps
recipe from Joy of Cookin'

3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 baking powder
1/2 soda

5 tsp ginger
2 cinnamon
1/4 cloves
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup molassas
orange/lemon zest
2 tsp juice

Heat oven to 350. 

Whisk flour, soda, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl and set aside
 Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs (one at a time), salt and vanilla
Add in molassas, zest, and juice
Work in the dry ingredients
Drop onto baking sheets
Bake about 13 minutes


Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
recipe from Joy of Cookin'

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

Hershey Kisses

Heat oven to 375

Whisk flour and baking soda together in a bowl and set aside
Cream butter and sugars
Add eggs (one at a time), vanilla, and peanut butter
Mix in the dry ingredients
Drop onto baking sheets
Bake 12 minutes
Top with kiss as soon as they come out of the oven.


Walnut Cookies

2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cup brown sugar1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
1 cup choc chips
1 10 oz bag finely diced walnuts

Heat oven to 375.

Whisk flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside
 Cream butter and sugars
Add eggs (one at a time), salt and vanilla
Work in the dry ingredients
Add nuts and chocolate.
Drop onto baking sheets
Bake about 12 minutes


M&M Cookies

I wasn't crazy about the way these turned out.  I thought they spread too much.  I'm gonna look for a better recipe.

2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
1 2.6 bag M&M

Heat oven to 375.

Whisk flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside
 Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs (one at a time), salt and vanilla
Work in the dry ingredients
Stir in M&M's by hand or they will break.
Drop onto baking sheets
Bake about 12 minutes



Nut Bars
recipe from old Joy of Cookin'

For the base:

1 stick butter
1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
 pinch salt

1 1/4 cup cups flour

For the topping:

4 egg whites
stir in
8 oz bag walnuts
1 cup brown sugar
1 /2 tsp cinammon

Heat oven to 350

Cream  butter with 1/4 cup brown sugar.
Mix in egg, salt, vanilla
Mix in flour
Pat into greased 9 X 13 pan
Bake 15 minutes

In heavy saucepan over medium heat, beat egg whites until they start to froth
Stir in nuts, sugar, cinammon.
Continue stirring until mixture dries out a little and starts to leave the side of the pan.
Spoon mixture over the base above
Bake 15 minutes longer.
Cool and cut.