I'm a tiny bit embarrassed to admit I made 14 different kinds of cookies to pass out to friends and DH's coworkers this year. I try to make about one kind of cookie for each recipient, so 14 folks getting cookies = 14 different kinds. I try to save as many as possible for myself! Keeping them in the freezer makes them last awhile and I can pace myself, not prone to overindulging, thank goodness. Everything in moderation, right?
Here are a few favorites:
Classic Gingerbread Cookies
Taste of Home
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup molasses
1 egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 to 2 tablespoons water
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar. Beat in molasses and egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, salt, cinnamon and cloves; add to the creamed mixture alternately with water. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to ¼” thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. Place 1 inches apart on silpat-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until edges are firm. Remove to wire racks to cool.
notes: Not bad for a cookie, only 1/2 cup of flour for a large batch. I often bump up the spices, particularly the cinnamon and adding nutmeg and allspice. Be careful in how many times you roll out the dough as this adds flour and can make for a tough cookie. The rule of thumb is to roll out dough no more than twice. I’ve heard of rolling out with powdered sugar, but have not tried this technique. I sprinkle these cookies with colored sugar before baking.
Mocha Truffle Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules (I use less)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour, all-purpose
1/2 cup cocoa (use a really high quality powder,
www.bernardcallebaut.com is a good one)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
Melt butter and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Add instant coffee and blend well. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Add sugars, eggs, and vanilla to coffee mixture. Add dry ingredients, dough will be stiff. Stir in chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Do not overbake.
Chocolate-Chunk Oatmeal Cookies with Pecans and Dried Cherries
You can substitute walnuts or skinned hazelnuts for the pecans, and dried cranberries for the cherries. Quick oats used in place of the old-fashioned oats will yield a cookie with slightly less chewiness. These cookies keep for 4 to 5 days stored in an airtight container or zipper-lock plastic bag, but they will lose their crisp exterior and become uniformly chewy after a day or so. Add extra oatmeal if the cookies are spreading too much. Dark chocolate, cherries, oatmeal and walnuts: these cookies are practically a health food.
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 1/4 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder (use scant measures for high altitude)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (use scant measures for high altitude)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/4 cups rolled oats , old-fashioned, (3 1/2 ounces)
1 cup toasted pecans (4 ounces), chopped
1 cup dried tart cherries (5 ounces), chopped coarse
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar (10 1/2 ounces), preferably dark
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large (18 by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. In second medium bowl, stir together oats, pecans, cherries, and chocolate.
3. In standing mixer fitted with flat beater, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until no sugar lumps remain, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula; add egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low speed until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl; with mixer running at low speed, add flour mixture; mix until just combined, about 30 seconds. With mixer still running on low, gradually add oat/nut mixture; mix until just incorporated. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.
4. Divide dough evenly into 16 portions, each about 1/4 cup, then roll between palms into balls about 2 inches in diameter; stagger 8 balls on each baking sheet, spacing them about 2 1/2 inches apart. Using hands, gently press each dough ball to 1 inch thickness. Bake both baking sheets 12 minutes, rotate them front to back and top to bottom, then continue to bake until cookies are medium brown and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will seem underdone and will appear raw, wet, and shiny in cracks), 8 to 10 minutes longer. Do not overbake.
5. Cool cookies on baking sheets on wire rack 5 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.
Lime Meltaways Recipe By :Martha Stewart
3/4 cup unsalted butter -- (1 1/2 sticks) at room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Grated zest of two limes
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Add lime zest, lime juice, and vanilla extract; beat until fluffy.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.
3. Between two 8-by-12-inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch-diameter logs. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
4. Heat oven to 350°. Line two baking pans with Silpats (French nonstick baking mats). Place remaining sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Remove parchment from logs; slice dough into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on pans, spaced 1 inch apart.
5. Bake cookies until barely golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag, and toss to coat. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.