Friday, December 20, 2013

Holiday Snowball Cookies by Michele N.


Holiday Snowball Cookies

Recipe taken from this website.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Holiday Morsels
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
Powdered sugar
Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

BEAT butter, sugar, vanilla extract and salt in large mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in flour; stir in morsels and nuts. Shape level tablespoons of dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are set and lightly browned. Remove from oven. Sift powdered sugar over hot cookies on baking sheets. Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, if desired. Store in airtight containers.

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles by Lisa H.



I originally found this recipe from this blog, but I changed a few minor things. My notes are in italics...

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles


2½ cups all-purpose Gold Medal flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter, sliced
1¼ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
1 cup caramel squares, cut into ¼’s
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Coarse Sea salt for sprinkling on completed cookies

Instructions

In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cream of tarter, cinnamon, and set aside.

To brown the butter, heat a medium saucepan to medium high heat. Add the sliced butter, whisking frequently. You will notice the butter starting to become frothy on the top and brown specks will start to form along the bottom. You have to watch it closely because the turn happens quickly and you don’t want it to burn. You will start to smell a nutty aroma and once it turns to a brown color, remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.

While the butter is cooling, cut the carmel squares into ¼’s. (I used Werther's Caramels and cut each one in half).

In a stand mixer, combine the brown butter and brown sugar, and ½ cup granulated sugar. (The ¼ cup sugar will be used for rolling in the cookies). Mix until blended and smooth.

Beat in egg, yolk, vanilla and yogurt and mix until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients until combined.

Form the dough into a ball and cover with plastic. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight. Once you are ready to bake preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Measure about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball and place 1-2 caramel squares inside, wrap the cookie dough over the caramel and roll back into a ball. Make sure it is completely covered so that the caramel won’t stick to the pan.

(Instead of refrigerating the dough in a big ball I used a small cookie scoop to shape the cookies, wrapped the caramel inside and made a ball, rolled in the cinnamon and sugar, placed on a cookie sheet and then refrigerated the dough before baking. I think refrigerated cookie dough is hard to work with!)

Mix ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and roll each cookie in the mixture. Place on a cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. (I used course Kosher salt)

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges turn lightly brown. The centers will be soft. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Best served warm with a tall glass of cold milk.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Cranberry Coconut Bars by Jessica L.

Cranberry Coconut Bars


1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
   1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups vanilla or white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup pecan halves

Combine cracker crumbs and butter; press into a greased 9x13 pan.  In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; mix well.  Gently spread over crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-28 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack.  Cut into bars.  

Coffee Cake Cookies by Jennifer H.

Coffee Cake Cookies 

Ingredients: 
Cookie dough: 
1 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg
2 - 1/2 cups flour
1 Tb baking powder
Crumb Topping:
4 Tb. butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
Brown Sugar glaze:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 - 1/2 Tb. water
To make the dough:In a mixer, beat butter with sugar.  Add vanilla and egg and mix well.  Add flour and baking powder and mix until combined.  Dough should be soft but shouldn't stick to your fingers.
Roll cookie dough into 1-1/2 inch balls and place on cookie sheet 3 inches apart.  Flatten cookie dough with the heel of your hand.
To make crumb topping:
With a hand mixer, combine butter, brown sugar and flour until crumbly.
For glaze:
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, water and vanilla and stir until smooth.  Glaze should be easy to drizzle but not runny.  If it's too thick, add a few drops of water until consistency is right.  If it's too runny, add another spoonful of brown sugar.

S'mores Hershey's Kiss Cookies Recipe by Marilynn K.


S'mores Hershey's Kiss Cookies Recipe:(Makes approx. 3 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
20 large marshmallows, cut in half
About 40 chocolate kisses
Directions:Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside. In another bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until creamy and smooth.  Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.  Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto a baking sheet, 1-2" apart.  Bake for 6-8 minutes or until edges are just getting golden brown.  Remove from oven and gently press a half marshmallow, sticky side down, onto each cookie.  Let cool completely.  Once all cookies are cooled down, preheat broiler.  Place cookies back on baking sheets and broil for 1-2 minutes, keeping a close eye on them so they don't burn.  Once marshmallows are golden brown, remove from the broiler and place a chocolate kiss on top of each cookie.

Homemade Oreos by Camie C.

Homemade Oreo Cookies

1 box devils food cake mix
3/4 c shortening
2 eggs
1/8 c flour

Mix together, roll into 1" balls, bake 8-10 mins @ 350.

Filling:

1 8 oz cream cheese (soft)
1 cube butter (soft)
1 t vanilla
3 1/2 c powd sugar
2 t milk

Beat together, spread between 2 cookies. (Filling makes enough for 2 batches of cookies)
Cookie Party 2013! This may have be Marilynn's last for a time... we are so grateful for her graciousness as our host for all of these years.

From left to right: DeAnn S, Camie C, Jennifer H, Sara W, Beckie F, Michele N, Lisa H, Marilynn K, Jessica L, Amy J, and Andrea W.