Days Four and Five

Ok, so I've  been busy but I swear I will probably,
.
.
.
maybe
.
.
.
get all the cookies made by

...Christmas...

Anyway! My sister introduced me to these wonderful sugar cookies,

almost exactly like Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

so here are those...

Faux Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

6 cups flour, divided

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter, at room temp.

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups sour cream

1. In medium bowl whisk 5 cups of the flour, the baking soda, and the baking powder together and then set the bowl aside

2. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time

3. Add the vanilla and sour cream and stir until combined

4. Add the dry ingredients and stir until combined. The dough needs to be the right consistency for rolling, so add additional flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until this is achieved (up to 1 cup more flour). Divide the dough into two sections

5. Flatten the dough into rectangles about 1 1/2 inches thick, then wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator overnight

(Note: When I made these I only had two eggs so I substituted the last egg for 2 tablespoons mayo. I also split up the dough into smaller portions and refrigerated it for a few hours. They still turned out great.)

Preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 7-8 minutes, until pale golden. Immediately transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool

The next cookie my be considered cheating but...

I bought some chilled cookie dough from the store.

They are really easy. all you have to do is bake them.

They are super good for a quick, sweet treat.

Note: Mine turn out best if I put a piece of tin foil on the sheet first.

Make sure the dull side of the foil is facing up, if not then the cookies burn

(mine did at least)

Day Three

Even I was wondering when I'd make these

Without a doubt Gingerbread Cookies are my favorite.

This year I made them from the Betty Crocker cookie mix,

they turned out great but...

...nothing beats homemade

Gingerbread Men



Homemade version

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Cream shortening and sugar. Sift flour with salt, soda and spices. Blend flour mixture into creamed mixture alternately with molasses and water. Chill at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
3. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut with large 6-8 inch gingerbread men cookie cutters. Lift onto lightly greased cookie sheet with broad spatula.
4. Bake above oven center for about 12 minutes or until cookies spring back lightly in center. Do not overcook, they won't stay soft. Remove from sheets. Cool on wire racks. Makes 10 men 6-8 inches tall.

OR...

...you can use a Betty Crocker cookie mix.

This is faster and much easier.

Note: I noticed my cookie mix dough looked a bit dry so I added an extra table spoon of water.

Then I just worked it to a good texture on a floured surface.

Day Two

Here is day two of my 12 Days of Cookies marathon

So here we have Peanut Butter Blossoms!

I made these for the first time only a few weeks ago.

.

(Sometime in my childhood I had the unfortunate luck of eating one that tasted like soap)

.

so I'd never wanted to eat another one after that.

Then one day I had half a bag of Hershey's Kisses to get rid of

so I decided to give it a try

...and they were amazing!

The warm, heavenly goodness of melty chocolate wrapped in gooey peanut butter! 

If you are feeling the holiday blues

make a batch of these cookies,

maybe pair it with hot cocoa and a movie,

and you'll be golden

.

.

.

.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Ingredients

• 48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Granulated sugar

Directions

1. 1 Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.
2. 2 Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
3. 3 Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. 4 Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each
   cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.
   About 4 dozen cookies.

The Twelve Days of Cookies?

Day One:

'Tis the season once again. I'm no Grinch but I know plenty.

So, here is a super simply very tasty recipe to help you feel the holiday cheer

...and they looks festive too!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

1

pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix

1/2

cup butter or margarine, softened

1/4

to 1/2 teaspoon mint extract

6

to 8 drops green food color

1

egg

1

cup creme de menthe baking chips

1

cup semisweet chocolate chunks

Directions:

   Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, extract, food color and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in creme de menthe baking chips and chocolate chunks.

2 Using small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

3 Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Serve warm or cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

Note: I used some random chocolate chips I found in my kitchen and chopped up mint Hershey's Kisses. Everyone thought they turned out great!