Oh, how I wish all my friends lived close by and we could have a cookie swap this month! Doesn't that sound like so much fun??? I really want to have one, but I think I should have planned ahead a little more... Oh well. This season always creeps up on me, and then I'm already out of time!So here's my idea: Let's have an virtual cookie swap! I'm going to post a bunch of my favorite cookie or Christmas treat plate recipes below. Then this is what I want YOU to do: click here to post your favorite cookie/treat recipe, and as I get them I will add it to my page (credited to you, of course). That way, everyone can see each other's recipes and get some new ideas for their own plates this year. Or, even if you don't give out plates--who doesn't want a bunch of yummy treat recipes? Hello??? It's Christmas!
We'll see how this works--hope to hear from you soon :o)
9 comments:
Butterscotch Bars
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
¾ cup butter or margarine
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (about 32 crackers)
1 6-oz pkg butterscotch chips
2 Tbsp smooth peanut butter
Combine eggs, sugar, and butter in saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 2 min, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool. Add marshmallows, nuts, and graham cracker crumbs. Pat mixture into 9x13 pan. In saucepan, melt butterscotch pieces over very low heat; stir in peanut butter, mix well. Spread over crumb mixture in pan. When set, cut into 1x1” pieces.
Caramels
½ lb butter
2 cups light corn syrup
2 cups sugar
2 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk
½ cup flour (mixed with about ½ cup of the condensed milk)
2 tsp vanilla
Measure and set out all ingredients before you start. Have a spatula and a long handled wooden spoon or scraper handy.
Melt butter in large, heavy saucepan/pot (non-stick works best). Add corn syrup and sugar. Bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring constantly, and boil for 5 minutes. Take pan off burner (don’t turn it off) and stir in 1 ½ cups of the milk, then add the flour/milk mixture. Stir well and return pan to burner. Boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture darkens and reaches a medium hard ball (240). Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Turn into buttered 9x13 glass pan. Cool. Cut into bite-sized pieces with buttered knife. Wrap in small pieces of wax paper.
There's two for you, Karen! These were the only two Christmas treats I already had typed on my computer....if you want more, I'll supply them after my cruise! :)
Pfeffernuesse
While "pfeffer" generally means "pepper" in German today, in the old days the term "pfeffer" was used to refer to spices.
¾ cup light molasses
½ cup butter
2 beaten eggs
4¼ cup flour
2 cups sugar
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
In saucepan, combine molasses and butter. Cook and stir over medium low heat until butter melts. Cool to room temperature. Stir in eggs.
Sift together: flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Add to molasses mixture, mix well. Probably will not need all the dry mixture, be careful of how dry dough becomes. You don’t want it to crumble, the dough should form into a soft somewhat sticky ball. Chill overnight.
Shape dough into 1 inch balls (they will expand in the oven). Bake on greased cookie sheet at 375˚ for 12 minutes (be careful to not over-bake, they are dark so you can’t tell if they are burning, they should be a soft ball shaped cookie). Cool and roll in confectionery sugar, yields 42 dozen.
Karen, I don't have any original ones, but these are two of our favorite...
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Beths-Spicy-Oatmeal-Raisin-Cookies/Detail.aspx
a...
SECRET
Top Secret Recipes® version of Mrs. Fields® Chocolate Chip Cookies
By Todd Wilbur
Be careful not to cook these too long. I know it becomes tempting to keep cooking these because they don’t seem to be done after 10 minutes, but they will continue to cook for awhile after you take them out of the oven, and when
cool, will be nice and chewy.
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 twelve-ounce bags semisweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. With your fingers, place golf ball-sized dough portions 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 9-10 minutes or just until edges are light brown.
Makes two dozen cookies.
Christmas Popcorn:
1 lb. White Chocolate
3 Bags Popped Popcorn
1 Peppermint Candy Cane (crushed)
Melt Chocolate (go by package directions). Stir in the crushed candy cane. Pour over the popped popcorn and stir until evenly coated. Let it dry on a cookie sheet! YUM!
Caramel:
Ingredients:
2 C sugar
1 1/3 C Karo
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 C cream
3/4 C evaporated milk
4 T butter
Directions:
Bring sugar, syrup, 1 C cream, and salt to boiling point, stirring occasionally. Add remaining cream and evaporated milk gradually so candy does not cease to boil. Cook until candy thermometer reaches 240 degrees (soft ball stage). Add butter and continue stirring constantly until mixture forms a hard ball under cold water. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Poor mixture into buttered pan. When cool, cut into squares and wrap in wax paper. Cooling takes several hours or overnight. Place in refrigerator for faster results.
We have the tradition of making Gingerbread Men around Christmas time. Here is the recipe. You add more flour until it is barely sticky and then roll it out and do the cut out shapes! :)
Molasses Cookies
Ingredients:
4 C flour
1/2 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 C shortening or margarine
2 C sugar
2 eggs
1/2 C molasses
Directions:
Cream together margarine, sugar and eggs. Mix together remaining ingredients. Mix everything together. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
here are my new favorite this Christmas season:
Peppermint Chocolate Cookies
1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
mini chocolate chips
a few candy canes, smashed
Cream butters and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa powder, soda, powder, and salt. Don't over mix. Add chocolate chips to your liking. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. When fresh out of the oven, sprinkle with crushed candy canes for a festive look and let cool on pan for a few minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Hugs
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