Christmas Cookies

We have so many people to give those little gifts this year for the holidays--the ladies at the gym who watch my son while I work out, new friends with whom I'm not exchanging gifts per se, but want to give something... So here's what I plan to make. Reviews to follow at a later time!

Hershey Kiss Cookies

This recipe is from reader Dana Jago of Loudon, Tennessee, who writes: "My mom made these cookies at Christmas when I was a child. They were always my favorite!" Ingredients:

2 2/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Additional sugar
5 dozen kisses, unwrapped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking soda. Add butter and peanut butter and mix until smooth. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.

Make balls out of level tablespoons of dough - add flour if needed. Roll in sugar.

Bake 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet for 8 minutes.

Remove from oven and add 1 kiss to the center of each cookie. Return to the oven and bake for 2 more minutes.

Cool and enjoy.

Holiday Peppermint Bark

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (12 ounce) package NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Premier White Morsels
• 24 hard peppermint candies

DIRECTIONS

1. LINE baking sheet with waxed paper.
2. MICROWAVE morsels in medium, microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70 percent) power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth.
3. PLACE peppermint candies in heavy-duty plastic bag. Crush candies using rolling pin or other heavy object. While holding strainer over melted morsels, pour crushed candy into strainer. Shake to release all small candy pieces; reserve larger candy pieces. Stir morsel-peppermint mixture.
4. SPREAD mixture to desired thickness on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with reserved candy pieces; press in lightly. Let stand for about 1 hour or until firm. Break into pieces. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

****Member change****

I love this recipe! I actually add a layer of dark chocolate on the bottom. This is my method...melt the semi-sweet or dark chocolate morsels and spread it on the prepared baking sheet and pop it into the freezer. While that is freezing I then melt the white chocolate and the small candy pieces. I then spread it over the dark chocolate and put it back into the freezer. Break into pieces and store in container or serve.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These are really delicious - and I don't even like raisins! Don't overcook them and they will be nice and chewy. If you prefer you can omit the nuts and increase the raisins to 2 cups instead. Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons liquid honey
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Mix flour, baking soda, salt and oatmeal together.

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and beat well. Stir in honey and vanilla.

Add flour mixture and mix. Stir in raisins and nuts.

Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 300 degrees F. for 18 to 22 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet to cool.

Raspberry (Peach) Kisses
Cookies 1,001 Mouthwatering Recipes From Around the World

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2-3 tablespoons raspberry preserves I used peach preserves
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, to dust I didn't bother with this

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter two cookie sheets. (I lined them with parchment and sprayed them very lightly with spray oil.) Sift the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder into a medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until creamy. Add the eggs, beating just until blended. Mix in the dry ingredients. Drop teaspoons of the dough 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. (I used my smallest scoop which was too big.) Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown, rotating the sheets halfway through for even baking. Transfer to a rack to cool. Stick the cookies together in pairs with the preserves. Dust with confectioner’s sugar just before serving.

Makes 15 cookies. (I made one dozen 'sandwiches' and there was one orphan.)

SUGAR COOKIES

1/2 lb. butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vailla
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 heaping tsp baking powder

Creme together the butter and sugar. Spread mixture all around to edges of bowl, making a hole in the middle of the bowl. Put all 4 eggs into the hole and beat them with a fork. Add the vanilla to eggs and beat together again. Mix the sugar and eggs together.

Mix the flour, salt, and powder together separately, then slowly add to the egg/sugar mixture, while mixing gradually after each addition.

Roll out the dough with flour on the counter. Roll out just a little bit at a time and not too thin or to thick, about 1/8 inch think. Cut with cookie cutters and place the cookies on wax paper until you have cut all the cookies cut out of the dough.
Once all your cookies are cut start to transfer the first cookies you cut to baking sheets so that the ones you cut last cook last and the ones you cut first cook first, etc.

Bake 350 degrees about 8 min or so, depending on how thick they are.
Do not let the cookies brown, as soon as they are just barely golden around the edges they are done.

Let cool on cookie sheets and then frost with various colored frostings, spinkles, and fun things!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Meg Cookies

1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (10 oz) pkg. peanut butter chips
1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 for glass dish). In 13 x 9 pan, melt butter in the oven. Sprinkle cookie crumbs evenly over butter, pat down to form crust. Pour condensed milk over crust. Top with chips - press chips down into the condensed milk.

Bake 25-30 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool, then cut into small bars.

(I used to be able to buy Oreo cookie crumbs in the store, but now I have a hard time finding them. I buy whatever chocolate cookie is on sale, and crush them up myself, either by hand or in the food processor).

Luscious Lemon Squares Recipe courtesy Sara Brook, Dessert Gallery Bakery & Cafe, Houston Show: Food Network Specials Episode: Rachael Ray's Ballpark Cafe

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into small cubes

Filling:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust: In a food processor, blend ingredients until they resemble coarse meal. Press mixture into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch pan. Bake until set and golden, about 20 minutes. Cool.

For the filling: In a bowl, beat eggs, sugar and lemon juice together. Add flour and baking powder, blending only long enough to incorporate. Pour filling into baked crust and bake until set, about 25 minutes.

Cool. Dust with powdered sugar before cutting. Cut into squares.