Cookie Press Cookies

Yet another holiday cookie complements of my Mom.  This time of year is always reminiscent of baking for me, and I have tried to carry the tradition on with my kids.  I always thought that cookie press cookies were so cool!  If you don't have a cookie press, you can roll this dough out and cut it with cutters.

Ingredients

1 lb butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs, beaten (or egg replacer equivalent)
5 cups flour
food coloring (for Christmas I make green wreaths and trees)

Directions

1. Mix ingredients together and use cookie press to form cookies.
2. If you want to embellish with candies, do it now (I used red hots on the wreaths)
3. Bake at 350 degrees F until done (about 10 minutes).

Ring-a-ling

This is another recipe that I got from my Mom.  I was looking through recipes last Christmas and I picked this one to try because it didn't have eggs in it and I had recently found out about J's egg allergy.  Too bad he's also allergic to pecans now!  Oh well. I still really like them!

Ingredients

1 cup flour
dash salt
1/2 cup butter at room temp
3 Tbsp confectioner's sugar
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla
your favorite jam or jelly (I used cherry jam, but I also like raspberry and apricot)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F
2. Sift flour and salt.  Cream butter and sugar.  
3. Combine parts and add pecans and vanilla.
4. Chill several hours.  Roll into balls and press hallow with thumb.  Fill with jam.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Cool then enjoy!

Gingerbread

This recipe is one that I have been eating my whole life.  For as long as I can remember, my Mom has made Gingerbread every Christmas.  She made a ton so that all eleven of her kids could decorate houses.  Sometimes we shared big houses and sometimes she made small houses for each of us.  This gingerbread always just brings back good memories for me.  When I bake it now for my kids, the smell brings me back to my own childhood.  This year I decided to make four houses so that each of my kids could decorate their own house.  We went to the candy shop in the mall to pick out candy (they each got to fill a bag with what they wanted).  They had so much fun decorating!  This recipe makes a TON of gingerbread.  I was able to make four medium sized houses, plus a whole bunch of gingerbread men (and a few gingerbread dinosaurs just because A wanted to).


 
Ingredients

1 lb margarine
2 cups sugar
1 12oz bottle of molasses
1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp dry ginger
other spices that you like (nutmeg, cloves, etc)
10 cups flour

Directions

1. Cream together margarine, sugar and molasses.  Add water and mix well.
2. Sift the salt, baking soda and spices with a little bit of flour, and then add.
3. Add remaining flour or more to make a soft dough that you can kneed.
4. Roll out on ungreased cookie sheet and cut.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F.  I'm not sure exactly how long - when I'm doing cookies I do it a little shorter because I like them soft, but when I do houses I let it get a little more done so that it is more firm.

** The pattern for the houses you can make out of card-stock - simply spray your card-stock with cooking spray so that it doesn't stick to the dough - then cut around them with a knife.

Frosting

2 egg whites (or egg replacer equiviant - this works well with the egg replacer)
1 lb of powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tarter

Beat until peak holds shape


** This frosting is good for putting the houses together, since it will dry very firm.  I put the houses together earlier in the day so that they are set when it comes time to decorate.  I actually use cake frosting to put the candy on, simply because it is easier for the kids to use.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Crunch Bars

So, I haven't posted in a long time, not because I haven't been baking, but because I've been baking so much that I haven't had time to post stuff!  So today I'm posting a whole bunch of holiday baking.

This recipe is one that my friend Katie gave me.  She's a Pampered Chef consultant, and I'm pretty sure she got it from there.  This is like rice crispy treats gone wild.  They are so delicious!  If you ever want to wow someone with a fancy rice crispy, this is definitely the way to go.


Ingredients

1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts
3 cups mini pretzels (about 1 2/3 cups crushed), divided
3 cups crispy rice cereal
3/4 cup butter, divided
1 bag mini marshmallows (10.5 oz bag)
1/2 cup light corn syrup, divided
1 bag peanut butter morsels (10 oz bag)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Grease a 9 x 13 pan with butter and set aside.  
2. Coarsely chop the peanuts; set aside.  Place pretzels into a large resealable plastic bag; coarsely crush with the flat side of a meat tenderizer.  Set aside 1/3 cup of the pretzels.  Place remaining pretzels and cereal in a large mixing bowl.
3. Place 6 Tbsp of the butter in a microwavable bowl and microwave until melted.  Add marshmallows; microwave again for 60-90 seconds.  Stir until marshmallows are completely melted.  Immediately add marshmallow mixture to pretzel/cereal bowl and mix thoroughly.  Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan, and firmly press down.
4. Combine 2 Tbsp of the butter and half the corn syrup in microwavable bowl, and microwave until butter is melted.  Stir in the peanut butter morsels and mix until melted (this mixture is going to be stiff).  Spread peanut butter mixture over cereal/pretzels.
5. Place remaining butter and corn syrup in another microwavable bowl and microwave until butter is melted.  Stir in chocolate chips and mix until smooth.  Spread chocolate mixture evenly over the peanut butter mixture.
6. Sprinkle with peanuts and reserved pretzels.  Allow to harden (you can place in freezer for 5-10 minutes for faster set time).  Cut into pieces and eat!