Christmas Cookie Exchange recipe thread

[Vanquisher]

Please post your cookie exchange recipes here! Also if you are the recipient of any of these recipes, please tell everyone what you thought of them and which ones were your favorites!

[Vanquisher]

I sent out:

Large Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup rolled oats
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
2 eggs
1 cup semi-sweet, chocolate chips
1 cup mint chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
Directions:
Grind oats in a food processor or blender until fine. Combine the ground oats with the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl.

Cream together the butter, sugars, vanilla, and lemon juice in another medium bowl with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and mix until smooth. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture and blend well. Add the chocolate chips and nuts to the dough and mix by hand until ingredients are well blended.

For the best results, chill the dough overnight in the refrigerator before baking the cookies.

Spoon rounded 1/4 cup portions onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Place the scoops about 2 inches apart. Bake in a 350°F oven for 16-18 minutes or until cookies are light brown and soft in the middle. Store in a sealed container when cool to keep soft.


Ranch cookies

1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt.
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups rice krispies
1 cup coconut

Cream together shortening and sugars. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Add and mix in dry ingredients. Stir in oatmeal, rice krispies, and coconut. Bake at 350 degress for 8-10 muntes.


Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses

Cream together, then add

1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 cup flour.

Roll into balls. Then roll in sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.


I hope my recipients enjoyed these and they arrived okay!

[DCJenn]

Mine are going to be New Year's Cookies- timed to arrive BEFORE the pledges to stop eating cookies.

Jenn

Gingerbread Snowflakes, 12/2005 Martha Stewart holiday cookie mag, p 52
Chocolate pretzels, 12/2005 Martha Stewart holiday cookie mag, p 53

I can't remember everything I made but here are a few others. I think I also sent the double ginger chews, cranberry struesel bars, and a vanilla bean poundcake. Those I would have to type out but if someone wants them I will.

Cream Cheese Dough
Fine Cooking #75, p 60
http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/reci ... miers.aspx
17 ounces (3-3/4 cups) bleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/8 teaspoon table salt
12 ounces (1-1/2 cups) cold unsalted butter
12 ounces cold cream cheese


Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix briefly to distribute the ingredients. Cut each stick of butter into eight pieces and add them to the bowl. Mix on low speed until most of the mixture resembles very coarse bread crumbs with a few larger pieces of butter the size of hazelnuts, about 3 minutes. Cut the cream cheese into 1-inch cubes and add them to the bowl. Mix on medium-low speed until a shaggy-looking dough begins to clump around the paddle, 30 to 60 seconds. Dump the dough onto the work surface, scraping the bowl. Knead a few times to incorporate any loose pieces. There should be large streaks of cream cheese. Shape it into a fat cylinder, 6 inches long and about 3-1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the dough in parchment or waxed paper and refrigerate until cold and slightly firm but not rock-hard, about 2 hours. Portion the dough by -measuring the cylinder and cutting it into equal thirds. If you have a scale, weigh each third; each should weigh about 14 ounces.


Use that dough for:

Rugelach
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup dried currants
1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar; more for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
One-third of a batch (about 14 ounces) chilled Cream Cheese Dough


Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.

In a small bowl, mix the walnuts, currants, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, stand it up on its rounded edge, and cut it in half (as if halving a bagel) into two equal rounds. Return one half to the refrigerator and, if necessary, let the other half sit at room temperature until pliable enough to roll. Roll on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch round a scant 1/8 inch thick; check frequently to be sure it's not sticking and reflour only if necessary. Sprinkle half of the filling over the dough. Roll a rolling pin over the filling to press it gently into the dough.


And Cardomom Palmiers
One-third of a batch (about 14 ounces) chilled Cream Cheese Dough
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Pinch of table salt


how to make
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and square off the dough by pressing the round edge on the counter four times. If necessary, let the dough sit at room temperature until pliable enough to roll. Mix the sugar with the cardamom. Transfer 1 tablespoon of the sugar mixture to a small cup and mix in the salt. Set aside.

Sprinkle the work surface liberally with some of the remaining cardamom sugar. Set the dough on the sugared surface and sprinkle it with more of the sugar. Turn the dough frequently and resugar it and the work surface liberally as you roll the dough into a 24x8-inch rectangle that's less than 1/8 inch thick. Use the sugar generously to prevent sticking and to ensure that the cookies will caramelize properly in the oven. Trim the edges of the rectangle evenly.

Mark the center of the dough with a small indentation. Starting at one short edge, fold about 2-1/2 inches of dough almost one-third of the distance to the center mark. Without stretching or pulling, loosely fold the dough over two more times, leaving a scant 1/4-inch space at the center mark. Likewise, fold the other end of the dough toward the center three times, leaving a tiny space at the center. The dough should now resemble a long, narrow open book. Fold one side of the dough over the other side, as if closing the book. You should have an eight-layer strip of dough about 2-1/2 inches wide and 8 inches long.

After folding in both sides of the palmier dough three times, you should have a 1/4-inch gap between the two sides, Then fold one side over the other, as if closing a book. Sprinkle the remaining cardamom sugar under and on top of the dough. Roll gently from one end of the dough to the other to compress the layers and lengthen the strip to about 9 inches. Wrap the dough loosely in waxed paper (not plastic wrap, which might cause moisture to form on the outside of the dough and dissolve the sugar). Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and use a sharp knife to trim the ends evenly. Cut 1/3-inch slices (I mark the dough at 1-inch intervals and cut three slices from each inch) and arrange them 1-1/2 inches apart on two ungreased or foil-lined cookie sheets. Bake until the under-sides are golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back about halfway through baking.

Remove the pans from the oven and turn the cookies over. Sprinkle each one with a pinch or two of the reserved salted sugar mixture. Return the sheets to the oven until the cookies are deep golden brown, another 3 to 5 minutes. Rotate the pans and watch the cookies carefully at this stage to prevent burning. If the cookies brown at different rates, remove the dark ones and let the lighter ones continue to bake. Transfer the cookies to a rack and let cool completely. Store airtight.

[rainbabies]

Jam-Up Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup Butter flavor Crisco
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons alomond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 cups quick oats (not instant or old fashioned)
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 jar (12 ounces) high quality jam, flavor of your choosing
Large sugar crystals for sprinkling

1. Combine Butter Flavor Crisco and sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Beat in eggs and almond extract.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix into creamed mixture at low speed until just blended. Stir in oats and chopped nuts with spoon. Cover and refridgerate for at least 1 hour.

3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheet with Butter flavor Crisco. (i used parchment paper insetead)

4. Roll out 1/2 of the dough at at a time, to about 1/4 inch thickness on floured surface. Cut out with 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter. Place 1 teaspoon of jam in center of the 1/2 of the rounds. Top with remaining rounds. Press edges to seal. Prick center. Sprinkle with sugar. Place 1 inch apart on baking sheet.

5. Bake at 350 for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove to cooling rack.

I use confectioner sugar and milk to make a glaze to drizzle over when they come out of the oven, and completly cooled.

**the 2.5 inch cookie cutter i found to be way to big. i used a shot glass to cut out the shape instead.