Almond Butter Bars

This recipe is a family tradition.  My mother-in-law gave us the recipe and we have made it every Christmas! It wouldn't feel like Christmas without these.  I've adapted the recipe a little and have figured out the easiest way to make them.  So here it is if you ever want to try them:
Cookie Mix 
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 Tbs salt
2 tsp. baking powder
6 cups flour
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl (I use my Bosch mixer) until it is fine crumbs.  Store in a covered dish or ziplock bag in the refrigerator up to 4 weeks.  Makes 8 cups. (2 batches of almond butter bars- I make one for Christmas and another on New Year's Eve)

Almond Butter Bars
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tsp. almond flavoring
2/3 cup butter + 2 TBS  butter, softened
12 oz (1 1/2 pkg.) cream cheese, softened
4 cups cookie mix
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs (separated)
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  In a small bowl, combine sugar, almond flavoring and food coloring (red or green) for the filling.  Set aside.
In a large bowl (I use my Bosch mixer) combine 2/3 cup butter, cream cheese and egg yolks.  Blend until smooth.  Stir in cookie mix and 2/3 cup sugar.  Knead on a floured surface about 25 times until pliable like pie dough.  Divide in half.  Using packing tape, tape a sheet of parchment paper slightly larger than your cookie sheet onto the counter, then roll out 1/2 of the dough about 1/2" thick into a rectangle the size of the cookie sheet.  Pick of parchment paper and flip dough onto the foil on the cookie sheet.  Spread butter over the top of the dough, then spread the colored sugar mix on top, leaving 1/4" edge.  Place remaining dough on the parchment paper and roll out to the same size.  Spread with butter, then flip onto the top of the sugar, making a sandwich.  Pinch edges of dough to seal.  Brush the top with egg whites (I like to beat them first) and sprinkle with sliced almonds, pushing them into the dough slightly.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are golden brown.  cool completely, then transfer cookie to a cutting board by lifting the foil off the pan. cut into 3" long strips (I use a pizza cutter) and enjoy.

Gingerbread Men

 A has been begging me to make Gingerbread Men with him, so last Friday we went to work.  He had a blast cutting them out and putting on the eyes and buttons.  He really liked his one-legged boy!  After getting them all ready, he tasted one and didn't like it.  After all that work!  He sure is a cutie though.  He loves using face paint and asks me every afternoon to paint his face- hence the Tiger make up in the picture. 

Gingerbread Men Recipe:

4 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 TBS ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup molasses

Cookie Frosting:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 to2 TBS milk        food coloring (optional)

In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger.  In a separate bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the molasses.  Gradually add the dry ingredients, blending until the flour is thoroughly mixed in.  Divide the dough in half, flatten each half into a round, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.  Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a baking sheet (or line with parchment paper). On a floured surface, roll our one half of the dough to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut out gingerbread people with a cookie cutter.  Use a spatula to transfer them to the baking sheet. 
Bake for 10 minutes.  Cool.  Make frosting by mixing all the ingredients together and adding more milk if needed to thin.  Place frosting in a sealable plastic bag and cut the tip off the corner. Then decorate by piping the frosting around the cookie and adding M&M candies for the mouth and buttons.

Teacher's Christmas Gifts

 I put together some Christmas gifts for my children's teachers this year. I took big bottles of hand sanitizer, took off the front label, then printed the Hands poem onto transparency, rolled it, stuffed it into the bottle and unrolled it using my sharping tool from my knife set and pressed it up against the front of the bottle. Voila!







A useful and personalized gift. I took the idea from a blog that I enjoy: http://www.mymixofsix.blogspot.com/
She had made them on small bottles of sanitizer, you can also put them in soap bottles. I just enlarged them to fit the big bottles so they would last longer. I love giving gifts that are useful as well as creative and thoughtful.

Kiss My Cookies

Tonight I made a double batch of Peanut Butter Blossoms.  I used Hugs as well as Kisses for a festive look.

Hershey Kisses (or Hugs)
1/2 cup shortening (I used half butter, half shortening)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 TBS milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
granulated sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Unwrap Kisses.  Beat shortening and peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended.  Add sugars and beat until fluffy.  Add egg, milk, vanilla; beat well.  Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually beat into butter mixture. 
Shape dough into 1 inch balls (TBS size).  Roll in granulated sugar, place on ungreased cookie sheet. 
Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Immediately press a chocolate into the center of each cookie; cookie will crack around the edges.  Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.  Then cool in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.  Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

So far, I've been choosing cookies that freeze well and I am storing them in the freezer until we are ready to put together our Christmas plates for sharing.

Glazed Pumpkin Cookies

Today I made a double batch of Glazed Pumpkin Cookies.  I chose to make the glaze white, but you can color it with food coloring, or use a bit of Jello powder to make a sprinkled effect in the glaze.   Here is the recipe:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups confectioner's sugar
3 TBS milk
1 TBS melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, egg and 1 tsp vanilla to butter mixture and beat until creamy.  Mix in dry ingredients.  Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls, flatten slightly. 
Bake for 12-15 minutes in the preheated oven.  Cool cookies, then dip into the glaze to coat the tops. 
To make the glaze: combine confectioner's sugar, milk, 1 TBS butter, and 1 tsp vanilla.  Add milk as needed to achieve drizzling consistency.  Makes about 36 cookies.

Cookies!

My first cookies this year are Cream Cheese Snickerdoodles.
Our family doubles this recipe so we have lots of cookies for sharing:

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder (aluminum-free)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 TBS soft butter
1 cup of sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup cream cheese (or sour cream)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp grated lemon zest
colored sugar or edible glitter

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the shortening and butter.  Gradually mix in the sugar.  Beat in the egg until blended, then the cream cheese, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. 
With a wooden spoon, stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture half at a time, until evenly mixed.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. 
Shortly before baking, heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease one or two large cookie sheets (or cover with parchment paper).  Put the decorative sugar into small bowls. 
With lightly floured hands, shape the dough into 1 1/2 inch thick balls.  Roll the balls in the colored sugar and place them on the baking sheets spaced about 3 inches apart.  Bake the cookies on the center oven rack for 15 minutes.  Do not over bake or they will be as hard as rocks.  Let cool.

I hope to make 5 or 6 more types of cookies over the next 2 weeks.  I'll post all the recipes on my blog with a picture of how they turn out.