Christmas Butter Cookies

Hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday!

I made these delicious buttery and so easy butter cookies that uses a cookie press. I have a vintage press, that you can actually buy in several of places these days, such as ebay, or even a flea market. I prefer these vintage ones to any newer ones made today.

But getting back to the cookies, it's only 4 ingredients, butter, sugar, flour and salt. So simple, yet so good.

Perfect for those last minute Christmas cookie for Santa tonight!

Butter Cookies ( for a cookie press)
(Note: I halved this recipe below and it made 4 1/2 dozen cookies)

1 lb. butter, unsalted at room temp.
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups AP flour ( 18 ozs.)
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Preheat oven to 375.
1. Beat butter and sugar til light and fluffy.
2. Beat in the salt and flour, mixing til well blended.
3. Fill the cookie press with as much dough as will fit and press each cookie onto ungreased baking sheets. Decorate with colored sprinkles.
4. Bake for approx. 10 minutes, depending on how hot your oven gets. This baking time may take a little longer or less time. The cookies should be lightly brown along the edges but not too dark.
5. Cool on wire rack, then enjoy!
Merry Christmas!

Potato Chip Cookies

I'm continuing to go through my old recipes and I remember baking these about a year ago..and I forgot how delicious they were!
They're buttery and crunchy and nutty and they'd make a great addition to your Christmas cookie line up!

I used ripple style kettle cooked potato chips so they have a crunchier bite and I prefer them to a regular potato chip for just that reason. And they're harder than a regular chip so they hold up better, once baked, in the cookie.

This cookie is an easy one to make and for the little effort involved, you'll be rewarded with a buttery crunchy sweet and salty cookie.
I don't actually crush the potato chips. Rather, I chop then a little to make sure they don't all wind up in little crushed bits.

Then chop the pecans well but not too finely.

When you add the potato chips into the dough, don't mix it too much. This will keep the chips from breaking too much more.

Scoop the dough and place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Then press each ball of dough with the bottom of a glass or your fingertips.

Potato Chip Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen



1 cup unsalted butter, room temp.

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 2/3 cup AP flour

1/2 tsp. sea salt or table salt ( I cut this down to 1/4 tsp. because my chips were very salty)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 generous cup potato chips, crushed or chopped but not to crumbs!

1/2 cup pecans, chopped between coarse and fine

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

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Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. Beat the butter and sugar well, about 2 minutes.

2. Add in the vanilla and beat til blended.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt and add to the creamed butter mixture, mixing well.

4. Stir in the chips and nuts, being careful not to overmix in the chips so they don't crumble too much.

5. Usingf a small cookie scoop or a teaspoon, scoop dough by teaspoonfuls onto parchment lined sheet.

6. Flatten each with the bottom of a glass or your fingertips, keeping them spaced about 2" apart.

7. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, checking after 10 minutes. (They should be a light golden brown along the edges.)

8. Let them cool a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack and while still slightly warm dust with confectioners' sugar ( or coat completely if you like a sweeter cookie.

Christmas Sugar Cookies

So the countdown begins..the last days before Christmas..the crazy days of shopping, decorating..and, of course, baking!
And what would the Holidays be without the decorated Christmas Sugar Cookies.

Well, I cheat and decorate with colored sprinkles so if you're pressed for time and want to include some of these fun and colorful cookies into your cookie repertoire, then these are for you.

Now I know sugar cookie recipes are everywhere and you're probably thinking, wow, how exciting.. a sugar cookie. But I just want to share this recipe with you. It's out there in cookierecipeland for all the world to find..but so are so many others and if you're wondering which recipe makes the best sugar cookie..well, I've done my usual experiments for you.

I tried Martha Stewart's basic sugar cookie recipe, and it was good, don't misunderstand. Then I tried another one that sounded good called an old fashioned sugar cookie and it was good also..but I wanted great! The sugar cookie is so basic a cookie that the best has to have a flaky texture and a wonderful flavor and, I think, in my humble opinion, that this one has all that.

So, here's the recipe. It's from Land o' Lakes and I believe they call it a butter cookie, or so they should because..they mostly make butter ( little known fact!Ha!) and the recipe has double the butter of Martha's recipe. Which makes for a buttery delicious cookie.

Sugar Cookie ( or Butter Cookie) (adapted from Land O' Lakes)

Makes about 5 dozen, depending on size

1 cup ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 tbsp. orange juice

1 tbsp. vanilla

2 1/2 cups AP flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt ( this is my addition)

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1. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2. Combine butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat on medium speed til creamy.

3. Add the egg and beat til incorporated.

4. Add orange juice and vanilla and beat til well combined.

5. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed til well mixed.

6. Divide dough into thirds and wrap each section in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours or overnight preferred.

7. Preheat your oven to 400.

8. Once the dough has firmed up nicely, roll it out on a lightly floured work surface ( I always roll between 2 pieces of plastic wrap so I use less flour). You will need to sprinkle the dough from time to time with flour to prevent sticking.

9. Cut out your shapes ( rerolling and cutting scraps) and decorate with sprinkles ( if using) and place them on an ungreased baking sheet, spacing at least 1" apart.

10. To assure the shapes don't spread too much, place the baking sheet of cookies into the freezer for approx. 10 minutes. And make sure your oven's up to the correct temperature before putting in the cookies.

11. Bake for 6 to 7 minutes or til just beginning to brown lightly on the edges. The bottom's should be a light golden brown. Let them stay on the baking sheet for about 2 or 3 minutes, then transfer carefully to a wire rack to cool completely.

I would store these cookies in a cookie tin to keep them crisp.

Pfeffernusse

I feel I should really have titled this post, "Pfeffernusse..my version". I know I must have tasted this cookie before but it was so long ago that I can't remember whether it's supposed to be hard..the other name for it is Pepper Nuts, after all! Or should it be more cake-like, or more like the Mexican Wedding Cookies? And don't think I didn't visit as many local bakeries as I could to buy one to sample, only to be asked..pepper..what?!
So, I was left on my own to experiment with various recipes..and experiment I did. I baked three different recipes, one cookie came out flat as a pancake! The others? Well, let's just say I wouldn't make them again and leave it at that. ( And with all the trials and errors I just gave up on step by step photos).
But this recipe came out great. I made a few adjustments, added a few more spices, more black pepper and baked the first batch just to test it.
Then I actually put the dough, covered, in the fridge and left it there a few days..(well kind of forgot about it actually while I moved on to other cookie recipes). So today I realized I had better make the rest of these pfeffernusse to show you. I think the rest in the fridge really may have helped intensify the spice flavor. The cookies did come out more cake-like than hard. The combination of warm spices with just enough sweetness in the cookie as well as the confectioners' sugar coating makes it one good cookie!

I let the dough sit out on the counter for about 30 minutes til it softened slightly, then I formed small balls and put them on the ungreased baking sheet about 1" apart.

After they're baked, let them cool enough to handle, then roll them in confectioners' sugar to coat well.

Pfeffernusse ( adapted from a little here and a little there)


Makes about 3 dozen

2 1/2 cups AP flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

generous 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/4 tsp. ginger

1/8 tsp. cloves

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cardamom

1/2 cup unsalted butter ( 1 stick), room temp.

3/4 cup brown sugar ( I used light brown)

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

Confectioners' sugar for dusting

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1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar and molasses til light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

3. Beat in the egg til well incorporated, scraping bottom and sides of bowl.

4. With mixer on low speed, beat in the flour mixture.

5. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and place in the fridge for several hours (or a few days).

6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350.

7. Let the dough come up to room temp. while the oven's preheating, then form dough into small balls, about 1 1/4" in size.

8. Place on baking sheet, spacing about 1" apart ( they don't spread but they do get a little bigger when baked).

9. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, they should be slightly brown on the bottom.

10. Cool a minute on the sheet, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool a little more, then dust liberally with confectioners' sugar.

Store cookies in a cookie tin.

Chocolate Spice Cookies..Mostaccioli

I seem to have a thing for chocolate and wine combinations in cookies! I made these not too long ago, and they were great.
But when I saw recipes for this unusual Italian cookie, Mostaccioli, I have to admit, I was intrigued. Apparently this cookie has many variations, I assume, depending on which region of Italy the recipe is from. After checking out the many variety of recipes, I decided on this one because it's adapted from Nick Malgieri's book, "Great Italian Desserts"..and I love his recipes.
The ingredient list alone is complex and unusual. Honey is basically the main sweetener with molasses, spices and, lastly, wine added in to make this chewy, spicy and definitely addictive cookie delicious. And there's no butter or egg used in the recipe, a welcome change for me, at least!
The last step, brushing on a glaze, adds a little sweetness to the cookie and helps keep the cookie chewy.
It's definitely an adult cookie. The wine flavor really comes through. I used a Merlot, since the recipe didn't specify which variety of red wine to use. I urge you to give these a try. They get better with age...like the wine added! Just keep them in an air tight cookie tin. You'll have 'em guessing.. what's in these?
First, sift the cocoa powder into the mixing bowl.

Then to this add the flour, sugar, ground almonds, spices and baking soda.

Once all those ingredients are in the mixing bowl, mix them for a little bit just to combine.

Then add the honey...

Molasses and wine...

And mix all this til smooth to make a sticky dough. Use a rubber spatula to be sure to get it all mixed through, sides and bottom.

Scoop this into a small bowl, cover and refridgerate for 30 minutes. ( I kept mine in for about 2 hours and it was fine.)

Once it's chilled, preheat your oven to 325.

Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface and pat into a rectangle about 1/4" thick. ( Mine were between 1/4" and 1/2" thick).

Flour the dough lightly and roll over it once or twice with a rolling pin to even it out.

Then using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut into 2" squares. Wipe off any excess flour from the top with a pastry brush.

Then transfer the squares to a parchment lined baking sheet.

Space them about 2" apart.

Once they're baked, let them sit for a minute, then lift the parchment with the cookies on it and place on a wire rack.

While the cookies are still warm, stir together the confectioners' sugar and water in a small bowl til it's smooth, then brush on the glaze to the warm cookies. Brush again a second coat after a minute or two.

Chocolate Spice Cookies ( adapted from here from Nick Malgieri's book "Great Italian Desserts")

1/2 cup natural( not Dutch process) cocoa powder

2/3 cup AP flour

1/4 granulated sugar

1/2 cup finely ground almonds

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup dry red wine ( or water)

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup water

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1. Into a mixing bowl, sift cocoa powder.

2. Add flour, sugar, almonds, cinnamon, cloves and baking soda. Mix lightly to combine.

3. Add honey, molasses and wine. Mix til a smooth sticky dough forms.

4. Allow to stand 1 minute to absorb the liquid, then cover and refridgerate for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface. Pat into a rectangle approx. 1/4" thick ( Mine were between 1/4" and 1/2" thick). Flour the dough lightly and roll over it once or twice with a rolling pin to even it out.

7. Cut the dough using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, into 2" squares. With a dry pastry brush, wipe off any excess flour.

8. Transfer the squares to the baking sheet spacing about 2" apart. Bake for 15 minutes.

9. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookies sit for a minute. Then lift the parchment with the cookies on it, and place on a wire rack.

10. While the cookies are still warm, make the glaze by stirring the confectioners' sugar and water together til smooth, then brush the glaze onto each cookie top. After a minute or two, brush on another coat of glaze. Allow the cookies to cool completely, they will remain chewy on the inside.

Note: These cookies stay best in an airtight cookie tin.
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Linzer Cookies

Making cookies this time of the year can be stressful. So many different cookie types of make and coordinating your baking so you don't make the cookies too far ahead of when you're going to be giving them.
This is why I love cookies like these Linzer Cookies. They are so pretty and you can cut them out in any shapes you like, cut a decorative hole ( or two) out of the center, fill, sprinkle with powdered sugar and you're finished!
Now I know I've made that whole process seem like it takes no time at all..but with planning, you can prepare the dough ahead of time and just cut them out when you're ready.

Linzer cookies can be made with almonds, as these are, or you can use hazelnuts or even pecans. It just depends on which nut you prefer. You can also vary the filling, using..how about a chocolate filling with hazelnuts or even switching out the raspberry jam for another flavor.
This particular recipe uses cake flour which makes these cookies a bit more delicate.
Anyway you make them, one thing's for sure, they're delicious.
If I could give you one tip to making these, it would be to roll these cookies out thinly. Between 1/8" and 1/4" is perfect, in my opinion. Because the cookie is sandwiched, you're going to have two cookies stacked and you want them to be fairly delicate and light. If they're too thick, then it looses that nice light flaky quality. ( Did any of that make sense?!)
Whisk your dry ingredients in a medium bowl, then set it aside for a minute.

In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar til light and fluffy.

In a small bowl, place the egg, yolk, lemon zest and vanilla.

Grind the nuts with a little bit of your sugar in the food processor to make them fine.

Add the egg mixture to the creamed butter mixture and beat well.

Then add the nuts and mix well.

Then add the flour mixture, adding in small batches til combined.

Place half the dough onto plastic wrap...

And roll to the 1/8" - 1/4" thickness, between 2 pieces of plastic wrap.

Chill the dough for an hour or two. Then at this point, you can just keep it in the fridge, covered well, til you need it or cut out your shapes ( half with a decorative center cut out).

Preheat the oven to 350 and place the cut out shapes about 2" apart on parchment lined baking sheets.

Bake, then cool completely on wire racks before filling.

Place about one teaspoonful of jam onto each cookie bottom, then top with the other cookie with the cut out center.

Once you've sandwiched the two cookies, take a little more jam and place in the cut out section just to make it look more full and prettier!

Then dust with powdered sugar. You can pop them back into the fridge to help them set a bit.

Linzer Cookies (from "Culinaryinthedesert")

3 1/3 cups very finely ground almonds ( or other nut you'd like)( Also I toasted mine before grinding to bring out more flavor)

3 1/3 cups unsifted cake flour

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg ( freshly ground is best)

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter-softened
1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 tsp. lemon zest

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Raspberry jam or Nutella (or another flavor you'd prefer)
Confectioners' sugar for dusting
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1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

2. In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar til light and fluffy.
3. Place the egg, yolk, zest and vanilla in a small bowl, then add to the creamed mixture and beat well.

4. Blend in the ground nuts.

5. Add the flour mixture, one cup at a time beating til just combined. (Scrape the bowl on the sides and bottom from time to time to be sure to get all the dough incorporated.)

6. Divide the dough into 2 pieces and place on plastic wrap. Roll each between 2 pieces of wrap to 1/8" to 1/4" thickness. Chill dough for 1 to 2 hours. Or wrap well to bake at a later time.

7. Preheat oven to 350 and cut out shapes from the cold dough, placing cookies on baking sheets back in fridge if they get too soft or your oven's not up to temp. yet.

8. Bake approx. 12 minutes, or til edges are golden.

9. Once the cookies have cooled completely, spread a teaspoonful ( depending on the size of your cookie) of filling onto the bottom cookie. Then layer with the other cookie and fill a little bit of filling into the center space. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

I'd store these cookies in a tin or in the fridge, covered well or in a zip lock bag.

Lil's Hungarian Nut Cookies

Last year, about this time, I mentioned these cookies with a post for Kifli. The kifli are very good cookies but if you want a cookie that everyone will love this Holiday, then you must make these!
As I mentioned before, we don't really have a name for these. My mother in law, Lilian, shared the recipes with me and showed me how to make them many years ago and they've been our family's all time favorite cookie..really..all time favorite! She jotted down the recipe on a piece of scrap paper, which I've kept all this time. And this was a recipe her mother made, and probably her mother.
What's unusual is that the filling is just walnuts and white raisins with a little lemon juice and egg white. And the only sugar used is in the dusting of powdered sugar so they're certainly not too sweet. The pastry dough is also just a few ingredients, butter, cream cheese and flour. I've never seen a cookie like this anywhere, especially not with this filling.


They're not rugelach and they're not kifli. But what they are is a light flaky dough wrapped around a mildly tart, slightly crunchy, not too sweet little morsel, sprinkled with powdered sugar, that you can't stop eating! Really.
Now, they are pretty time consuming to make, so you'll probably want to keep them all for your family..but share. If only just a few!

You'll need to separate an egg, saving the yolk to brush the tops of the cookies just before baking.

Make the dough the night before and wrap in plastic and refridgerate.

Then take it out of the fridge and cut into 4 pieces to make rolling out easier.

(Oh, BTW, see that red plastic wrap? I bought it by mistake, not realizing it was red but I love using it. It's not as sticky as the clear wrap, making it so much easier to work with. Just thought I'd share that little bit of info!).

Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out each piece as thinly as possible.

I even cut this piece in half again and roll more to get it very thin.

Then cut into tirangles, but not too big. We make these cookies kind of on the small size, about 2 1/2" long.

See how thin the dough is? It's about 1/16th of an inch thick.

Place a scant teaspoonful of filling into the triangle...

And begin by folding the two outer ends over the filling first...

Then fold over the bottom...( this folding procedure is the same way I was taught by Lil to make stuffed cabbage.) Must be a Hungarian thing!

Anyway, then keep rolling and press the tip down onto the dough to secure.

Place onto an ungreased baking sheet, once you have them all made, spacing them about 2" apart.

This just shows how important it is to get the dough really thin because sometimes I even roll each triangle again to get it really thin ( but I've been known to get a little obsessive about this!)

Brush the tops with the egg yolk and bake them til they're golden, about 15 to 20 minutes.

See how one of the tips wants to pop up. That's why you need to press it down so it stays in place while baking.

Then, while they're still hot, roll them in powdered sugar all over.

Then place on a wire rack to cool.

Lil's Hungarian Nut Cookies
Makes approx. 4 dozen cookies ( depending on the size you make them)
(The recipe below is written almost exactly as Lil wrote it on the scrap of paper.)

8 oz. sweet butter ( softened)

8 oz. cream cheese ( softened)

2 cups AP flour

Mix above ingredients-shape into a ball, wrap in waxed paper ( I use plastic wrap) and refridgerate overnight.

Filling:

1/2 lb. walnuts
1/2 lb. white raisins

1 egg white ( save the yolk to brush on top of the cookies)

A little lemon juice ( about 1 tsp.)

Preheat oven to 350. ( Lil's recipe said bake in a moderate oven).

1. Grind walnuts and raisins and mix with the egg white and lemon juice. ( I don't have a grinder, although when my oldest son was a baby, I used to use his babyfood grinder. LOL!) Anyway, just chop very finely.

2. Cut sections of dough and roll out til thin, then cut into triangles, about 2 1/2" at the bottom by 4 1/2" high. ( Refer to my photos and comments above).

3. Fill scant tespoonfuls of dough onto each triangle and roll up, again referring to my photos above.

4. Brush tops with egg yolk and bake til golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

5. Sprinkle or roll each very warm cookie in powdered sugar and set on a wire rack to cool.

6. Store cookies in an air tight container or cookie tin. These are best when eaten within a day or two ( which should be no problem!)

Note: The dough ( rolled out slightly) as well as the unbaked cookies, can be frozen. Just wrap well and place in a zip lock bag. Thaw the dough, then roll out more. I would thaw the cookies a little before baking but you may need to add some extra baking time.