Butter Spritz Cookies

The MUST-HAVE Christmas cookie in our family is butter cookies. My sisters and I grew up with them and they've become a tradition in the family. Thanks, Grandmom, for starting this great tradition!

I used to have the worst trouble with cookie presses. I've thrown at least 2 of them away, and one year got blisters on my hand from trying to make one work. So the last 2 years I've tried the drop and press method, and the roll and cut method. No matter how you do it, these cookies are amazing, and always no-fail. There's something about the almond extract that's just warming to the soul. These cookies melt in your mouth without tasting greasy or too buttery. They're just perfect. So if you're looking for the perfect recipe to use in your cookie press, give this one a try! You won't be disappointed :)

And if you're looking for a nice reliable, easy to use cookie press, go get the Wilton Pro Ultra II. Thanks to Nestie veniceforever for the recommendation!

BUTTER SPRITZ COOKIES

Source: my grandmom

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp almond extract

2 1/3 cups flour

Assorted decorations for cookies

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream butter.

3. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

4. Beat in egg and almond extract.

5. Gradually blend in flour.

6. Fill cookie press and press cookies directly onto ungreased cookie sheet.

7. Decorate cookies with your desired topping - my personal favorite is the colored sugar.

8. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly golden.

9. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

*This recipe yields 7 dozen cookies and is easily doubled for 14 dozen. It sounds like a lot - but I'm making 1 double batch and 1 regular batch this year.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

One of my husband's favorite cookies to eat at Christmastime is chocolate peanut butter chip cookies. I had a problem with recipes I've tried in the past - they just weren't what I like in a cookie. I really only enjoy chewy cookies. So I went on the hunt for a recipe to try and came across this one on allrecipes.com. When I search for recipes there, I always look for recipes with 4-5 stars and a lot of reviews. So far, this method hasn't done me wrong.

I read the reviews for this 5 star cookie and adapted it based on what I read. Basically my only adaptions were using half white and half light brown sugar. I've learned that the brown sugar imparts a certain chewiness to a cookie. I also didn't add the called-for amount of chips, just because I dont love a lot of chips in them, but for appearances sake, after I dropped each ball of dough on the cookie sheet, I pressed in a few peanut butter chips just to make them look prettier. Also, I added a few regular chocolate chips in.

The hubs ended up loving this recipe, and I did, too - crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. It's definitely going to be added to the yearly Christmas cookie list :)

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CHIP COOKIES

Source: adapted from allrecipes.com

1 cup salted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used dutch-processed)

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup peanut butter chips

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, add dry ingredients and whisk together.

3. In stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars.

4. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed sugar mixture in 3 increments and stir until blended in.

6. Stir in peanut butter and chocolate chips.

7. Drop heaping teaspoons onto parchment lined baking sheet.

8. Bake 9-11 minutes or until set.

9. Remove from oven, let sit 1-2 minutes and remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Notes: I found that this recipe baked up nicely right after mixed, and right out of the fridge.

Hope you love it!

Heaven... I mean Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

As far as chocolate chip cookies go, I love them, but I'm really picky. Well I found a few great recipes I really liked, but when I saw these chocolate chip cookie bars a/k/a Lunch Lady Bars, I thought to myself "I love the concept, and I love how easy they seem." So when I went to the store to grab some ingredients for dinner, I grabbed some chocolate chips. I had everything else on hand.

I didn't even have to break out my Kitchen Aid mixer for these (sadly I don't have enough counter space to keep mine out). But I love when I find great recipes that don't require the use of my Kitchen Aid. And seriously, when I took my first bite of these bars, I was in love. And considering how quick and easy they were to make, I'll definitely be reaching for this recipe whenever the craving for a chocolate chip cookie hits me!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BARS

Source: Allrecipes as adapted by Sherri

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup oil

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

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1. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the sugars with the oil.

3. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, mixing well.

4. Gradually add dry ingredients.

5. Stir in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips.

6. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil (if you use foil, spray with non-stick spray).

7. Spread the dough into the pan, then sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.

8. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 15-25 minutes until light golden brown. [Note, mine took 30 minutes]

Dinner and Dessert with Dana

My friend, Dana, and I try to get together about once a month to cook each other dinner then try baking a new recipe. It was my turn to host so I decided to make some chicken parmesan because I finally found some panko bread crumbs in my grocery store. For dessert we decided to make these chocolate chip cookies. After I saw these in bakingblonde's blog, I knew immediately I had to try them and I wasted no time forwarding the recipe and pictures to Dana. It was then agreed that this would in fact be our next new recipe we would try. I think it was especially fun for Dana because she regularly bakes chocolate chip cookies for her husband and is always testing out new recipes.

CHICKEN PARMESAN for TWO
Source: Me

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts marinated in italian dressing (4 oz. each)

panko breadcrumbs

jarred marinara sauce

fat free and part skim mozzarella (I like to mix both because the fat free cheese doesn't melt well)

1. Bread italian marinated chicken breasts in panko breading.

2. Lightly spray pan with EVOO. Cook chicken on both sides to lightly brown.

3. Add marinara to bottom of 8x8 inch baking dish. Lay chicken breasts in baking dish. Spoon marinara over chicken. Sprinkle cheese on chicken. Bake at 350 for about a half hour or until chicken is done.

Serve with whole wheat pasta and a nice healthy salad.

For my salad, I just mixed romaine and spinach, lightly sprayed with EVOO and a few splashes of red wine vinegar, season with italian seasoning, salt and fresh cracked pepper. So yummy and much healthier than dousing with dressings.

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COPY CAT LEVAIN BAKERY THROWDOWN COOKIES
Source: bakingblonde

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (I used 2 tsp)
3 1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt (I used regular table salt)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts (I omitted)
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1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix flour, salt, and baking powder and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

3. Beat the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in eggs, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. The dough will be stiff and thick. Finish mixing by hand if needed until just combined. Gently fold in chips and nuts if using.

4. Use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop out dough balls. Place dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. You can make smaller dough balls but be sure to adjust baking times as needed to prevent browning.

5. Bake 15-25 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies and your oven) or until cookies are pale brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy. I baked my cookies for 22 minutes exactly.

6. Cool cookies on cookie sheets for 10 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack until cooled completly. Serve or store in airtight container.

These cookies were amazingly soft, fluffy and puffy. Of course, that's the type of cookie I like. Dana said she felt it had too much flour in this recipe and would reduce the amount of flour next time she tried this recipe. The only downfall to these cookies is that you really can only eat one at a time! Well, I guess that would be a downfall for some, and an upside for others!

Enjoy!

Holiday: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Over the years I've tried every single chocolate chip recipe I've seen that anybody said was the best. Thank you, again, Katie, for sharing this America's Test Kitchen recipe! Everybody loved them!!

I did want to add my notes because I messed up an entire batch by not chilling the dough enough. The trick I found that worked best for me was to go all the way up to the forming dough ball part, and twist to get 2 halves, as instructed. But then what I did was I put each dough ball onto some parchment paper and stuck them in the fridge for about an hour. It helped the dough chill quickly enough for me to not have to wait too long to bake them and resulted in a PERFECT cookie. I even made a batch with NO chocolate chips because my friend Jess and I really just love the dough sans chips. They were also a hit!

Holiday: Chewy Coconut Cookies

My friend Dana and I wanted to try something new this year. We came across this recipe. We both agree that it was an easy, likable recipe and we would both make them again. I'm linking you directly to the allrecipes recipe so you can view the comments left by others who tried the recipe (can I say "recipe" one more time?). We followed the recipe exactly, but would definitely add some toasted coconut for a little extra coconut flavor. Enjoy!

Holiday: Butter Cookies

My FAVORITE holiday cookie by far is the butter cookie. I'm loyal to my grandmother's recipe and I have no idea where it originates from. I just know that when grandmom came over to visit on Christmas Eve that she said, "Are those my cookies?" And so, without further adieu, here is the recipe!

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp almond extract

2 1/3 cups flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Cream butter.

2. Gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

3. Beat in eggs and almond extract.

4. Gradually blend in flour.

COOKIE PRESS DIRECTIONS

Fill press with dough. Form desired shapes on ungreased cookie sheet (Note: this will not work on parchment paper or on a silicone baking mat - cookies must be pressed directly onto the cookie sheet). Decorate cookies to your liking with sprinkles (my fave is colored sugar). Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove immediately to wire rack to cool.

ROLLED DIRECTIONS

Chill dough. Roll dough thin (this dough does not spread or puff). Use desired small scale cookie cutter (I just used a small round measuring cup I had). Transfer cut dough shapes to cookie sheet and decorate. Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 8-12 minutes - depending on how thick you rolled the dough out.

(Note: I've also used a small cookie scoop and jus flattened with my fingers, decorated and baked. This is helpful if you don't like to roll out dough.)

I hope that someone else is able to get as much joy out of this recipe that my family does :)

Peanut Butter Cookies

My husband loves all things peanut butter. So I decided to make a treat for him. But since we're trying to eat healthier, I decided to halve the recipe and make a small batch. But here's the recipe for the full batch.

1 cup sugar

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1 egg

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups flour

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Cream together the sugar and the butter.

4. Beat in egg.

5. Mix in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

6. Stir in dry ingredients until well combined.

7. Drop balls onto cookie sheet and flatten with fork (I dipped the fork in flour before each press).

8. Bake 12-15 minutes.

Chocolate cures all....

Sometimes I just get a chocolate craving like none other. The only way to make it go away is to EAT some CHOCOLATE!

I came across this recipe in Cara's blog [http://carascravings.blogspot.com/2007/05/choco-gasm.html]

I'm pretty sure this recipe originated from another WC Nestie/Blogger, so if it's you, let me know and I'll credit you! Anyway, I knew immediately I had to try it.

I was home alone, my husband was working nights, and went to the grocery store specifically for the ingredients - the fabulous thing is that now that I have them, there's plenty to go around for at least another impromptu batch!

And so here is this most fabulous recipe!!

2 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp espresso powder

1 cup cocoa powder (I used regular ol' Hershey's)

3 large egg whites

2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Whisk together the sugar, salt, espresso powder and cocoa.

2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the egg whites and the vanilla (I used my KA mixer on STIR).

3. Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites and mix at low speed for 2 minutes (I stopped halfway thru to scrape the sides of the bowl). The batter will seem dry at first, but will become shiny and smooth as it mixes. The dough is not your typical cookie dough, but actually resembles store-bought cake frosting.

4. Cover and refrigerate the batter for 3 hours. This process can be sped up by placing in the freezer for 1 hour, and then in the fridge for 1 hour.

5. Preheat oven to 350. Grease or line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop dough in ping-pong sized balls onto baking sheet a few inches apart. I used my mechanical cookie scoop thingee - if you don't have one, make sure you grease whatever spoon you use.

6. Bake for 12 minutes, reversing pans halfway thru.

7. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

8. Enjoy the rich, decadent goodness.

About 100 calories and 2 g fat each

Yield: varies - I got about 12 cookies out of the batter.