Christmas Baking

A couple days ago, I posted on facebook that I had done some Christmas cookie baking.  I had a request to share the recipes, so I thought I’d post the links to them on the blog so that I could easily get back to reference the recipes in the future.  I wish I could say I used old hand-me-down recipes with fabulous secret ingredients in them, but I didn’t.  I did, however, reference one of my favorite baking blogs – The Brown Eyed Baker. 

So, with that said, I gathered the ingredients and proceeded to make Buckeye Balls, Peanut Butter Blossoms, Snickerdoodles, Sand Tarts, and I have the dough in the freezer to make cut-out cookies later this week.  Never in a million years would I have had the energy/motivation to do all of that on my own, so I invited some girlfriends over to help bake.  It was such a fun afternoon (although exhausting at 9 months pregnant – I literally napped my way through the next day), that I hope we can make it a tradition every year! 

Without further adieu… click the title or the picture to be taken to the Brown Eyed Baker’s blog for the recipe.

Buckeye Balls

Yield: 6-7 dozen

1 ½ cups peanut butter
6 cups powdered sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
¼ cup shortening

1. Line cookie sheet with wax paper. Mix together butter, peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla with a wooden spoon in a large bowl.

2. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Set them on prepared cookie sheet and insert toothpick into each ball. Chill in freezer until hard, approximately 30 minutes.

3. Melt chocolate chips and shortening over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from heat. Dip balls in chocolate and place back on cookie sheet. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, approximately 2 hours.

Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

 

Snickerdoodles

Yield: About 4 dozen

2¾ cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a baking mat and put in refrigerator to chill.

2. Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

4. Gradually stir in the flour mixture, beating on low speed just until the flour is blended.

5. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.

6. In the meantime, mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

7. Scoop 1-inch balls of dough and roll in the cinnamon and sugar mixture to coat.

8. Place on chilled cookie sheet about 2 inches apart and bake for 10 minutes.

9. Chill the dough and cookie sheets between batches.

10. Let cookies set on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack. Store cookies in an airtight container.

 

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Yield: About 4 dozen

Ingredients:
48 Hershey’s kisses, unwrapped
½ cup shortening
¾ cup peanut butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

Beat shortening and peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls (I used my small cookie scoop from Pampered Chef and got exactly 48 cookies). Roll in sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

 

Cut-Out Sugar Cookies (I’ll post some of my own after I get these baked & decorated!)

Yield: About 24 cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Bake Time: 15-18 minutes

2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar, plus ½ cup for rolling dough
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 large egg
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. Cream the butter, the 1 cup granulated sugar, and the brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg and vanilla; beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed.

3. Place the ½ cup sugar for rolling in a shallow bowl. Fill a medium bowl halfway with cold tap water. Dip your hands in the water and shake off any excess (this will prevent the dough from sticking to your hands and ensure that the sugar sticks to the dough). Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a 1½-inch ball between moistened palms, roll the ball in the sugar, and then place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, moistening your hands as necessary and spacing the balls about 2 inches apart (you should be able to fit 12 cookies on each sheet). Butter the bottom of a drinking glass and then dip the bottom of the glass in the remaining sugar. Flatten the dough balls with the bottom of the glass until they are about ¾ inch thick, dipping the glass in sugar as necessary to prevent sticking (after every 2 or 3 cookies).

4. Bake until the cookies are golden brown around the edges and their center are just set and very lightly colored, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 3 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Here are the Brown Eyed Baker’s tips for adapting that recipe for cut-outs:

How to Adapt for Cut-Out Cookies:

• Prepare the dough as directed through Step #2 in the directions.
• Shape the dough into a disk and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (You can refrigerate up to 2 days, or freeze it and take it out and put in the refrigerator about 12 hours before you plan to bake.)
• Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
• Flour the counter, the dough and a rolling pin and roll the dough out to ¼-inch thickness. Dip a cookie cutter in flour and cut out your cookies, placing them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Refrigerate the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bake for 8-9 minutes until edges are just ready to turn the slightest bit light brown (you really don’t want much coloring at all on these cookies), rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through baking.
• Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

And I’ll have to get back to you on the Sand Tart recipe – that recipe came from one of my girlfriends and I don’t have it here.  Growing up we always made corn-flake wreaths too, but my mom is making those to bring up to our house this year so I didn’t tackle those. 

I would love to hear from anyone (if there’s anyone still reading this with my lack of blogging lately) else who has favorite Christmas cookie recipes!  Feel free to comment & share!