Icebox Butter Cookies

We've had snow in McMinnville for the past few days. Snow isn't all that unusual, but snow that sticks for days is. And, boy, do we take advantage of it! We've been sledding (right down the driveway! Living on a hill has its perks at times....), making snow angels, and doing a bunch of holiday cooking...including baking.

The other day Katie chose this recipe to make, Icebox Butter Cookies from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food booklet. It's 2007's Holiday Baking Edition, and this is the first (though not the last!) that we'll make from this collection of recipes.

Icebox Butter Cookies

In a bowl of a food processor, pulse until it resembles course meal:
3 C all purpose flour
1 C powdered sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp salt

In a small bowl, lightly beat
4 large egg yolks (reserve one egg white for later)
1 tsp vanilla

With motor running, add the egg mixture to the dough. Process just until dough forms.

Divide the dough in half; form two 2-inch square log, each approximately 5 1/2 inches long. Wrap the logs in waxed paper; refrigerate until firm, at least two hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice dough crosswise; 3/16" thick, carefully transfer slices to baking sheets.

If decorating with sugar, brush each slice with an egg wash (listed below), then sprinkle with sugar. Martha recommends sanding sugar. We did not have this, and instead used colored decorating sugar. Bake until edges are firm, but not brown, about 10 - 15 minutes. We had to go the whole 15 minutes. Cool 1-2 minutes on baking sheets. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

Egg Wash
1 large egg white, beaten
2 tsp. water

Reindeer Cookies

Upon looking at the picture, you may wonder why in the world these are called Reindeer Cookies. There is nothing to suggest reindeer, not even the shape of the cookies. Years ago, I think when we were living in Indiana (so 15-18 years ago), I received this little gift bag of spices, a recipe, and a reindeer cookie cutter. The cookie cutter is long gone, but I saved the recipe, as it's my absolute favorite spice cookie. I have no clue what they were actually called, but for the last 15-18 years, we've called them Reindeer Cookies!

Reindeer Cookies

Cream:
½ C butter
1 C brown sugar

Add:
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together and add to creamy mixture:
1 ½ C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Chill one hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough to 1/8-1/4" thick. Dip cookie cutter in flour and cut cookies. Bake 8-10minutes.

When we were first married, Brian and I used to make these with a little hole in the top (made with a straw). We'd hang them on the Christmas tree and the house smelled wonderful all season long. I'd love to do that now, but I fear (rightfully so!) that this sweet thing would trample the tree to get at each and every hanging cookie decoration....

I'm not a big gingerbread fan, and I truly think you could substitute this recipe for a gingerbread house or any other gingerbread type creation. It's a pretty sturdy dough, as long as it's not cut into thin, intricate shapes. Someday I will try it as a gingerbread house. As I'm typing this out, I'm thinking I have enough in the fridge to make a small cottage. As tomorrow is a snow day, I will attempt it. Should be fun! Stay tuned....

Crunchy, Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

If I had to pick a favorite cookie it would probably be oatmeal. But not just any oatmeal cookie will do. Some are flat as a pancake and are more of an oatmeal crisp. Others are so soft and gooey. My favorite is a crunchy, yet chewy oatmeal cookie.

Crunchy, Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together:
1 C shortening
1 C sugar
1 C light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Add in:
1 ½ C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Stir in:
3 C raw, quick cooking oats (not instant)

Place drops of cookie dough 1" apart on a cookie sheet. If you are placing them on a cold cookie sheet, they really don't spread too much.

Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 1 minute, then remove to a wire rack to cool. That one extra minute is essential, as the insides seem to firm up.

Makes about 2 ½ dozen.

Fudge Filled Foldovers (or Spirals!)

I've had this cookie recipe in my box for at least 10 years, but I've never made it. I actually have collected a lot of cookie recipes that have yet to be tried and tasted. This year I made it a point to make three new cookies, and this was one of them.

It was coming along quite nicely until I looked in the oven and saw the cute little "foldovers" had un-folded. In subsequent batches I twisted and smooshed the dough with all my might, hoping they would stay closed. Most didn't. After 3 pans I had a 30% success rate.

At this point I gave up on the foldovers and moved on to spirals, jelly-roll style! This proved to be much easier, a lot faster, and they stayed together (as long as the seam was on the bottom). So, from now on, these "Foldovers" will be "Spirals".

Taste: I especially liked the not-too-sweet taste of the fudge filling and the cream cheese dough. If I can get the spirals to look a bit nicer, they might have a place in next year's cookie exchange.

Fudge Filled Foldovers

Mix together, and refrigerate* until the fudge-filling is made:
1-1/4 C flour
3 oz. package cream cheese
softened 1/2 C butter (1 stick)

Mix together:
1/2 C sugar
1 TB softened butter
1/3 C unsweetened cocoa
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
1/2 Cwalnuts - finely chopped

Roll out 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured board or between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Use a pastry cutter to cut into 2-1/2 inch squares. Place a rounded teaspoon of filling into the center of each square. Bring 2 diagonal corners of each square together in the center over the filling and twist to seal**. Place the cookies 1/2 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Yield: 25 cookies

*These do not have to be refrigerated very long. Mine were in the refrigerator for a few days before rolling out, and I actually had to let it soften quite a bit before it was workable. It doesn't have to be as cold/chilled as pie crust or sugar cookies.

**Twist and smoosh, twist and smoosh!!

OR.....


Roll out a bit of dough until you have it about 3" x 12". Spread the fudge mixture onto the dough, pressing in so it stays in place as you roll. Roll up the dough, jelly-roll style. Place on a baking sheet (it's easier to put th whole roll on the sheet & cut right there), and make 1/2" slices. The dough doesn't spread much, so you can have them pretty close together on the baking sheet.

Sunset's Frosted Ginger Cookies

Friends of ours held their annual cookie exchange party this afternoon. I love going to this because we come home with so much variety! This week we are all supposed to email the hostess with our recipes. This excites me, because there were some really yummy cookies in the mix!! So, as soon as the recipes come through, I'll share our family's favorites with you.

But to start off the cookie recipe posts, here is a real winner that I made for the party. It came in last year's Sunset Magazine (December 2006 issue). What I love about it is that it was an easy dough to make and work with. The Pampered Chef cookie medium cookie scoop made perfectly round cookies. And the frosting was so quick and easy.

Frosted Ginger Cookies

In a large bowl (or mixer) cream until light and fluffy:
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, at room temperature

Mix in:
1 egg
3 tablespoons molasses

In a separate bowl mix together:
2 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Slowly mix in dry ingredients with wet ones, and blend well.

Fill a shallow bowl with
sugar (about 1/2 cup)

Using a cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough, and place a few at a time in the bowl of sugar. Roll the balls in sugar, and place on a cookie sheet. Leave room for spreading (on a 12 x 15 Pampered Chef stoneware pan, or the 10 x 15 1/2 bar pan, there was room for 12 cookies per pan).

Bake at 350° for about 10 minutes, or until the top starts to crackle. Transfer to cooling racks.

Once completely cool, drizzle icing over the cookies.

Icing

In a ziplock bag, mix together:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1-2 TB water

Mix until the icing is lump free and will drizzle easily. If it's too thick, add a little more water...just a few drops at a time. Arrange all your cookies out in one area (works best if you can do them all at once!) Cut a tiny corner off at the bottom of the bag and start drizzling the icing all over the cookies.

They take about 30-40 minutes for the icing to dry (the time really depends on how thick the icing is).

Yield: Makes 40 cookies*

Nutritional Information: CALORIES 102(33% from fat); FAT 3.8g (sat 2.2g); PROTEIN 0.8g; CHOLESTEROL 15mg; SODIUM 98mg; FIBER 0.2g; CARBOHYDRATE 16g (Nutritional analysis is per cookie.)

What I love about these cookies is that they taste and look great. We'll be making them again next year.

*Though the original recipe says the recipe makes 40 cookies, I only got 28 out of it! Perhaps my Pampered Chef medium cookie scoops were larger than the original "walnut sized" scoops the recipe originally called for. Anyway, using the larger scoop will also alter the nutritional information per cookie.

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER...

These are the only chocolate chip cookies that have ever turned out for me. I have tried Tollhouse's and Hillary Clinton's versions, among many others. I've tried non-stick, air-insulated, stoneware, foil-lined, and parchment-lined pans. I've had so many ovens....with hot/cool spots in all different places. No matter what I tried, my chocolate chip cookies were pathetic: hard and flat.

Then one day, many years ago, a woman named Van (Van was an older woman who attended “Arthritis Aquatics” with me in Bloomington, Indiana.) brought a plate of the YUMMIEST chocolate chip cookies to some event. They were fabulous! She said that key to their success is in the ingredients. She told me not to substitute brands. She swore by Gold Medal flour.

An added bonus: they can be made in one large mixing bowl!

Now, while I present her original recipe here, I must admit I make one little alteration to the recipe: I use about half of the recommended chocolate chips! So, that's why my photo may not be quite as mouth-watering to those of you who are die-hard chocolate fans. But trust me...whether you like a little or a lot of chips, these are GOOD!!

Van’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mix:
2 sticks softened margarine. (Fleischmans is recommended. Do not use reduced fat margarine, butter, or a spread. Do not soften in the microwave.)
1 C brown sugar
1 C sugar

Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 ½ TB vanilla
1 tsp salt
Add:
3 C Gold Medal all purpose flour

Stir in:
2 C chocolate chips

Drop by small ice cream scoop onto foil lined* cookie sheet. Preheat oven & bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Makes 4 1/4 dozen cookies.

* I have stoneware and air-insulated cookie sheets and don't line them with foil. Both pans work equally well with this recipe.