Christmas Cookies

Mrs.
Clauss Christmas Cookies

Make Impressive Holiday Treats
FREE Kitchen Library!

Get 30 how-to recipe e-books for free! No cost. No obligation.
Get these five e-books immediatelyplus a new book every week for 25 weeks.
Everything from soup to chocolate to cupcakes.
Professional recipes and techniques from the test

kitchen of The Prepared Pantry.
Get HOW TO BAKE: The Art and Science of
Baking with over 200 pages plus . . .
A BAKERS GUIDE TO CHOCOLATE
A POPCORN HANDBOOK
Recipes & Tips for Great Candy Popcorn
BAKING IN YOUR SKILLET
A Collection of Skillet Recipes
HOW TO MAKE CHOWDER
A Chefs Guide to Making Chowder
NO COST. NO OBLIGATION. Immediate download.
Plus get a new e-book every Thursday for 25
weeks. Again, theres NO COST, NO OBLIGATION..
If you dont love them, cancel, and keep your five
free e-books.
JUST TELL US
where to send your

30 e-books
First Name *
Last Name *
Email *
PLEASE CLICK THE GREY

SUBMIT BUTTON BELOW
TO RECEIVE YOUR EBOOKS
Submit
Christmas Cookies
Table of Contents:
Part I: Christmas Cookies: Tips and Toppings......................................... 3
Types of Cookies and How to Bake Them ...................................................... 3
Ingredients for Baking Great Cookies............................................................ 4
How to Make the Very Best Sugar Cookies.................................................... 7
Painted Christmas Cookies............................................................................. 8
How to Decorate Cookies................................................................................ 9
How to Make Fancy and Festive Thumbprint Cookies................................. 11
Cookie Troubleshooting Guide..................................................................... 12
Part II: Drop Cookies..................................................................................... 13
Jubilee Jumbles............................................................................................. 13
Frosted Brown Sugar Cookies....................................................................... 14
Cherry Chocolate Cookies............................................................................. 15
Cherry Pineapple Cookies............................................................................. 16
Macadamia and Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies.................................... 16
Part III: Hand Form Cookies....................................................................... 17
Pink Peppermint Chocolate Cookies............................................................. 17
Mint Dipped Cookies..................................................................................... 18
Making Cookies with Multi-Colored Dough................................................. 19
Best Snickerdoodle Recipe........................................................................... 20
Snow Topped Mountains.............................................................................. 21
Part IV: Refrigerator Cookies..................................................................... 22
Cinnamon Dutch Almond Cookies............................................................... 22
Coconut Cranberry Refrigerator Cookies..................................................... 23
Festive Fruit and Oat Refrigerator Cookies................................................. 24
Almond Nut Wafers...................................................................................... 25
Double Chocolate Sandwich Cookies........................................................... 26
The Prepared Pantry

3847 East 38 North
Rigby, ID 83442
208-745-7892
www.preparedpantry.com
Copyright 2006-2012, The Prepared Pantry. All rights reserved.
The material herein is published by The Prepared Pantry for the private use of individuals and
may not be used for commercial purposes without the express consent of the publisher. The information contained herein is believed accurate but the publisher makes no warranties, express
or implied, and the recipient is using this information at his or her own risk.
Part V: Rolled and Cut-out Cookies........................................................... 27

Frosted Malt Chocolate Cookies................................................................... 27
Marionberry Cream Cheese Tarts................................................................ 28
Chocolate Raspberry Sandwich Cookies...................................................... 29
Aunt Katies Oatmeal Molasses Cookies...................................................... 30
Gingerbread Men.......................................................................................... 31
Part VI: Bar Cookies...................................................................................... 32
Chocolate Toffee Bars................................................................................... 32
Cranberry Coconut Bars............................................................................... 33
Chocolate Shortbread Bars Recipe............................................................... 34
Pecan Squares............................................................................................... 35
Chocolate Mint Chip Brownies..................................................................... 36
Brown Sugar Brownies................................................................................. 36
Part VII: Other Cookies................................................................................ 37
Mix-in-a-Jar: Mint Fudge Cookies............................................................... 37
Cherry Spritz Cookies................................................................................... 38
Vanilla Spritz Cookies................................................................................... 38
Coconut Macaroon Thumbprints................................................................. 39
Chocolate Pecan Thumbprint Cookies......................................................... 40
Part I: Christmas Cookies: Tips and Toppings

Types of Cookies and How
to Bake Them
There are many different types of cookies. In

this book, we utilize five categories though
more categorization is possible. Each category
has its place. Here, we review our five types of
cookies and provide tips for each.
Drop Cookies
These are the most common cookies and probably what we think of first when cookies come
to mind. There are more recipes for drop cookies than for any other type. Make each cookie
of equal size and height for uniform baking.
(An ice cream scoop with a release mechanism
helps make uniform cookies.) Bake until the
cookies are delicately browned and an imprint
remains if lightly touched with a finger. Do not
over bake the cookies. Over baked cookies are
dry and hard. Remove them immediately to
racks to cool. Let them cool completely before
stacking.
Hand Formed Cookies

These are formed into balls between the palms
of your hands. Some are flattened with a fork
or the bottom of a glass before baking. Some
are left roundthe oven mettles the butter and
cookie softens to a flattened shape. Its easy to
make uniform, round cookies. To make them
the same size, use a kitchen scale and weigh
each ball. If you dont have a kitchen scale,
use a ruler so that each cookie has the same
diameter. Bake these cookies until they are
delicately browned and an imprint remains
if lightly touched with a finger. Remove them
immediately to racks to cool and let them cool
completely before stacking.
Note: To make formed cookies from uniformly-sized balls of dough, roll the dough into a
log the diameter that you wish the balls to be
then slice the log into equal chunks. Form the
chunks into balls.
Refrigerator Cookies
In some ways, refrigerator cookies are the most
convenient cookies. You can mix the dough
ahead of time and bake them when needed and
bake only as many as are needed. Dough can be
stored for a week in the refrigerator and much
longer than that in the freezer. After mixing,
form the dough into a round or rectangular
log and chill thoroughly. Use a sharp, serrated
knife to cut cleanly especially if there are nuts
in the dough. Use a ruler to get the cookies all
the same thickness. When slicing round logs,
roll the dough after each cut to keep the log
uniform. Bake the cookies until they are delicately browned and cool them on racks.
Rolled Cookies
Handle and chill the dough as for refrigerator
cookies. Roll the dough out on a very lightly
floured surface. Most recipes call for the dough
to be about 1/4-inch thick. Use a toothpick to
make sure that the dough is uniformly the right
thickness. A thinner cookie will make for a
crisper cookie. Cut the dough with cookie cutters. Get as many cookies from each rolling as
possible. Successive rolling, with the flour from
the counter incorporated into the dough and
with more handling of the dough, will make for
tougher cookies. Bake the cookies until they
are delicately browned and cool them on racks.
Bar Cookies
When you are in a hurry, nothing is faster than
a bar cookie. Mix, pour the batter in a pan, and
bake. You dont have to form individual cookiesthe most time consuming task in many
recipes. If you would like a tender, cake-like
cookie, use all-purpose or pastry flour. Dont
over mix--over mixing will develop the gluten and make for a tougher cookie. Instead
of greasing the baking pan, consider lining
the pan with foil or parchment paper. Lightly
spray the foil with vegetable spray. Be sure
and spread the dough evenly in the pan for
uniformly baked cookies. Cake-like bar cookies should be baked until a toothpick inserted
in the center of the pan comes out clean. When
lightly pressed with a fingertip, the top should
spring back. For brownie-type cookies, the tops
should be dullnot glossyand an imprint will
remain when touched. After baking, holding
the edges of the paper or foil, lift the loaf of
cookies from the pan. Use a sharp, serrated
knife and trim the edges. Then use a ruler to
mark the cuts for uniform bars. Bar cookies
can be cooled in the pan or on a rack. They can
be stored in the pan but we prefer to cut the
cookies into bars as described, and wrap them
individually in plastic.
Ingredients for Baking

Great Cookies
Cookies are wonderful concoctions of flour,
sugar, and fatusually butter and eggs. To
these basic ingredients, we add fruit, nuts,
and flavors. If we start out with compromised
ingredients, the cookies from any recipe will be
inferior.
Sugars
Sugars not only sweeten, they add moisture
and tenderness to the cookie and help the
cookie brown. Sugar grains cut into the butter when the two are creamed together creating tiny air pockets for a lighter, airier cookie.
Always use the type of sugar called for in the
recipe. Since superfine sugar melts faster than
does granulated, it will create more spread.
Brown sugar adds a caramel flavor and more
moisture than granulated. Powdered sugar has
added cornstarch and makes a firmer, drier
cookie. Measure sugar in measuring units
designed for dry ingredients. For granulated
sugar, use a knife to level the top of the measure. Pack brown sugar firmly into the measuring unit. Always use fresh, soft, brown sugar.
Hardened brown sugar will not add enough
moisture to the cookie. An old trick to soften
brown sugar is to add a slice of bread to the
container. Since sugar is hygroscopic, that is
it attracts moisture, it will draw the moisture
from the bread. In a day or two, the sugar will
be soft and you can throw away the now hardened bread.
Flours
Fruits and Nuts
Use good quality, fresh flour. If your bag of

flour has been sitting open too long, it may be
dry or in a humid climate, it may have absorbed
moisture. For a more tender cookie, use pastry flour. Bread flour with its gluten creates a
tough, chewy cookie and is unsuitable for most
recipes. All-purpose flour is suitable for most
cookies. Measure flour as you would white sugar, in a dry measure and scrape the top off with
the back of a knife. Do not dip the measure into
the flour. Flour packs easily and scooped flour
results in too much flour for the recipe. Whisk
or sift the flour to lighten it and then carefully
spoon the flour into the measure.
Where would we be without raisin cookies or

those nut-filled cookies? Nuts become rancid
easily. The smaller the nut pieces, the quicker
they will spoil. Always taste the nuts before using them in the recipe. If they taste even slightly rancid, discard them. For longer life, store
your nuts in the refrigerator, or better yet, the
freezer. To enhance the flavor of nuts, consider
toasting them. Place them one layer thick on a
baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees. The type
and size of the nuts will determine the baking time, anywhere from three minutes to ten
minutes. Determine when the nuts are toasted
by both fragrance and color. Always let the
nuts cool and reabsorb the oils before mixing
them into the batter. Nuts can also be toasted
in a skillet.
Butter
Nothing tastes like butter. It contributes much
of the flavor that we love in cookies, some of the
color, and much of the tenderness. Butter acts
as a shortening, that is, it shortens the gluten
strands found in flour and gives the cookie a
soft, melt-in-your mouth texture. Margarine
can be substituted for butter. Margarine often
has more water than butter and some adjustment to the recipe may be necessary if you substitute margarine for butter. Shortening can be
used in place of butter but the cookie is likely to
be very different. A cookie with shortening will
have less spread, will tend to be crisper, and
will lack that buttery flavoreven if you use
butter-flavored shortening.
Eggs
Eggs add structure and fat to the cookies. The
eggs, as they are beaten, create bubbles that
make the cookies lighter and the protein in the
egg solidifies to create a firmer, higher profile
as it bakes. Always use fresh eggs and use the
size of eggs called for in the recipe. Set the eggs
on the counter for thirty minutes before using
warmer eggs will make a lighter cookie.
Dry fruit becomes hard as it ages. Steam raisins and other dried fruit by pouring boiling
water to just cover them and let stand until
plumpthe length of time will be a factor of
the freshness and type of fruit. Pat them dry on
paper towels. Kids who turn their noses up at
raisin cookies may change their minds if they
experience cookies with plumped raisins.
Spices
The wonderful world of spices was designed for
cookies. Use the best spices that you can buy,
keep them covered, use them while they are
fresh. There is a world of difference between
quality spices and inexpensive spices. Buy the
best cinnamon that you can find. Taste-test
your cinnamon for quality. Good cinnamon
will taste sweet and have almost a citrus flavor.
Cheap cinnamon will be astringent and bitter.
Good quality cinnamon will make a marvelous
difference in your baking.
Leavening Agents
While breads use yeastan organic leavening
agentcookies rely on chemical reactions to
give them lift and make them palatable. The
following ingredients are the most common
leaveners in cookies: baking soda, baking powder and cream of tartar.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is a powerful alkaline used primarily to leaven cookies, muffins, and cakes.
Because it is alkaline, it reacts with acids in
a batter as soon as it is mixed causing bubbling and a thickening of the batter. It does not
require the heat of the oven to begin leavening.
Generally, only acidic recipes call for baking
soda. Buttermilk, juices, non-alkalized cocoa,
and molasses are common acids used in baking. The reaction of the alkaline baking soda
with an acidic batter has two effects: it creates
the carbon dioxide bubbles that leaven the
batter and it neutralizes the acid in the batter.
Neutralizing the acid changes the tastebuttermilk, for example, no longer has its characteristic acid tang.
Typically, recipes use 1/4 teaspoon of baking
soda for each cup of flour. Very heavy batters
or very acidic ones may use more. Occasionally
drop cookies call for more baking soda but that
is to allow the cookie to brown more easily. A
batter with a lower pH will brown more easily.
Baking Powder
While baking soda is alkaline, baking powder
is a mixture of an alkaline baking soda and
two acids designed to create a neutral compound. It therefore reacts with itself using the
moisture of the batter as a catalyst. Like baking soda, this reaction creates carbon dioxide
bubbles. The baking powder generally used in
the kitchen is double-acting: it reacts at room
temperature in the presence of moisture and
again in the oven in the presence of heat. The
result is the extra lifting power necessary to
make a cake light and airy. Because the baking
powder reacts with itself, it does not alter the
pH of the batter.
Often a weakly acidic recipe will call for both

baking soda and baking powder. The baking
soda will react with the acid in the batter but
the reaction will not be strong enough and is
bolstered with the extra baking powder.
Cream of Tartar
Cream of tartar is a by-product of the winemaking industry and is derived from tartaric
acid. As an acid, it is the counterpart to baking
soda and when the two are combined they create a chemical reaction which produces carbon
dioxide. Most recipes that call for cream of tartar also call for baking soda. In some recipes,
cream of tartar is used to increase the acidity in
the batter to preserve the tang of buttermilk or
an acidic juice used in conjunction with baking
soda.
Other Leaveners
There are other chemical leaveners, though
they are rarely used in todays kitchens. In addition, mechanical means are used for leavening. Creaming butter and sugar together
entrains air in the batter. Steam is used to lift
products. Egg whites are whipped to capture
tiny air pockets and thereby lighten products.
How to Make the Very

Best Sugar Cookies
Everyone loves sugar cookies at Christmas.
But sugar cookies dont always turn out right.
Weve compiled this list of tips and techniques
to help you make the very best sugar cookies.
1. Measure ingredients accurately, especially the flour. Too much flour will make
your cookies hard and dry. If you scoop
the flour with the measuring cup instead
of spooning sifted flour into your cup, you
are likely to have 20% too much flour.
2. Sugar cookies are made by the creaming
method. This is the most important step
in making sugar cookiesit incorporates the air into the dough that acts as a
leavening agent. Use the paddle attachment of your electric mixer to cream the
sugar, salt, and spices with the butter
or shortening. Cream the ingredients
together at low speed, not high. For light
cookies, cream the mixture until it is light
and fluffy. For a denser, moister cookie,
cream only until the mixture is paste-like.
3. Add the eggs and liquid after creaming,
beating these in at low speed.
4. Mix the flour into the creamed mixture
only until it is combined. If you overmix, you will develop the gluten and
make a tougher cookie.
5. Choose a low protein flour, preferably
pastry flour, for your sugar cookies.
Avoid bread flours with their high protein
content. All-purpose flour is an acceptable compromise.
6. If the dough is too soft to work easily,
chill it until firm. The dough should be
pliable but not squishy soft. Handling
of the dough with warm hands will make
the dough soft.
7. Use no more flour than necessary to dust

the counter. The flour will work into the
dough for a drier, tougher cookie.
8. Too much re-rolling will make for
tougher cookies. Not only does successive re-rolling work the dusting flour into
the dough, the continued working of the
dough develops the gluten.
9. When cutting shapes, make the cuts as
close together as you can to minimize the
amount of dough that will be re-rolled.
10. Most recipes call for the dough to be
rolled to 1/8 inch in thickness. This creates a crisp cookie. For a moister, less
crisp cookie, roll the dough to 1/4 inch.
11. Remove the cookies from the counter
with a thin metal spatula.
12. When garnishing cookies with sprinkles,
drop the decorations from a height of
eight or ten inches for a more even distribution.
13. The size of the cookies will affect bake
times. Put like-sized cookies on the same
sheet.
14. Do not over bake cookies. Thin cookies
will bake in seven or eight minutes at
350 degrees. Thicker cookies will take
ten or twelve minutes. Cookies on darker
pans will bake in less time. When done,
the cookies will still be pale-colored with
just a tinge of brown at the edges.
15. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Do not frost
them until they are completely cooled.
Painted Christmas
Cookies
New food coloring sheens can be used to give

your cookies a beautiful, glossy finish. You can
paint the sheen on the cookie, let it dry, and
then paint designs, if desired, over the sheen.
If you paint the sheen over the painted cookie,
it tends to smear the colors but beautifully
blended patterns can be created. Sheens come
in silver, gold, pearl, and some colors.
For fine work, such as the eyes on a snowman
or the star on a Christmas tree, use a toothpick
to dab color on. You can also use a food writer
pen to paint on details. It is fun to make pretty
painted cookies and you can be as creative as
you like. If you are more of an artist than we
are, you can create stunning works of art with
cookies and a paint brush.
You can paint cookies to make wonderful

decorations for Christmas or other holidays.
Whether you are looking for a fun project with
the kids or just want to impress the neighbors,
try painting cookies. Its easy to do using edible
food colors and gels as paints and its the fun
way to decorate cookies.
Heres how to do it:

Bake your sugar cookies or other flat, smooth
cookies according to the recipe or mix directions. The surface will be porous, so you cant
paint directly on it. You will need to cover the
surface with a hard shelled frosting, usually a
frosting with meringue powder added to create
a smooth, firm surface. On the frosted surface,
bright colors and crisp lines are painted using
undiluted liquid food coloring or a barely diluted color gel. If you are using liquids, dip the
tip of the paint brush right in the food coloring
bottle. If you are using gel colors, mix a little
gel with a few drops of water to reach the right
consistency. Simple water color brushes work
well. They are inexpensive, you can buy them
in different widths, and they clean up with hot
water.
Easy Meringue Frosting

You will need a meringue frosting to create a
base upon which to paint.
Meringue powder is made with powdered egg
whites (plus starches and flavors). Reconstituted egg whites dry hard leaving a shell on the
frosting. You can purchase meringue powder at
baking supply stores or on our site.
3 tablespoons meringue powder for icing
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, more or less
Stir the meringue powder and water together
until smooth. Add enough of the powdered
sugar to obtain the desired consistency for
spreading. Completely cover any leftovers.
How to Decorate Cookies

I have pleasant childhood memories of sugar
cookies. For Halloween, Christmas, Valentines
Day, and sometimes Easter, we would break
out Moms tired and true sugar cookie recipe
and make sugar cookies. We would spread
them with colored icing and sprinkle them with
decorations, always colored sugar crystals or
jimmies. In addition to these, there are other
creative ways to decorate sugar cookies and
expand your horizons.
Make chocolate or vanilla cookies with your favorite recipe or one of our sugar cookie mixes.
Cut them out as you would for other cookies to
decorate. After cooling, frost your cookies with
either royal icing or fondant. Royal icing dries
to a hard shell and creates a nice, glossy surface
for painting. Turn to the next page to see how
to make royal icing.
Decorate the edges

For intriguing cookies, consider decorating the
edges. This is usually done with refrigerator
cookies where the log is rolled through the
decorations. Most sugar cookies can be baked
as refrigerator cookies though. Simply roll the
dough into a log, roll it through the decorations and then slice the log into cookies.
Decorate them
with fondant.
The Valentines cookies shown at the right were
decorated with thin sheets of fondant cut to
shape with cookie cutters and then decorated
with additional pieces of fondant. Its super
easy to cover your cookies with rolled fondant.
Roll the fondant to about 1/8-inch thick and
cut the fondant using the same cookie cutters
that you used to make the cookies. Lift the
fondant off the counter, brush a little water on
the back with your finger, and lay the fondant
on the cookies of corresponding shape. The
fondant will cover the cookies to about 1/8inch of the edges and the moist back will hold
the fondant in place until drying. Fondant
creates a little different effect than does royal
icing. While royal icing is slick and shiny, fondant is more of a matte finish.
How to Make Royal Icing
Spread and sprinkle

The most common way to decorate Christmas
cookies is to spread and sprinkle. That is,
you use a spreadable icing, either premade
or from a recipe, and sprinkle the tops with
decorations. Thats where the magic usually
comes in. Decorations dont add much flavor,
but they sure make the cookies beautiful. Most
commonly used are decorating sugars and
Jimmies. You can also buy white colored sugar
crystals and tint them with food color gels to
make your own colored decorating sugars. Icing and frosting can also add color and decoration by using food color gels.
Candy bark adds flavor as well as color. Its a
combination of crushed candyusually intensely flavored candyand white chocolate.
It costs more but tastes much better.
Lastly, dont forget the meringue powder.
Meringue powder is basically sugared, flavored
dry egg whites. A little will make your frosting
firm so it will not mar and smear so easily. We
typically add two tablespoons when we make
cookie icing. The royal icing used to make cake
decorationslike the flowers and leaves on
a wedding cakeis hardened with meringue
powder.
10
Meringue powder is essential if you make

sugar cookies or decorate cookies or cakes.
You need to be able to make hard shell frostings like royal icing. Traditionally hard shell
icings relied on egg whites to create a shiny
luster and a hard surface on the icing. Today,
most of us are concerned about using raw egg
whites in our kitchen with the bacteria they
may harbor.
Meringue powder is made from dry egg whites
with flavors and stabilizers added. Without
fresh egg whites, the concerns about safety are
eliminated. Its easy to use. Simply add the
meringue powder along with the powdered
sugar to your recipe to create a frosting that
will set up with a firm shell. The more you
add, the harder the shell. For a moderately
firm frosting shell, add two tablespoons per
cup of powdered sugar. We often use 1 1/2
tablespoons of meringue powder for each cup
of powdered sugar and this gives us a hard
enough shell for painting cookies.
How to Make Fancy and

Festive Thumbprint
Cookies
to the whisk handle but a quick swish in

water after every few cookies will help
prevent that). Add the filling before baking. Two chocolate wafers are perfect for
chocolate centers in 2-inch cookies. Try
three for larger cookies.
3. Choose a flavor: Its not necessary, but
we like to match a flavor or extract to the
filling. With a cherry filling, consider a
cherry or amaretto flavor in the dough.
Add a raspberry flavor to the dough with
a raspberry filling and a blueberry flavor
with a blueberry filling.
Take a plain cookie and make it a fancy and

festive thumbprint cookie with a filling.
Choose your flavors and fillings. Drizzle them
with a little chocolate. Youll be surprised at
how many variations you can make.
1. Start with a plain cookie: Choose a
cookie mix or recipe with a higher profile to accommodate a thumbprint. A
cake-like applesauce cookie or oatmeal
cookie will work. We love quick and easy
coconut macaroon mixes in both vanilla
and chocolate for wonderful thumbprint
cookies.
2. Choose a filling: Heres where it gets
fun. There are so many fillings that you
can choose from: white or dark chocolate, jams and jellies, pastry fillings, or
maraschino cherries. Mix the cookie
dough according to directions and place
mounds on the cookie sheet. Traditionally, depressions are pressed in the
dough with a thumb but we like nice
round depressions. For 2-inch cookies,
we use the round handle of a whisk to
press 3/4-inch holes part way through
the cookies. The holes are deep enough
to accommodate about a teaspoon of filling but not pressed all the way through
the cookies. (The batter tends to stick
4. Dress them up: For a more formal

cookie, drizzle a little melted white or
dark chocolate across the cookies. You
could also make an icing to drizzle across
the cookies. Adding two tablespoons
of meringue powder to the frosting will
make the frosting set harder so that the
frosting will be less likely to mar when
storing or shipping.
Recommended ingredients:
Jams and jellies
Dawn pastry fillings
Dark chocolate wafers
White chocolate wafers
Marsden and Bathe premium flavors
Professional food color gels
Meringue powder (to give the frosting a
hard shell)
11
Cookie Troubleshooting
Guide
If your cookies are not

browned enough . . .
The baking temperature was too low, they
were not baked long enough, or there was
too little sugar.
If your cookies spread too much . . .
The baking temperature may be too low.
Too much sugar, shortening, or leavening
will cause spread. If pans are greased with
too much shortening, spread may occur.
Add a little more flour or chill your dough
before forming the cookies.
If your cookies dont spread enough . . .
If your cookies are too tough . . .

You may have used too much flour or a
flour with too high of a protein content.
Unless you want a chewy cookie, do not use
bread flour. Check your measurements-the cookies may not have enough fat or the
amount of sugar may be wrong.
If your cookies are too crumbly . . .
They may have too much sugar, shortening, or leavening or may not be thoroughly
mixed. Try adding more eggs.
If your cookies are too hard . . .
They may have been baked too long or at a
temperature that was too low. Too much
flour or not enough shortening or liquid
will make them hard also.
If your cookies are too dry . . .
The same elements that make cookies too
hard, may make them too dry. Try baking
them at a higher temperature for a shorter
period. Substitute brown sugar (with its
higher moisture content) for part of the
granulated sugar.
If your cookies are too brown . . .
The cookies were most likely baked too long
or at too high of a temperature. Too much
sugar may make a cookie brown too readily.
12
The opposite conditions that create too

much spread may cause your cookies not to
spread enough. There may not be enough
sugar, shortening, or leavening, or the
temperature is too high. Try adding more
grease to the pan and baking at a lower
temperature.
If the edges or crust turns out sugary . . .
The cookies probably have too much sugar
or the dough may have been inadequately
mixed.
If your cookies have a poor flavor . . .
Make sure all the flavoring ingredients were
added. Old or low quality ingredients may
not impart strong enough flavors. Improperly washed baking pans will sometimes
cause a cookie to taste bad.
If your cookies stick to the pans . . .
The pans probably werent greased adequately. Too much sugar will make cookies
stick. Cookies are usually easier to remove
from their pans immediately after coming
from the oven.
Part II: Drop Cookies
The Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
cream (enough to reach spreading consistency)
Pecans, maraschino cherries, or other fruit
or nuts for garnish
Directions
Jubilee Jumbles
Jumbles are old-time cookies typically made
cake-like. These jumbles, frosted and garnished with fruit or nuts, make attractive and
very good holiday cookies.
Ingredients
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup walnut pieces or chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. Cream together the shortening and sugars. Add the eggs one at a time, beating
after each. Beat until light and fluffy.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking
soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon
together.
3. Add the dry ingredients and the cream,
one third at a time, alternating and starting with the dry ingredients. Add the
nuts.
4. Drop the batter by mounded spoonfuls
on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 9 or
10 minutes or until done. Cool on a wire
rack.
5. To make the frosting, cream the butter
until light. Add the powdered sugar and
vanilla and continue beating. Add the
cream while beating, a little cream at a
time, until the mixture is smooth and of
spreading consistency. Frost the cookies
once cooled. Garnish with nuts or fruit.
13
Chapter 1 Chapter Title
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together.
Frosted Brown Sugar

Cookies
This is another cake-like, moist cookie. This
one has sour cream, butter, and eggs to make
it moist. The flavoring is all brown sugar and
buttera great combination; there are no
spices or extract.
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
2. In another bowl, cream the butter with

the brown sugar and salt. Add the eggs,
one at time, beating after each.
3. Add the dry ingredients alternately with
the sour cream, starting and ending with
the dry ingredients. Beat after each addition.
4. Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto a
greased baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 10
minutes or until the edges are browned.
Remove to a wire rack to cool. Frost after they have cooled completely using the
following recipe.
Sour Cream Frosting

1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Milk (to spreading consistency)
Food Coloring (optional)
1. Cream the sour cream and butter. Add
vanilla. Beat in powdered sugar, a little at time, adding just enough milka
spoonful at a timeto bring the frosting
to spreading consistency. Tint with food
coloring if desired.
14
Cherry Chocolate Cookies

The wind had switched directions out of the
north and the snow was starting to drift. The
weather forecast was for thirty below. Why
were we doing a Boy Scout camp out in a
Minnesota winter? The kids didnt mind the
weather; they were busy playing King of the
Mountain. They were going to go through lots
of calories . . . but we had lots of cookies. By
far, their favorite was a chocolate oat cookie
with a cherry pressed into the top.
Weve made these cookies for a lot of years
now. They are a scrumptious chocolate cookie
but the oatmeal makes them substantial. Weve
never met a cookie lover that didnt love these
cookies.
These make great holiday cookies, but dont
limit them to December only. Weve made
these many times throughout the years. Cherries and chocolate are always a favorite combination which make these cookies a real hit no
matter the season.
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips,
melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups quick or old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Cream the butter and sugar together.
Add the eggs and beat until light and
fluffy (about 5 minutes), scraping the
sides once. Add the vanilla and 1 cup of
the melted chocolate.
2. Add the rolled oats. Add the flour, salt,
and baking powder and mix until combined.
3. Drop spoonfuls of dough on an ungreased baking sheet. Press a cherry
deep into the dough for each. Bake for
11 or 12 minutes or until done. Remove
immediately to a wire rack to cool. Once
cool, drizzle the cookies with the leftover
chocolate (3/4 cups).
Bakers notes: Chocolate can be melted easily in the microwave. Place the chocolate in a
small bowl and microwave in thirty second
intervals, stirring after each until smooth. For
drizzling the chocolate, place the chocolate
chips in a heavy duty, zipper-type plastic bag.
Once melted, snip a tiny corner from the bag
and squeeze the chocolate through the snipped
corner to drizzle on the cookies.
about one jar of maraschino cherries,

drained
15
Cherry Pineapple Cookies Macadamia and Raspberry

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cherries and pineapple just seem to go together, and these soft, cake-like drop cookies
are quick and easy to make and great for the
holidays.
Ingredients
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 large egg
These are scrumptious, crunchy little cookies. Any cookie with macadamia nuts is a good
cookie but adding rich chocolate and raspberry
jam makes a wonderful trio.
Use only the best ingredients: macadamia
nuts, raspberry jam, and chocolate. We prefer
seedless raspberry jam but seeded will do.
Ingredients
1/2 cup drained, crushed pineapple
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2/3 cup raspberry jam
1 jar maraschino cherries for topping
Directions
1. Cream the sugars and shortening together. Add the egg and beat until light and
fluffy.
2. Add the pineapple, nuts, and extract and
mix well.
3. Combine the remaining dry ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients to the creamed
mixture.
4. Place the dough a tablespoon at a time
on a greased baking sheet. Press either
a half cherry or a whole cherry onto the
cookie dough for each cookie.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until done. Cool
on wire racks.
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1 1/2 cups pure dark chocolate (semisweet)
baking chips
Directions
1. Cream the butter and sugars together.
Add the egg and beat until light and
fluffy. Add the vanilla and raspberry jam.
2. In another bowl, stir the flour, baking
soda, and salt together. Add the flour
mixture to the creamed mixture and beat
until well combined.
3. Add the nuts and chocolate chips. Spoon
the dough in walnut-sized mounds onto
ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake for about 9 minutes or until the
cookies are light brown. Remove them to
a wire rack to cool.
16
Part III: Hand Form Cookies

The Glaze
a few drops of peppermint oil or extract, to
taste
a couple drops of red food coloring
milk (to reach desired consistency)
Pink Peppermint
Chocolate Cookies
Chocolate and peppermint is such a nice combination. These are a nice rich chocolate cookie
with pink peppermint frostinggreat for holidays or special occasions.
We half-dipped our cookies in frosting but you
could also frost the whole cookie or drizzle
peppermint icing across the top.
Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate,
melted
Directions
1. Cream the 1 cup sugar, salt, and butter together. Add the vanilla and egg
and beat until light and airy. Fold in the
melted chocolate. Beat in the flour.
2. Form little round balls about 3/4-inch
in diameter. If the dough is too soft to
form with your hands, refrigerate the
dough for an hour. Place the balls on an
ungreased baking sheet. Dip the bottom
of a glass in sugar and use it to flatten the
cookies to about 1/4 inch thick.
3. Bake for eight minutes or until set. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
4. Make the glaze by mixing all ingredients
together adding just enough milk to
reach the desired consistency. Frost after
the cookies have cooled.

sugar
17
17
Mint Dipped Cookies

For this recipe, we took our Pink Peppermint
Chocolate Cookies (on the previous page)
and modified the recipe by using rich chocolate mint chips and mint extract in the cookie
dough.
Ingredients
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
1 large egg
2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate,
melted
The Glaze
12 ounces mint chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening
Directions
1. Cream the sugar, salt, and butter together. Add the vanilla, mint extract, and egg
and beat until light and airy. Fold in the
melted chocolate. Beat in the flour.
18
2. Form little round balls about 3/4-inch

in diameter. If the dough is too soft to
form with your hands, refrigerate the
dough for an hour. Place the balls on an
ungreased baking sheet. Dip the bottom
of a glass in oil and use it to flatten the
cookies to about 1/4 inch thick.
3. Bake for eight minutes or until set. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
4. Make the glaze by melting the mint chips
with the shortening. Dip the cookies
halfway into the melted chocolate. You
could spread or drizzle the glaze on top
of the cookies also if youd prefer. Serve
when cooled.
Making Cookies with

Multi-Colored Dough
You can tell that we had fun with these cookies. We made Neapolitan cookies with one
part chocolate, one part almond, and one part
cherry. Think of it as a method more than a
recipe. By changing flavors and colors, you can
make any combination you desire. Use your
imagination. Make circles, stripes, swirls, or
squares and make a variety of shapes, colors,
and flavors with this basic recipe.
These make great kids cookies, holiday cookies, and party cookies.
Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (optional)
flavors and extracts (your choice)
food colors (your choice)
Directions
1. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating
until smooth. Continue beating until the
mixture is light and fluffy. Add the dry
ingredients in two parts, mixing after
each. Mix just until combined.
3. Divide the dough into two, three, or four
parts depending on how many different
doughs you choose to make.
The Chocolate Dough

For one half of the dough, melt two ounces of
chocolate. For one fourth of the dough, melt
one ounce of chocolate. While still warm, work
the chocolate into the dough until uniform.
Flavored and
Colored Dough
Add four or five drops of food coloring in each
part. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, almond, cherry,
strawberry or other extracts of your choice to
the dough and mix in. If you use a peppermint
extract, only use 1/4 teaspoon as it is a very
strong and overwhelming extract.
Form the dough into cylinders, squares, or
layersa separate color or flavor for each. Refrigerate until firm.
Cut the dough into 1/4-inch thick slices. To
form a cloverleaf shape, cut each colored
cylinder separately but gently press the different colored discs together on the cookie sheet.
Bake on ungreased cookies sheets for ten to
twelve minutes or until the cookies are nearly
firmed and very lightly browned. Do not over
bake. Cool on wire racks.
Bakers note: Nuts or fruit can be added to
these cookies. Maraschino cherry pieces could
be added to the pink dough and almond bits to
the almond dough.
Its easy to shape refrigerator cookies with
waxed paper. To make true checkerboard
cookies, you need four layersnot three. Make
a rectangle with four layers. Then cut the
rectangle longitudinally into four new layers.
Layer them back together so that the colors
alternate and cut slices across the rectangle.
(Its easier to do than to describe.)
19
Directions
1. Cream together the sugar, salt, and butter. Beat in the eggs one at time. Continue beating until the mixture is light
and fluffy, at least four minutes. Add the
vanilla.
Best Snickerdoodle
Recipe
This is a classic snickerdoodle recipe. Because
it is made with butter, we think you will find it
better than most recipes.
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (10 2/3 tablespoons) butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
20
2. Add the flour, cream of tartar, and baking soda and mix until combined. Chill
the dough for one hour.
3. With your hands, form the dough into
one-inch (or slightly larger) balls. Mix
the remaining sugar and cinnamon
together. Roll the balls in the cinnamonsugar mixture.
4. Place the balls on an ungreased baking
sheet about 1-1/2 to 2 inches apart and
bake for 11 minutes or until done. Do not
over bake. Cool on wire racks.
Bakers note: Spoon the flour lightly into the
measuring cups. If you scoop the flour, you will
pack the flour into the measure and have too
much flour resulting in a drier cookie. Also, Do
not beat the dough any more than necessary
to combine the ingredients. Extra beating will
make the cookies tough.
Snow Topped Mountains

These cookies are baked in the microwave but
you cream the sugar and butter together just as
if you were going to bake them in the oven.
Ingredients
1/2 cup cocoa
dash of salt
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup walnuts
2-3 tablespoons water
powdered sugar for dusting
Directions
1. Mix the flour, cocoa, and salt together in
a medium bowl.
2. Cream the butter and brown sugar
together. Add the vanilla. Add the dry
ingredients about one-third at a time.
Add the nuts.
4. Place the eight or ten balls on waxed paper placed on top of the carousel in the
microwave. Bake at high heat for about
three or four minutes or until firm. Remove the waxed paper from the microwave to a wire rack. Let the cookies cool
for four or five minutes and then remove
them from the waxed paper. Dust the
tops with powdered sugar.
Bakers note: Use a fine-mesh sieve to get a
light, even dusting of powdered sugar on the
cookies. Hold the sieve over the cookies and
drop a spoonful of powdered sugar in the
sieve. Shake or tap the sieve to create a fine
flow of sugar.
3. Unless the butter has become too soft,

the mixture will still be dry and granular.
Add cold water one tablespoon at time
beating after each addition, until the
mixture begins to clump together. Do
not add more water than needed. Form
walnut-sized balls. As you form the balls,
the dough should come together in a soft,
clay-like consistency.
21
Part IV: Refrigerator Cookies

Directions
1. Measure the flour by scooping some
into a bowl and then spooning the flour
into the measuring cup. (If you measure
packed flour, you will have too much.)
Add the baking soda and 1-1/2 teaspoons
cinnamon and stir to combine. Set aside.
Cinnamon Dutch
Almond Cookies
This is an unusual refrigerator cookie that is
easy to make and one of our favorites. We like
it so much that several years ago, we determined to make a mix based on this recipe. It
was one of those projects that never made it
out of the gate but in so doing, we felt like we
perfected the cookie. We reverse engineered
the mix to create this recipe.
This is a hard, crisp cookie that is served in
Europe with a beverage. Its sort of like having
biscotti at the corner caf.
Ingredients
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup milk or light cream
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
22
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Stir

in the brown sugar, the 1 cup granulated
sugar and milk. Reheat the mixture until
hot and bubbly and stir until the sugars
are well dissolved but do not overcook.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the almond extract.
3. With a spatula, fold the almonds and
flour mixture into the saucepan, stirring
until combined.
4. Divide the dough into three parts. Place
each on sheets of waxed paper and form
the dough in the waxed paper into rectangular logs. Refrigerate the logs for at
least two hours or until firm.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix
the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon
together. Remove one log from the
refrigerator and cut it into slices a bit
thicker than 1/4 inch. Put the slices on
an ungreased baking sheet with room
for expansion. Sprinkle the tops with the
cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake for 13
to 14 minutes. Do not under bake. Slide
the cookies onto racks to cool. The cookies will become crisp as they cool.
Coconut Cranberry
Where many refrigerator cookies are crisp,
these are tender cookies. Two cups of flaked
coconut and dried cranberries add chewiness.
Because the coconut and fruit provide much of
the sweetness in these cookies, they dont seem
so rich and the cranberries in the light dough
make for very interesting, attractive cookies.
Ingredients
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, firmly
packed
1 1/4 cups dried cranberries
Optional colored sugar crystals, decorating
candies, or nuts
Directions
1. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt
together. Set aside.
Add the almond extract and one egg and
beat until combined. Add the second egg
and beat until the mixture is light and
fluffy.
3. Add the flour mixture and the coconut
and beat until combined. Add the cranberries.
4. Divide the dough in half and form logs

of each half first by squeezing the dough
into the approximate shape and then by
rolling the dough on the counter while
wrapped in waxed paper until the logs
are smooth. The logs should be about an
inch and one-half in diameter. Refrigerate the logs wrapped in the waxed paper.
5. If you choose to decorate the edges, roll
the logs in the decorating sugar or nuts
before baking and use the waxed paper
to press the decorations into the dough.
6. When ready to bake, preheat the oven
to 350 degrees. Use ungreased baking
sheets with a nonstick surface or parchment paper.
7. Slice the logs with a sharp, serrated knife
(to make a clean cut through the nuts
and fruit) into 1/4-inch or a little thicker
slices and place the slices on the cookie
sheets. Keep the slices of uniform thickness so that they are uniformly baked.
Bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes or
until done. Immediately remove them to
a wire rack to cool.
Bakers notes: For uniformly round cookies,
make sure that the log is chilled and firm and
rotate the log on the cutting board between
each slice. Any cookies that are out-of-round
can be shaped by placing the cookie between
the thumb and forefinger and pressing the
edges to make the cookie round.
23
Festive Fruit and Oat

Directions
1. Mix the flour, oats, baking powder, and
salt together. Set aside.
2. Cream the butter and granulated sugar
together. Add the confectioners sugar,
the vanilla extract, and egg and beat until
combined. Continue beating until the
mixture is light and fluffy.
3. Add the flour mixture and the fruit and
beat until combined. Do not over mix.
We wanted a cookie that wouldnt spread too

much so that we could decorate the edges of
the cookies. We used oatmeal and powdered
sugar for that. (We love oats in cookies anyway and the cornstarch in the powdered sugar
reduces spread.) The granulated sugar allows
for aeration of the butter and the fruit coupled
with oats makes this cookie perfect. Choose
whatever fruit you like, from cranberries to
dates. This cookie is a winner and we know
youll like it.
Ingredients
1 cup quick oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 large egg
1 cup dried fruit, diced
Optional sugars, decorations, or nuts for
coating the edges
24
4. Divide the dough in half and form logs

of each half first by squeezing the dough
into the approximate shape and then by
rolling the dough on the counter while
wrapped in waxed paper until the logs
are smooth. The logs should be about an
inch and one-half in diameter. Refrigerate the logs wrapped in the waxed paper.
5. If you choose to decorate the edges, before baking roll the logs in the decorating
sugar or nuts and use the waxed paper to
press the decorations into the dough.
6. When ready to bake, preheat the oven
to 350 degrees. Use ungreased baking
sheets with a nonstick surface or parchment paper.
7. Slice the logs with a sharp, serrated
knife (to make a clean cut through the
almonds) into 3/8-inch slices and place
the slices on the cookie sheets. Keep the
slices of uniform thickness so that they
are uniformly baked. Bake the cookies
for ten or eleven minutes or until done.
Immediately remove them to a wire rack
to cool.
Bakers notes: For uniformly round cookies,
make sure that the log is chilled and firm and
rotate the log on the cutting board between
each slice. Any cookies that are out-of-round
can be shaped by placing the cookie between
the thumb and forefinger and pressing the
edges to make the cookie round
Almond Nut Wafers

While the Frosted Chocolate Malt Cookie was
thoroughly kid tested, this is more of an adult
cookie. These are unusual little cookies--buttery, yet crisp and studded with almond bits.
We thought they were great.
These are great cookies to make for company
and they wont take much time out of your
busy day. These are refrigerator cookies that
mix up quickly. Let the dough chill for a couple
hours and stick slices in the oven.
Ingredients
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter
1 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup whipping cream
Directions
1. In the large bowl of your stand-type
mixer, stir together the flour, sugar, and
salt.
2. Use a pastry knife to cut the butter into
the dry ingredients and continue cutting
until the mixture is coarse and uniform.
Add the almonds, then the cream and
extract.
4. Roll the dough into two logs, 1-3/4 to

2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in
waxed paper and refrigerate them for a
couple hours or for as long as one week.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. With a
serrated knife, slice the logs into 1/4 to
3/8-inch round slices. By gently pressing the sides of the slices, you can form
evenly round slices. Place them on an
ungreased baking sheet leaving about 1/2
inch for the cookies to expand.
6. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the
edges of the cookies just barely start to
brown. Immediately remove the cookies
to a wire rack to cool.
Bakers note: You can make these cookies
without a stand-type mixer. After adding the
cream and extract, stir the dough with a fork
until it starts to lump together. Remove the
dough to the counter and knead it until you
have a single mass. Continue as instructed.
3. With the mixers paddle attachment, stir

the ingredients until they come together
into a single dough mass.
25
3. Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes to

firm up slightly.
4. Divide the dough into two portions. Using wax paper, roll each portion into logs
1-1/4-inches in diameter. Refrigerate for
two hours or until firm.
Double Chocolate
Sandwich Cookies
We love ganache and these chocolate cookies
pair perfectly with this rich, smooth chocolate.
Be sure and use a good quality chocolate.
Ingredients
The Filling
1 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
1/2 cup butter
6 oz. semisweet baking chocolate, chopped

into pieces
-OR-
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 oz. Imported Gourmet Bittersweet

Chocolate Wafers or Imported Gourmet Dark Chocolate Wafers
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg
3/4 cup pure dark chocolate chips or semisweet chips
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
Directions
1. Cream the butter and sugars together
with the paddle attachment of your
mixer. Add the salt, egg, and vanilla and
beat until smooth.
2. Add the flour, cocoa, and baking soda
and beat until combined.
26
5. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cut

cookies into slices just thicker than 1/4
inch. Place them on a greased baking
sheet and bake 11 minutes or until the
cookies are done. Cool on a wire rack.
1. Mix the whipping cream, butter, and

light corn syrup in a heavy saucepan.
Heat until it simmers. Remove the pan
from the heat and immediately add the 6
oz. of chocolate. Stir until the chocolate
is melted into a smooth sauce. The filling
will thicken as it cools.
Bakers note: Six ounces of wafers is just over
a cup; fill a one-cup measure to 1/2 inch above
the rim.
Part V: Rolled and Cut-out Cookies

Frosted Malt Chocolate
Cookies
4. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed

ingredients, mixing until combined. Refrigerate the dough for one hour or until
it is firm.
Sometimes you want a crisp chocolate cookie

and sometimes you want a gooey, chewy
cookie. This is a crisp cookie, a cookie that was
meant for a glass of milk.
5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll the

dough to 1/4-inch thick. Cut into shapes
and place on ungreased baking sheets.
This is a tender, crisp, melt-in-your-mouth

cookie that the kids will love. The cookie is not
overly sweet and has a nice balance with the
frosting. The malted milk powder gives it just a
touch of unusual malt flavor.
No wonder this is a great kids cookiea
smooth chocolate cookie with frosting. Since
it is a rolled cookie, you can cut it in any shape
you choose. Better yet, let the kids help you cut
them out and frost them.
The Cookies
6. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until the

cookies just start to look dry and firm.
Immediately remove them to wire racks
to cool. Once cool, frost them using the
frosting recipe below.
The Frosting
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cream
1/4 cup malted milk powder
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons meringue powder (optional)
more milk or cream as needed
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup malted milk powder
3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3 tablespoons cream
1 large egg
Directions
1. In a medium bowl, mix together the
flour, baking powder, baking soda, and
salt until well dispersed.
2. Melt the chocolate and set it aside.
3. Cream the brown sugar and butter together. Add the egg and beat until light
and creamy. Add the cream, egg, and
extract and beat for about five minutes.
Directions
1. In a saucepan, heat the butter, brown
sugar, and cream, stirring as needed to
dissolve the sugar crystals. Once the sugar crystals are dissolved and the mixture
is hot, remove the pan from the heat.
2. Stir in the malted milk powder and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar. Add the
optional meringue powder. Add more
milk or cream as needed to get the right
consistency for frosting.
Bakers note: The meringue powder will give
the frosting a hard shell that will make the
cookies more durable, tough enough to stack
them without marring or pack in a lunch box.
Adjust the amount of meringue powder per
the producers instructions.
27
Marionberry Cream
Cheese Tarts
These are delectable little cookies. They are
sugar cookies built on a cream cheese base
recipe. The almond and powdered sugar will
remind you of wedding cookies or almond
crescents. Though this is a fancy cookie recipe,
the dough goes together simply and quickly.
This recipe calls for marionberry jam and
the combination of marionberry jam, cream
cheese, and almond is delightful but any
smooth, spreadable jam or jelly will do.
Ingredients
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter
1 eight-ounce package of cream cheese
1 teaspoon almond extract
powdered sugar for dusting
About 4 ounces of a smooth marionberry
(or flavor of choice) jam or jelly for
filling
Directions
1. Cream together the butter, cream cheese,
and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the
extract.
2. In another bowl, mix the flour and baking soda together. In two or three additions, mix the flour mixture into the
creamed mixture. Refrigerate the dough
for an hour or more.
28
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a

floured counter, roll the dough to about
3/16-inch thick. Cut with three inch
cookie cutters into the shapes of your
choice. In half of the cookies, cut one
hole in the center. Bake for nine to ten
minutes on greased sheets. The edges
should no more than just barely start to
turn brown. Cool on wire racks.
4. After the cookies have cooled, dust the
cookies with the holes in the centers with
powdered sugar. Use a fine mesh sieve to
get an even, attractive dusting.
5. Match up cookies, ones without holes for
the bottom halves and ones with holes
for the top halves. Invert the cookies and
place a half teaspoon of jam or jelly in
the center of the bottom cookies so that
when pressed together, the cookies are
back to back. Smear the jam around the
center of the cookie and press the two
halves together. It will not take much
jam to finish the cookies and too much
jam will squish out the sides.
Chocolate Raspberry
Sandwich Cookies
Chocolate and raspberry are wonderful together and in this cookie, the combination makes
a scrumptious filling to sandwich between two
rich sugar cookies with just a bit of almond flavor. The filling is simply a ganache made with
chocolate, raspberry jam, and cream.
This is a very nice recipe to add to your collection. You can make the sugar cookies alone,
without the filling. You can make plain, round
sandwich cookies as we have, or dress them up
for special occasions and holidays. Be creative
and cut the cookies into all kinds of shapes
like heart shapes for Valentines Day, egg and
bunny shapes for Easter, ghost and pumpkin
shapes for Halloween and stars, gingerbread
man and snowman shapes for Christmas and
then decorate them with candies or colored
sugar.
Cookie Ingredients
1 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons whipping cream
Frosting Ingredients
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
Directions
Make the filling first and refrigerate it to keep
it thick. In order to do this, mix the 1/4 cup
whipping cream and light corn syrup in a
heavy saucepan. Heat until it simmers. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately
add the chopped chocolate. Stir until melted
into a smooth sauce. Add raspberry jam and
stir until smooth. The filling will thicken as it
cools.
1. Cream the butter, sugar, and salt together with the paddle attachment of
your mixer. Add the eggs one at a time,
beating after each. Beat for five or six
minutes or until the mixture is light and
lemon-colored. Add the extracts.
2. Mix the flour and baking powder together in another bowl. Add the flour
mixture to the sugar mixture along with
the whipping cream. Mix until combined.
Do not over mix. Refrigerate the dough
for at least one hour.
3. Roll the dough to a thickness of 1/4-inch
on a lightly floured countertop. Cut into
shapes with a cookie cutter. Sprinkle
with decorative sugars if desired.
4. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for
about 12 minutes or until done. (The
edges will be very lightly browned.) Let
the cookies cool on a wire rack.
5. Match up the cookies back-to-back in
pairs. Spoon filling between the cookies
to make sandwiches. Ganache is flavorful and a thin layer is sufficient. Store the
cookies in a cool place.
3 ounces semisweet baking chocolate,

chopped into pieces
cup raspberry jam
29
Aunt Katies Oatmeal

Molasses Cookies
These are fine summertime cookies. They taste
great, they are tough enough to take a little
abuse, and they are wholesome, filling cookies. You can hand them out to the kids without
creating an overwhelming sugar high. Stick a
few in your daypack when you head up the trail
and theyll make a great snack half way to the
lake.
These are hearty cookies with nuts and raisins.
We love them and they are nutritious cookies
but probably not the first choice of younger
kids.
We modified this recipe from an old Farmers
Home Journal Recipe that we have used for 20
years. It has stood the test of time. We updated
the recipe by modifying it so that it could be
made in your stand-type mixer and reduced
the sodium and ginger. We also added turbinado sugar because we like working with that
so much.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
4 cups quick cooking rolled oats
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup molasses
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup hot water
Turbinado sugar for decorating
30
Directions
1. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside. Melt
the shortening in the microwave and set
aside.
2. In the mixing bowl of your stand-type
mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the rolled oats, granulated sugar,
ginger, molasses, eggs, raisins, walnuts,
melted shortening, and hot water together. Add the flour mixture in three parts,
mixing after each until you have a dough
suitable for rolling. (If the dough is too
wet, add a couple tablespoons of flour.)
3. Divide the dough into three parts and
roll each to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into
shapes and place the cut cookies on
a lightly greased cookie sheet. (If the
sheet is non-stick, it does not have to be
greased.)
4. With a pastry brush, very lightly brush
the cookies with water. Sprinkle the tops
with turbinado sugar.
5. Bake for about 8 minutes or until done.
Cool on wire racks.
Bakers note: With dark pans, eight minutes
baking time was just right. Lighter pans will
take longer.
Gingerbread Men
This is a recipe for gingerbread men but you
can use it for gingerbread houses by altering the baking time. (Baking time does vary
depending on the size of the cookies and pan
used.)
This is an unusual recipe; it is made in a pan
on the stovetop rather than in a bowl, but it is
easy to make.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup cold butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons vinegar
1 large egg
Raisins or candies for decorations
Directions
2. In a heavy saucepan, mix the butter,

sugar, salt, molasses, and vinegar. Heat
over medium heat, stirring constantly,
until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool until it is
lukewarm.
3. Stir in the egg and the flour mixture. It
will be stiff but as you continue to mix,
it will become more pliable. Divide the
dough into three or four pieces. Make
disks of the pieces and refrigerate for two
hours or until it is pliable and ready to
handle.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll the
cookie dough to 1/4-inch thick. Cut out
the cookies and place them on a greased
baking sheet.
5. Bake for 4-8 minutes or until the edges
are firm. Cool on wire racks.
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the

flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger,
and cloves. Set aside.
31
Part VI: Bar Cookies

Directions
1. Melt the butter in a large microwavesafe mixing bowl in the microwave. Add
the rolled oats and stir. Add the brown
sugar, honey, vanilla, and salt. Mix well.
Chocolate Toffee Bars

If you like the combination of chocolate, honey
and oats, youll like these hearty bar cookies.
They are made without flour but plenty of oats.
The recipe calls for milk chocolate chips but if
you prefer a dark, richer chocolate, use semisweet chocolate chips. (Be sure and grease
your pan well with shortening. If you dont, the
honey base will stick like glue.)
Ingredients
3/4 cup melted butter
4 cups quick rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
32
2. Press the mixture firmly and evenly into

the bottom of a very well-greased 8 1/2 x
13-inch baking pan.
3. Bake for about 14 minutes or until the
mixture turns a golden brown and is
bubbly. Remove from the oven and cool
for five minutes.
4. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the
top of the hot cookies. Place the cookies back in the still-warm oven for a few
minutes. When the chips start to melt
and look wet, spread the chips across
the top as you would frosting. Immediately sprinkle with nuts.
5. Let cool at room temperature until the
chocolate is firm. Cut into bars with a
sharp knife.
Cranberry Coconut Bars

Cranberry Coconut Bars, are more of a big kid
cookiethey have too much fruit and too many
nuts to suit most youngsters, but they are so
scrumptious and easy, we had to include it.
This is a microwave cookie that can be mixed
right in the baking pan. Hows that for convenience?
If you are not fond of dried cranberries, consider substituting dates, raisins, or chopped
apricot pieces in this recipe.
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup quick rolled oats
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup walnut pieces
Directions
1. Place butter in an 8-inch square, microwave-safe baking dish. Microwave until
the butter is melted.
2. Stir in the brown sugar until dissolved.
Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Press
the mixture firmly into the dish.
3. Microwave for three to five minutes or
until lightly browned. If your microwave
does not have a rotating carousel, rotate
the dish twice during cooking.
4. Let the cookies cool and then cut them
into bars with a sharp knife. Wrap them
individually to pack in a lunch.
Yield: This recipe will make sixteen 2 x 2-inch
squares.
33
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
1. Melt the chips in a bowl in the microwave, stirring twice as they melt. Set the
melted chocolate aside to cool.
2. Cream the butter, sugar, and salt together. Beat until very light and fluffy. Add
the melted chocolate and keep beating.
Chocolate Shortbread
Bars Recipe
If you like chocolate and you like shortbread,
youll love this tender, melt-in-your-mouth
recipe. With only five ingredients, this is very
simple recipe. Be sure and let the cookies cool
completely before cutting them and removing
them from the pan.
Ingredients
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup (3 cubes) butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
34
3. Measure the flour by spooning it into the

measuring cup. (If you scoop the flour
from the bag, it will be packed and you
will have too much flour.) Add the flour
to the creamed mixture, beating until
combined.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl to an
8-1/2 by 13-inch baking pan that has
been lightly greased with shortening or
butter. With the palm of your hand, pat
and press the dough to evenly distribute
it. To get an even finish, pat the top with
a spatula. With the tines of a fork, prick
through the dough every 1/2-inch or so.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top
starts to look dry and puffy. Remove the
pan to cool on a wire rack. Let the cookies cool completely before cutting. Use a
ruler to measure the cuts uniformly and
a sharp, serrated knife to cut the cookies.
Pecan Squares
We started out with Pumpkin Pie Squares and
wanted to tweak the recipe to make Pecan Pie
Squares. We didnt end up there. These Pecan
Squares are not pie-like at all; they are much
more confection-like, almost like a candy bar.
They are very good though and we wouldnt
change a thing about them. Well save the pie
squares for another day.
The Crust
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
The Filling
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
3 tablespoons whipping cream
2 cups pecans
Directions
2. For the filling, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the sugar, syrup, and cream
and bring to a simmer, stirring as needed. Cook for one more minute. Remove
from the heat and stir in the pecans.
3. Pour the filling over the crust and spread
evenly. Bake for 15 minutes at 350
degrees or until bubbly. Cool on a wire
rack. Cut into squares and store in an
airtight container.
Bakers note: Do not overcook. Overcooking
will create a harder than desired product.
(The sugar cooks to hard-ball stage instead of
soft-ball.) At the soft-ball stage, the topping
will be caramel-like. These cookies keep and
ship well.
1. For the crust, cut the butter into the

sugar, oats, and flour until crumbly.
Press the ingredients into an ungreased 9
x 13-inch baking pan, across the bottom
and up the sides about 1/2 inch. Bake the
crust for 15 minutes.
35
Chocolate Mint Chip

Brownies
Brownies can be cake-like or they can be
chewy, gooey, and fudgy. These chocolate mint
chip brownies are the chewy, gooey kind. They
are very good brownies with a nice mint flavor
and nuts. Its an easy-to-make recipe made in
one bowl and a great brownie for the holidays.
Ingredients
Most often, we think of brownies as chocolate bar cookies, usually dense but sometimes
cake-like. They dont have to be though. These
brownies are dense like most brownies but
are made with butter and brown sugar. They
contain no chocolate but are chewy and caramel-flavored. They are absolutely scrumptious
and youll want to use this recipe over and over
again.
Ingredients
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, cut into

pieces
3/4 cup mint chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
3 large eggs
1 2/3 cup all-purpose or bread flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnut pieces
3/4 cup mint chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13
x 9-inch baking pan or line it with parchment
paper.
1. Melt the butter, chocolate, and first 3/4
cup of chocolate chips in the microwave.
2. Stir in the sugar and vanilla. Add the
eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat
with a spatula until smooth. Add the nuts
and remaining 3/4 cup of chips.
3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until center
is set. Cool the brownies in the pan on a
wire rack. Cut into bars.
Yield: About three dozen brownies.
36
Brown Sugar Brownies
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease
an 8 x 8-inch baking pan. Line it with parchment paper or dust it with flour.
1. Melt the butter in the microwave. Stir in
the brown sugar and salt.
2. Add the vanilla and eggs to the brown
sugar mixture. Stir until combined.
3. Add the flour and baking powder. Stir
until combined again. Beat for two minutes.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared
pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until the
brownies test done by sticking a toothpick or knife into the center of the pan.
The brownies will be done when moist
crumbs cling to the toothpick or knife.
Let cool completely before cutting.
Part VII: Other Cookies
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
3/4 cup fine turbinado sugar (not large
crystals)
1 cup chocolate mint chips
Mix-in-a-Jar: Mint Fudge

Cookies
1. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Add
this mixture to a one-quart, wide-mouth
canning jar. Pack the flour down with
kitchen tool, spice bottle, or small condiment jar.
For this recipe, we modified an existing chocolate cookie Mix-in-a-Jar recipe. It was a chocolate walnut cookie and we wanted a mint fudge
cookie.
2. Add the cocoa in a layer.
For a Mix-in-a-Jar, not only do you have to

be concerned about how the cookies turn out
but how well the mix fits the jar. As we examined this recipe, we concluded that we wanted
way more cocoa in our recipe (we doubled it).
Since we didnt want the nuts, we felt the extra
cocoa could use the space of the nuts.
5. Add the chocolate mint chips to the top.

Place the lid on the jar and decorate the
jar as you desire.
The original recipe called for chilling the

dough; we didnt want to have to wait. With
a little extra flour in a recipe, often you can
avoid chilling the dough since the dough is less
moist.
The extra cocoa in the recipe (we did not
reduce the flour as you normally would when
adding more cocoa to a recipe), made the
dough stiffer so that we did not have to refrigerate the dough before forming the batter.
Lastly, since we wanted a fudgy cookie, not dry,
we reduced the baking time.
Dry Ingredients to go
in the Jar:
1 teaspoons baking powder
3. Add the granulated sugar in a layer.

4. Add the turbinado sugar in a layer.
To Make the Cookies

(Put this recipe on a card or label for the mix.)
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs
1 jar cookie mix
1. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla.
2. Stir in the cookie mix until just combined.
3. With a medium cookie scoop or ice
cream scoop, drop 12 balls of dough on
an ungreased cookie sheet. The balls
should be about the size of walnuts.
4. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes on a dark pan;
longer on a light pan. Remove to a wire
rack to cool.
37
Cherry Spritz Cookies
Vanilla Spritz Cookies
These make pretty, pink, pressed cookies.

Youll need some cherry flavor and maybe
some maraschino cherries for decoration.
These are fun cookies to make.
These are the classic pressed cookies. Make

them in dozens of pretty shapes. Sprinkle
them with decorations. Have a ball with your
kids and grandkids.
Ingredients
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups butter
1 large egg
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk or cream
2 tablespoons milk or cream

2 teaspoons cherry flavor
2 drops red food coloring
Directions
1. In a large bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder together to disperse the baking powder. Set aside.
Add the egg, milk or cream, the cherry
flavor, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Continue beating until well combined.
3. Add the flour mixture to the creamed
mixture in three parts, beating after
each. Add enough red food coloring to
make pink dough. Load the dough into
a cookie press and press cookies onto an
ungreased baking sheet leaving at least
1/2 inch between cookies. Decorate with
candies, maraschino cherries, or sprinkles.
4. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges.
Remove the cookies from the pan to cool
on wire racks.
38
1-1/2 cups butter

Directions
1. In a large bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder together to disperse the baking powder. Set aside.
Add the egg, milk or cream, the vanilla
extract, and almond extract. Continue
beating until well-combined.
3. Add the flour mixture to the creamed
mixture in three parts, beating after
each. Load the dough into a cookie press
and press cookies onto an ungreased
baking sheet leaving at least 1/2 inch
between cookies. Decorate with candies
or sprinkles.
4. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges.
Remove the cookies from the pan to cool
on wire racks.
Coconut Macaroon
Thumbprints
We made batch after batch of coconut macaroon thumbprint cookies and served them to
customers in our store.
We started with vanilla coconut macaroons and added chocolate wafers. Two
wafers per cookie were perfect. Add
them before you bake and youll have
a pool of melted chocolate atop each
cookie.
We then made a batch with maraschino
cherries. A large cherry was too much
for our two-inch macaroons. A jar of
smaller cherries was perfector cut
larger ones in half.
For a later batch of coconut macaroons
with maraschino cherries, we added a
teaspoon of amaretto flavor for a very
nice touch. One teaspoon of flavor for 30
cookies was just right.
We made chocolate coconut macaroons.
We put white chocolate wafers in part
and dark chocolate wafers in the rest.
The customers seemed to prefer the
white chocolate but we thought both
were very good.
We made cookies with pastry fillings
the same fillings that bake shops use to
make filled pastries and donuts. Before
baking we made depressions in the cookies and filled them with cherry, raspberry, blueberry, and lemon fillings.
39
Chocolate Pecan
Thumbprint Cookies
These are great cookiesgood enough that you
dont have to add a filling. They are a simple
drop cookie but you can press a center and add
a filling of your choice and make them thumbprint cookies.
When we designed this cookie, we wanted a
very fudgy cookie but one that we could make
into a thumbprint cookie. We used a dark
cocoa. The cookies were fudgy but the texture
wasnt right. We added a generous 3/4 cup of
bakers chop (about 1/4-inch cut) pecans and it
was perfect.
This cookie lends itself well to maraschino
cherries pressed in the centers. Our favorite
centers were made with raspberry pastry filling. Chocolate wafers and Bavarian cream filling also work well. We even made some with
cream cheese filling but these were a little too
rich for us.
Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup dark cocoa
3/4 cup pecans, 1/4-inch chop
40
Directions
1. Cream the butter and the sugar together.
Add the eggs and beat until light. Add
the vanilla.
2. Measure the flour by spooning it into the
measuring cup. Add the flour, baking
soda, and cocoa to the wet mixture. Beat
until well combined. Add the nuts.
3. Scoop mounds the size of walnuts onto a
lightly greased baking sheet. (A medium
one-inch ice cream scoop works perfectly.)
4. Make a depression in the center of each
of the cookies 1/2 to 3/4-inch across. Fill
the depressions with the filling of your
choice or use maraschino cherries or
chocolate wafers.
5. Bake for 8-1/2 minutes or until done.
Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Yield: 40 3-1/2-inch cookies.

Christmas Cookies

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Christmas Cookies

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Mrs.

Clauss Christmas Cookies

FREE Kitchen Library!

Professional recipes and techniques from the test

where to send your

PLEASE CLICK THE GREY

The Prepared Pantry

Part V: Rolled and Cut-out Cookies........................................................... 27

Part I: Christmas Cookies: Tips and Toppings

There are many different types of cookies. In

Hand Formed Cookies

Ingredients for Baking

Fruits and Nuts

Use good quality, fresh flour. If your bag of

Where would we be without raisin cookies or

Often a weakly acidic recipe will call for both

How to Make the Very

7. Use no more flour than necessary to dust

New food coloring sheens can be used to give

You can paint cookies to make wonderful

Heres how to do it:

Easy Meringue Frosting

How to Decorate Cookies

Decorate the edges

How to Make Royal Icing

Spread and sprinkle

Meringue powder is essential if you make

How to Make Fancy and

to the whisk handle but a quick swish in

Take a plain cookie and make it a fancy and

4. Dress them up: For a more formal

If your cookies are not

If your cookies are too tough . . .

The opposite conditions that create too

Part II: Drop Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Chapter 1 Chapter Title

Frosted Brown Sugar

2. In another bowl, cream the butter with

Sour Cream Frosting

Cherry Chocolate Cookies

about one jar of maraschino cherries,

Cherry Pineapple Cookies Macadamia and Raspberry

1/2 cup drained, crushed pineapple

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoons baking soda

2/3 cup raspberry jam

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 jar maraschino cherries for topping

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Part III: Hand Form Cookies

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Mint Dipped Cookies

2. Form little round balls about 3/4-inch

Making Cookies with

The Chocolate Dough