Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

(Source: Allrecipes.com)

1 C Butter

2 C white sugar

2 eggs

3 tsp vanilla extract

3 C all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

10 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder (I used dark chocolate cocoa)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add eggs one at a time, beating well. Mix in the vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa powder and baking powder; add to butter mixture and mix well. Wrap dough in waxed paper and chill for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degreesF. Divide dough in half. Roll out each half to 1/4 inch thick. Cut with desired cookie cutter shapes. Place on lightly greased cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Sugar Cookie Icing

1 C confectioners sugar

2 tsp milk

2 tsp light corn syrup

1/4 tsp almond extract

assorted food coloring

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.

Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each bowl to desired intensity. Dip cookies or paint them with a brush.

Russian Tea Cakes

Russian Tea Cakes

1 C butter or margarine, softened

1/2 C powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 C all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 C finely chopped nuts

Powdered sugar (to coat cookies)

Heat oven to 400F.

Beat butter, 1/2 C powdered sugar and vanilla on medium speed with an electric mixer. Stir in flour and salt. Stir in nuts.

Shape dough into 1" balls. Place 2" apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 8-9 minutes until set, but not brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet and roll in additional powdered sugar. Cool completely on a rack. Roll in sugar again once cooled.

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons
(Source: Brown Eyed Baker)
Yields 3 dozen

For the cookies:
2/3 C sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg white
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
3 1/2 C sweetened flaked coconut

For the Chocolate:
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 325F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

In a large bowl, stir together the sweetened condensed milk, egg white, vanilla and salt until combined. Stir in coconut.

Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheets. Form the cookies into loose haystacks with your fingertips, moistening your hands with water as necessary to prevent sticking. Bake, one sheet at a time, until the cookies are light golden brown - 15-20 minutes.

Cool cookies on the baking sheets until lightly set, about 2 minutes; remove to a wire rack with a wide metal spatula.

Once cooled to room temperature, line 2 baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt 8 oz of the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost-simmering water, stirring once or twice, until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in remaining chocolate until smooth. Holding a macaroon by the pointed tip, dip the bottom into the chocolate. Scrape off excess chocolate and place macaroon on parchment covered sheet.

Refrigerate the macaroons until the chocolate set, about 15 minutes.

Christmas Cookies - finally

Yay, I'm finally getting Christmas pics up before all of this snow melts...woo hoo! I made tons of cookies this year for my family. I had the entire week before Christmas to have my own litle cookie extravaganza, turning our kitchen into a cookie factory.





TONS...








Here's the tally:

• 3 Dozen Peanut Butter Blossoms

  2 Dozen Double Chocolate Mint Truffle Blossoms

  2 Dozen Raspberry Thumbprints

  3 Dozen Whole Wheat Gingersnaps

  3 Dozen Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

  4 Dozen Russian Teacakes

  9 Dozen Shortbread Bites (they are super tiny!)

  3 Dozen Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

  7 Dozen Dark Chocolate Cut-out Cookies

Some were old tried and true favorites, and some were new. I even tried my hand at decorating the chocolate cut outs, something I haven't done before. I had a lot of fun and the family loved them!