Cookies, Cookies And More Cookies - Heat Up The Oven
Posted
Jen Gibson-jgibson@timesuniononline.com
The beginning of December always makes me think of baking holiday cookies. For some reason when the snow is falling gently in the trees, my thoughts wander to turning on the oven and baking something tasty.
Many folks participate in cookie exchanges. If you are not familiar with a cookie exchange, it's when a group of people get together and each one bakes a dozen of their favorite cookies for each other person. Then the participants exchange cookies and go home with a variety of different home-baked cookies.
I have had a couple people submit their favorite recipes, and I looked through my old recipe box to find some unusual cookie recipes that I thought people might want to try.
I hope these recipes are helpful with your holiday baking - who knows, you might just find a new favorite!
The first recipe today was submitted by Dixie Pifer of Warsaw.
"Hi, enjoy your column. This cookie recipe is from my mom's Aunt Dorothy who was a wonderful baker. She and Uncle Jack (Hoffer) lived on a farm near Nappanee and were honored as the longest married couple in Indiana (81 years of marriage)! They had their own garden well into their late 90s, and Aunt Dorothy was known as a terrific baker."
BUTTERMILK SUGAR COOKIES
1 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups of buttermilk
5 cups of flour
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking soda dissolved in the buttermilk
3 tsp. baking powder
Optional: 1 cup of walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together (you can't mess it up!), drop by rounded tablespoons onto greased cookie sheet, and sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar.
Bake for 8-10 minutes - maybe longer if you make large cookies.
"This is a soft textured sugar cookie; I prefer these over crisp cookies," Dixie said.
The next recipe that was submitted is from Jenn Quillen. She calls them her "famous cookies."
Jenn Quillen's Famous Cookies
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
3/4 cup of brown sugar (or Splenda)
3/4 cup of sugar (or Splenda)
2 eggs
2-1/4 cup of self-rising flour
1 12ounce bag of chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
First put butter, vegetable oil and sugars in mixing bowl and mix until creamy. Add eggs one at a time and mix.
Then measure 2-1/4 cup of flour and sift it. Add the flour into the bowl slowly. Mix in chocolate chips with a spoon.
Bake for 8 minutes on a cookie sheet, or 7 minutes for a dark pan.
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Here are a couple cookie recipes I dug up from my recipe box:
MALTED MILK COOKIES
1 cup butter, softened (no substitutions on this one!)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2-1/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons instant chocolate drink mix
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups malted milk balls, crushed
reheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, drink mix, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in malted milk balls.
Place two inches apart on greased baking sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set.
Cool for one minute before removing from pan to wire racks.
CRANBERRY-COCONUT COOKIES
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
6 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup cranberry juice or water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
1 teaspoon sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1/8 teaspoon salt
1-175 ounce package sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup flour
1 16-ounce tub vanilla frosting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Filling:
In a saucepan, combine cranberries, sugar, juice or water, cornstarch, coconut, almonds, butter, lemon peel and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cook 5 to 7 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and cool.
Prepare cookie mix as directed on package except stir in the 1/2 cup flour. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with 2-inch round cookie cutter.
Place half the cookie rounds on an ungreased cookie sheet, dot with 1-1/2 teaspoons of filling. Top with remaining cookies. Seal edges with a fork.
Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove cookies from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack.
Frost cookies with vanilla frosting.
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Check in next week when I will have a recipe for my grandma's pressed cookies - they are definitely my favorites!
