12 Days of Christmas-"Cookie Style"- Hard Tack Candy

Hard Tack Candy

I love this candy. It is just so old-fashioned and cool. I'm into bringing the old stuff back! It is easy to make and inexpensive. The fun thing is that you can make any flavor and make it any color. I prefer mints and cinnamon, but you can do fruit flavors, too. You can buy the flavoring at any craft store, and they usually come in packs of four. So, plan on making a few batches, so you get different flavors and colors.

2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
1 bottle candy flavoring
food color
powdered sugar

Mix together sugar, corn syrup, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, add candy thermometer. Heat to 300 degrees and remove from heat. Add color and flavoring. Pour onto a greased cookie sheet. Dust with powder sugar. Let cool and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

This candy has a long shelf life, so you could make it up several weeks before Christmas with no problem!

You also want to use a non stick pan if you have one! I have one and I always use it when I am making candy. It is no fun to have stuff stuck to your pan!

12 Days of Christmas - "Cookie Style"- Pecan Tarts

Pecan Tarts

2 cups margarine
12 oz. cream cheese (1 1/2 packages)
4 cups flour
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix together margarine and cream cheese until blended. Beat in flour, 1 cup at a time until blended. Roll into small balls and press into bottom and sides of greased mini muffin pans.

In another bowl mix eggs, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir in pecans. Use spoon to fill each crust 2/3 full with filling.

Bake 15-18 minutes until light brown and filling is puffed up.

Yields-60 pecan tarts

*Tip- Don't be stingy with the size of the dough balls. If you don't put enough dough in the pecan filling will come over the sides and make them hard to get out. Talking from experince here- you don't want them to stick. You well be back to square one.

*These freeze great. Just bake and cool, then put in a freezer bag.

12 Days of Christmas "Cookie Style" - Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Chocolate Cherry Cookies

These and candy cane cookies are my absolute favorites! I have never had a Christmas where I didn't make these!!!! They are very rich, chocolaty, and delicious. I love their uniqueness, I have never had anything like them. They also freeze well, I usually make them up a few weeks before Christmas and you would never know.

These are a childhood favorite! My aunt Cherie makes them every Christmas, and I would always eat a ton of them. I just love family recipes!

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup cocoa
6 oz chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
4 teaspoons cherry juice
cherries

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Cream together margarine, sugar, egg, and vanilla.
Sift together flour, salt, soda, baking powder, and cocoa.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat with mixer until incorporated.
For icing-melt chocolate chips, sweetened condensed mil, and cherry juice on stove top.
Roll dough into balls. Make indentation on the top and top with a cherry. Put icing on top of that.
Bake for 10 minutes.

12 Days of Christmas "Cookie Style"-Candy Cane

Candy Cane Cookies

Oh my, these are my most favorite cookies EVER!!!! I would eat them all year, but that might be a little weird. I mean cookies for Easter that taste like peppermint?? Sounds strange to me. I have great memories of making these with my Aunt Becky when I was little. They were my favorite then, and still are today!

I have seen similar recipes elswhere, but they either don't have the glaze or are just sugar cookies shaped like candy canes. Ugh...that won't work for me.

1 cup softened butter or margarine
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
dash of salt
2 1/2 cups flour
red food coloring

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
enough water to brush or drizzle on cookies

In a large bowl, beat margarine until soft. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, peppermint, and salt. Beat well. Add flour and beat well. Divide dough into two equal balls. Color one red (it really will just be pinkish). Chill 30 minutes.

For each candy cane, scoop 1 teaspoonful of plain dough and 1 teaspoonful of the red dough. Roll each dough portion between your hands to make a 4 inch rope. Twist together, pinch ends, and form into a candy cane. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees 8-9 minutes. Let cool and drizzle glaze on cookies!

These cookies freeze great! I bake them and freeze without the glaze. When you are ready to eat them, just pull out of the freeze and put the glaze on them.

12 Days of Christmas "Cookie Style"-Kiss Cookies

Kiss Cookies

48 Hershey's Kisses
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
granulated sugar

Remove wrappers of kisses

Heat oven to 375. Beat shortening and peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually beat into flour mixture.

Shape into 48 balls (about 1 inch each). Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 3-4 minutes. Press Kiss into center of cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove cookie from sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Makes 48 cookies

12 Days of Christmas "Cookie Style"- Toffee

Toffee

This toffee is great! This is another thing that I make every year! It is also great for gift giving.

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Heat sugar, butter and water to boiling in heavy 2-quart saucepan, stirring constantly; reduce heat to medium. Cook, about 13 minutes, stirring constantly; to 300 on candy thermometer. Watch carefully so mixture does not burn.

Immediately pour toffee onto ungreased large cookie sheet. If necessary, quickly spread mixture to 1/4 inch thickness. Sprinkle with chocolate chips; let stand about 1 minute or until chips are completely softened. Spread softened chocolate evenly over toffee. Sprinkle with pecans.

Let stand at room temperature about 1 hour, or refrigerate if desired, until firm. Break into bite-size pieces. Store in airtight container.

12 Days of Christmas "Cookie Style"- Butter Cookies

Butter Cookies

I love these cookies! I bake them all year, not just Christmas. I personally love them with the apricot, but hubby loves the raspberry so I do half and half.

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup raspberry or apricot preserves

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a small bowl and set aside.

Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar together in a medium size mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minute. Stop the mixer twice to scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for several seconds. Scrape the bowl, then turn the mixer to high speed and beat until the batter is light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

Refrigerate the batter in plastic wrap or a covered container for 3 hours.

Fifteen minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 275 F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or leave them ungreased.

Measure out rounded teaspoonfuls of dough and roll them into balls with your hands.

Place the balls about 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Then make a firm indentation in the center of each cookie with your thumb or index finger.

Bake the cookies until lightly golden, 25-30 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and increase the heat to 325.

Place 1/2 teaspoon jam in the center of each cookie and return the sheet to the oven.

Bake the cookies just until the jam melts and spreads, about 10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheets before eating.

12 Days of Christmas "Cookie Style" - Gingerbread

Gingerbread Cookies

I am just going to be honest right now... I am not down with the gingerbread! I included these because they are a Christmas tradition, and I make them every year. They are so stinking cute :) I love to look at them, decorate them, really anything besides eat them...but a lot of people order them every year so they must taste good. I even collect gingerbread stuff for the house, I can't resist those cute little guys!

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup molasses
2/3 cup cold water
7 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Beat brown sugar, shortening, molasses, and water in very large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm.

Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Roll one fourth of dough at a time 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut with floured gingerbread cookie cutter. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Now decorate them up really cute :)

12 Days of Christmas "Cookie Style"-Mexican Wedding

Mexican Wedding Cookies

These little cookies are called so many different things. Russian Tea Cakes, Snowballs, Snowdrops...whatever you call them, they are some good cookies! They are really easy to make and freeze great. If you make them now to freeze just place them in a freezer bag. When they thaw roll them in more powdered sugar.

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
powdered sugar

Heat oven at 400.

Mix butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and the vanilla in large bowl. Stir in flour, nuts, and salt til dough holds together.

Shape into 1 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes or til set but not brown. Immediately remove from sheet to wire rack. Cool 5 minutes. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar again.

Makes 4 dozen

12 Days of Christmas "Cookie Style"- Caramels

Caramels

Ok, I know I said 12 Days of Christmas "Cookie Style", but I love these caramels! I just couldn't leave out a few of my candy recipes. I make these every Christmas, and I have lots of requests for them. They are pretty easy to make, but do take some time to cut and wrap them. That would be a great thing for the kids to help with! I know the recipe only makes an 8x8 pan, but trust me, that is A LOT of caramels. I have never been a fan of "caramel" flavor, but when I made these I was converted. These are a MUST try!

1 cup butter
2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup light colored corn syrup
1-14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

1.Line an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan with foil. Extend the foil over the edges of the pan. Butter the foil.
2.In a 3 qt. heavy saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add brown sugar, condensed milk, and corn syrup; mix well. Cook and stir over med-high heat until mixture boils. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of pan. Reduce heat to medium; continue boiling at a moderate, stead rate, stirring frequently, until the thermometer registers 248 degrees F, firm ball stage(15-20 minutes). (adjust heat as necessary to maintain a steady boil.)
3.Remove saucepan from heat; remove thermometer. Stir in vanilla. Quickly pour mixture into prepared pan. When firm, use foil to lift it out of pan. Use a buttered knife to cut into 1 inch squares. Wrap each piece in wax paper.

12 Days of Christmas "Cookie Style"-Sugar

Sugar Cookies

I use this sugar cookie recipe because the cookies hold their shape. I can use intricate cookie cutters, and don't have to worry about them spreading. The recipe is actually called "no fail" sugar cookies, so they are easy!



5 1/2 -6 cups flour
3 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt


Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little at a time to the butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together. Chill for 1-2 hours. Roll to desired thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until edges are just turning light brown. Makes up to 5 dozen-3inch cookies. Decorate with your favorite icing!

12 Days of Christmas "Cookie Style"-Haystack

Haystack Cookies

These are so simple, and great for the kids to make. I was asked to bring these for a cookie exchange one year, and I almost felt too guilty to bring them. They are too easy...I felt like I should have made something more difficult. Oh well, they asked for them. I continually get recipe requests for these yummy, simple cookies. If you like butterscotch go ahead and give these a try, you won't be disappointed.

1 package butterscotch chops
1 heaping tablespoonful peanut butter
1 bag dried chow mein noodles
2 oz. peanuts

Melt the chips and peanut butter in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds so they don't scorch. Once melted, stir in chow mein noodles and peanuts. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper. Put in the refrigerator to cool. Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container.

12 Days of Christmas "Cookie Style"

Since it is now Christmas time I thought it would be nice to share some of my favorite cookie/candy recipes. After all, who doesn't look forward to Christmas cookies all year? So, over the next couple weeks I will be sharing my 12 Days of Christmas "Cookie Style"!

Now, I am not a casual cookie baker, I take it pretty seriously...I have sold Christmas cookies for about 4 years or so. I typically sell about 140 dozen cookies plus lots of poundage of candy, and yes you read that right, there is a zero behind the 14! I love making them, but it is A LOT of work to make that much. So much work in fact, that I lost my love of cookies (gasp) for a while. I am taking this year off, so I am actually looking forward to making them again. I know I have a lot of unhappy customers since they are going to have to make their own cookies this year, and to them I am sorry :(

I would love to hear your favorite cookie recipes, too! I always love to try new recipes especially those in the form of sweets! You never know, your recipe might just end up on this cool blog! Ha Ha!