Christmas Cookies!

This is the first year I have every really gotten into Christmas baking, but I really enjoyed making all my cookies. My friend Melanie came over one night and we baked for hours, accomplishing about half of these. The others were made over my finals week, because I had no finals (lucky me!). I enjoyed taking these to work, to holiday parties, and of course, snacking on them at home!

So this post isn't ridiculously long, I will just link to the recipes I found in other blogs, and will only post the recipes here that are family recipes I used.

Espresso Shortbread (Source: Yum.)
Chocolate Toffee Cookies (Source: Smitten Kitchen)
Mexican Wedding Cookies (Source: A Year in the Kitchen) Not pictured; these got eaten up too fast!


Top to bottom: Peanut Butter cookies with mini PB cups, Chocolate Toffee cookies, and Espresso Shortbread

It was my first time making all of these recipes, all were wonderful, and all will definitely be made again! I especially loved the lemon zest added to the Mexican Wedding cookies, it was so refreshing tasting with all that sugar!

The following 3 recipes are family recipes from my mom:

Sugar Cookies
4 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup shortening
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cream: Shortening, sugar, eggs, and flavoring
Mix: Dry ingredients
Add: Dry ingredients to cream mixture
Roll to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with cookie cutters. Decorate as desired.
Bake 10 minutes.




Gingerbread Men

4 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Cream: Shortening, sugar, eggs, and molasses
Mix: Dry ingredients
Add: Dry ingredients to creamed mixture
Roll to 1/4 inch thick and cut with cookie cutters.
Bake for about 10 minutes




Peanut Butter Cookies (With Mini PB Cups or Kisses)

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda

Cream: Butter and peanut butter
Add: Egg, vanilla, sugar, brown sugar, flour, and baking soda
Roll into 1" balls and put onto a greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes
Immediately press in mini PB cups or kisses (14 oz. bag)
Let cool 10 minutes.

Captain Morgan Rum Balls

I didn't catch a picture of these guys but I wanted to blog about them anyway. First I would like to say that I never plan to make these again. A couple people who tried them liked them, but most people agreed that they were way too strong, including Kevin's sister, who drinks Captain Morgan almost exclusively. So, if you like strong alcohol flavoring then go for it; if you don't, then I would pass on this one. They were, however, easy to make, but be prepared for your hands to get very messy!

Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum Balls
Source: Gifts From Your Kitchen

1 box vanilla wafers
4 tablespoons white Karo syrup
1/2 cup Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum or similar spiced rum
3 tablespoons powdered cocoa
1 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

Blend vanilla wafers in blender until they are powdered. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Roll into half dollar size balls. Roll in confectioners' sugar. Refrigerate overnight.

Dr. Pepper Peanut Brittle

I found this recipe and thought it looked pretty simple. I was also wanting something else to go with all the holiday cookies I was making, so I decided to give it a go. I think my parents ate almost the whole batch themselves, and my mom especially loved it! It was quite easy and the cayenne adds an unexpected kick, so if you don't like sweet and spicy together than I would reduce this amount, or just omit it.



Dr. Pepper Peanut Brittle
Source: Homesick Texan, originally adapted from Cooking with Dr. Pepper and 7-Up

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups of sugar
3/4 cups of butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne
1/4 cup of Dr Pepper
2 cups roasted and salted peanuts, shelled
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

Method:
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine all the ingredients except for the baking soda in a pot, cook on medium heat and bring to a boil stirring often.

3. When the temperature reaches 290 degrees, remove from heat and stir in soda. Mixture will foam up and double in size.
4. Spread mixture thin on baking sheet using a silicone spatula.
5. When mixture cools and hardens (about half an hour), break into pieces and serve.
Makes 1 1/2 pounds or enough to feed you and a couple of other people.

Seasoned Pretzels

These are something my mom makes every holiday season, and sometimes as a treat at other times in the year. They are super simple to make and so tasty! I bet you can't eat just one!



Seasoned Pretzels
Source: My Mom

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

20 oz. of broken pretzel sticks (the thick rod kind)
3/4 cup oil
1 pkg. dry ranch dressing mix
1 1/2 Tbsp. dill weed
1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder

Mix together oil, ranch dressing mix, dill weed, and garlic powder.
Coat pretzel pieces.

Bake in oven for 1 hour.
Stir every 15 minutes.

Homemade Christmas gifts!

This year I decided to do mostly homemade gifts, for fun and also to save a little money. I made three different types of cookie mix in a jar, which Kevin and I gave to friends, family, and coworkers. I decorated these with fabric circles and made a tag with baking instructions, which I tied with a ribbon around the top. I also made two different types of flavored cooking oil for my dad. (Also a no-sew fleece blanket for my brother, but that doesn't really belong here!)

M&M Cookie Mix in a Jar
Source: About.com

Jar Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• * M & M's

Filling the Jar:
Layer the ingredients in a quart size canning jar in the order listed. I used a small funnel and it worked pretty good for most of the ingredients! Use enough candy pieces so the jar is full to the top. You can use regular M & M's (I used the red and green ones) or the mini M & M's made for baking. Pack down all indredients, especially the brown sugar!

The website has printable tags that include baking directions for the recipient!

Decorative Brownie Mix in a Jar
Source: About.com

Jar Ingredients:

• 1 1/8 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vanilla chips
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• walnuts

Filling the Jar:
Layer the ingredients in a quart size canning jar in the order listed. I used a small funnel and it worked pretty good for most of the ingredients! The walnuts are optional. If you use the walnuts, use enough to fill the jar to the top. If you do not use the walnuts, use extra chocolate and vanilla chips so the jar is full to the top. Pack down all indredients, especially the brown sugar!

The website has printable tags that include baking instructions for the recipient!

Snowball Cookie Mix in a Jar
Source: Gifts From Your Kitchen

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

(4 1/4 cups are placed in quart jar.)

Place 3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar in a separate packet to attach to jar with recipe.

Attach the following instructions to the jar:

Snowballs
Cream 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter or margarine with 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. Gradually stir in the Snowball Cookie Mix until ingredients are well combined. Dust your hands with a little of the confectioners' sugar and roll the dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake, in a preheated oven, for 5 minutes at 325 degrees F or just until light brown. Transfer to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then roll in the confectioners' sugar.

These cookies keep well in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Do not freeze them.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

First I used measuring cups to figure out the volume of my bottles; they held just under 2 cups. Then I adjusted the amounts in the recipes accordingly. The bottles came from the Dollar Tree.

Hot Chile Oil
Source: Whole Foods Market

Makes 3 (8-ounce) bottles of oil

Ingredients
3 teaspoons peppercorns (white, black or pink)
3 teaspoons cumin seeds
3 teaspoons red chile flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 (25.4-ounce) bottle extra virgin olive oil or canola oil
10 whole dried chile pods

Method

Wash 3 glass bottles with hot soapy water, rinse well and set aside to dry. Once dry, place 1 teaspoon peppercorns, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon red chile flakes and 1/2 teaspoon salt in each bottle. Heat olive oil and chile pods in a sauce pan to 150°F, turn heat off and allow oil to sit for a half hour. Carefully strain out chile pods. Place funnel in the bottle opening and pour oil in the bottle, leaving about 1 to 2 inches at the top. Shake to mix well, seal and store in a cool dark place for 1 week before enjoying. Package with a stainless steel spout around the neck of the bottle for easy dispensing.

Basil Oil
Source: Food Network - Michael Chiarello

For soft herbs, such as basil, parsley, cilantro or tarragon: Use 4 cups packed leaves to 2 cups pure olive oil.

For woody herbs, such as rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano or lemon verbena: Use 1 cup packed leaves to 2 cups pure olive oil.

In a blender, puree the herbs and oil until completely smooth. Put the mixture in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer over moderate heat. Simmer for 45 seconds, then pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Don't press on the mixture, but you can tap the strainer against your hand to get the oil to drip through faster.

Immediately strain the oil again through a flat-bottomed paper filter. If the filter clogs, you may need to change the filter partway through. It's okay to pick the filter up and squeeze it gently to get the oil out faster, but be careful not to break the filter.

(Sometimes a little dark liquid comes through the filter first. Don't worry; that's water. It will settle to the bottom because it is heavier than the oil.)

Let the filtered oil settle for a few hours, then pour it off the dark liquid. Store in an airtight jar in a cool, dark place.

Cook's Notes: The oil passes through the filter faster if it's filtered while still hot, so set up your filter before you start the recipe. You'll need a flat-bottomed paper filter, like those used for some drip coffee machines. Cone-shaped filters tend to get clogged.

Yield: about 1 1/3 cups

Oreo Truffles

These little truffles are so decadent, and they are a perfect holiday treat! They do take a little bit of time, but they are pretty easy (except when you try to grab your hot burner with your bare hand and give yourself a second degree burn, but that is a different story).

Oreo Truffles
Source: Skinny Food by Amy

1 package oreos
14 oz. condensed milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Almond bark or melting chocolate



First, crush the oreos in a ziploc bag or a food processor. Then, add the condensed milk and mix together. Form into small balls (a cookie scoop is a great way to do this) and place in the freezer to set for about half an hour. In the meantime, prepare your melting chocolates according to the package instructions in the microwave or double boiler. Then, dip the balls in chocolate (I used toothpicks to hold the balls in the chocolate) and allow to cool on parchment or mini candy cups. Decorate with a white chocolate drizzle or sprinkles, if desired.



I got about 30 or so truffles out of the recipe, but I made them bigger than I would have liked. They were so large that you could barely eat a whole one because they were so rich. They also were a little too large for the mini muffin wrappers I was using. I will definitely be making these again, just with a smaller scooper!