Don't you just love a good old fashioned cookie exchange? We do, so we've decided to try a virtual cookie exchange. All you have to do is post your best/favorite holiday cookie recipe in the comments section below. Maybe you'll find something new from the Vmeals community to add to your repertoire.
To make it even sweeter (and more interesting), we'll be giving a $50 Williams-Sonoma gift certificate to one lucky cookie exchange participant. We will select the winner one of two ways, depending on how many submissions we get.
1. We will try each recipe in our Vmeals test kitchen (aka my house) and bring samples for tasting and judging at the Vmeals office holiday party on Friday, December 9th.
~or~
2. If we get more recipes than our elves can handle, we'll simply draw a name.
Get your recipe in by 5pm Wednesday, December 7th. We'll announce the winner on Monday, December 12th (Day 3 of our 12 Days of Giveaways).
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Kitchen Sink Cookies
Ingredients
1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup oats
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)
½ cup granulated sugar
¾ cups packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
¾ cups semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup coconut flakes
1/4 cup m&m minis
Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and oats together in medium bowl; set aside.
2. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.
3. Add both sugars, salt and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts, cranberries, m&m's and coconut giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.
4. Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons. Arrange 2 inches apart on large baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet.
5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely [on baking sheet] before serving
Mama's Sweet & Saltines
Ingredients:
40 Saltine Crackers*
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
8 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips (about 1 1/3 cups)
Preheat Oven to 425 degrees. Line a large rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil and saltine crackers.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter & brown sugar together & bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat & pour over crackers, covering them evenly. Put cokes sheet into the oven & watch closely. Bake for about 5 minutes, or until just bubbly.
Remove from oven & pour chocolate chips over crackers. When chips begin to melt, spread them over crackers with a knife. Transfer pan to freezer for about 15-20 minutes, or until completely cold. The chocolate covered crackers will form a solid sheet. Break into pieces & store in an airtight container.
Makes 20 servings. Working time 20 mins. Total time 45 mins.
*Substitute graham crackers for saltines to create a sweeter snack. Use one stick of butter instead of two for a crunchier cracker.
German Anise Cookies (benefits: last for 4 weeks and help with digestion)
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 TBL hot water
2c plus 2 TBL flour
1 TBL anise seeds
granulated sugar
Beat eggs until fluffy using mixer. Gradually add sugar and continue beating 15 minutes. Stir in salt and baking soda mixture. Add flour and anise seeds until well blended. With lightly greased hands, form into small balls, rolls in sugar and arrange 1 1/2 in apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake 375 for 10 min. (Will flatten and crackle when done) Cheers!
Delicate Mint Sandwich Holiday Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Colored sugars, such as green, blue, red, silver and white
Mint Filling:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 or 2 drops mint extract
1 or 2 drops red or green food coloring
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting, optional
Directions
For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until smooth using a handheld mixer in a medium bowl. Add the flour slowly, mixing on low, until incorporated. Scoop the dough into a ball using your hands and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until the dough has firmed slightly, about 30 minutes.
On a floured surface, roll the dough about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out as many rounds as possible with a small cookie cutter and transfer to ungreased baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between each cookie. Re-roll the dough scraps and repeat until all the dough is used. Use a smaller cutter, about 3/4-inch, or cut freehand with a small sharp knife to punch a small window out of half of the cookies. Place the cutouts on the baking sheets and sprinkle all the cookies and cutouts with the colored sugars.
Bake until golden around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
For the filling: Place the sugar, butter, mint extract, food coloring and 1/2 teaspoon of water in a medium bowl and beat on medium speed until well combined and fluffy. Spread a thin layer of mint filling on the cookies without the windows and place the wafers with the windows on top. Sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar, if using, and serve the sandwich cookies with the cutout cookies on the side.
Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies EVER!
Ingredients
1 Cup of Peanut Butter (do not use low fat) Creamy or Chunky
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp of vanilla
Blend Sugar, Egg & Vanilla till pale yellow and creamy. Add peanut butter till blended.
heat oven to 350 degree
using rounded tablespoons or a small scoop put on to cookie sheet
press chriscross patter with fork or push a hershey kiss into the center.
bake for 8-12 min.
Oreo Truffles
1 16oz package of Oreo chocolate sandwich cookies, divided
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
2 8oz packages semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
Crush 9 cookies into fine crumbs, set aside
Crush remaining 36 cookies into fine crumbs
Add cream cheese and mix until well blended
Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls about 1 inch in diameter
Dip balls in chocolate and place on wax paper covered baking sheet
Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs
Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour
Store leftovers coveren in refrigerator
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