I am waiting for JP to share her cookie recipes with us!

I will add some of my favorites later but I want to know about traditional Arabic Christmas recipes that I can try out this year.

Enjoy!

Sarah

Oh man, as soon as we get an oven I will get on that right away. My grandma blew up our oven yesterday, everyone is ok but now we have to wait.

Apparently she put the oven on self clean instead of bake to cook the chickens.

I just didn;t know that was possible. I am so glad everyone is okay!

JP I'm still waiiiiting!

What the?! Grandma! Glad no one was hurt.

Wow!!! Glad to hear everyone is okay. Was there any other damage? Do you have insurance for this?

Everyone is ok, insurance doesn't cover it. Just a little paint and a new oven and its all fine now. Thanks everyone.

My favorite Christmas cookies are "Mexican wedding" cookies or "bullets" they're so good and easy to make!

Have you had snickerdoodles Sarah? They're really easy to make and really yummy!

Aaaaaand, I'm still waiting for cookie recipes here!!

can you post the recipe?

I know I know I am waiting for my mom to email me the secret recipes!

I'm pretty sure you were wanting us to post recipes, but does anyone know how to make any no-bake cookies? Like peanut butter balls?

I make madelines every year, they are little pound cakes in the cutest shape, butter, flour, sugar, how can you go wrong? I also make a few batches of shortbread.

I know Paula Deen makes peanut butter balls and there is a recipe on foodnetwork.com

Let me find it. Please hold.

18 ounces peanut butter, recipe follows
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar
1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
12 ounces milk chocolate, melted

In a large bowl, combine peanut butter, confectioners' sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and butter. Mash together until combined. Form the mixture into balls. Transfer to the refrigerator until hardened, about 30 minutes. Dip the peanut butter balls into the melted chocolate and set inside mini paper cupcake forms. Let the chocolate set before serving.

Peanut Butter:
3 cups peanuts, shelled, unsalted and dry roasted
Peanut oil, if necessary

Peanut Butter: In the bowl of a food processor, grind the peanuts until smooth. With the motor of the food processor running, add peanut oil if necessary, and puree until the peanuts are the consistency of peanut butter.
This is a Gale Gand recipe but here is the page with those recipes:
(hers had more stars which is why I posted it)

http://web.foodnetwork.com/food/web/search...s&site=food

I think we call those cocoons... I'll have to ask mom for her recipe - it's dee-lish... u can't stop eating them

The ones with walnuts and they're rolled in powder sugar.... you can just pop them in your mouth one after another, very dangerous.

that is, indeed, the ones! omg.......... yum!

Those are good cookies to make a ton of them and freeze them then defrost them before you want to have them and roll them in powdered sugar before you serve them yummmmmy.

I've been meaning to try making some mexican wedding cookies for a couple of years now but somehow never got around to it. Guess that's one of the next things on my list.

Snickerdoodles:

cookie dough:
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

cinnamon/sugar mixture:
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
mix until combined


Mix all the cookie dough ingredients and chill until firm.
Roll into balls and then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Place on cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Thanks Melly! I will have to try those this week sometime.

I have a recipe for bourbon balls that are "no bake" . . . but it does include alcohol, LOL!! Unless there is a bourbon flavored liquid out there somewhere.


Anyone want a recipe for spice cookies?? I've found these are popular with just about everyone . . . it has cinnamon, ginger, cloves, molasses, LOL!! Your basic butter and sugar with spice, hehe!!

We make a variation of those with a Hershey's kiss inside. OMG...I can overdose on those!

yeah! bring on the spice cookie recipe..... mmmmmmmmmm

I see alot of talk and no friggin cookies!

less calorie intake that way!

just trying to make sure you still fit into your jordache jeans, jordacheprincess

damn I can't even have virtual calories!

While I am looking for the "Sugar and Spice Cookie" Recipe, check this out:

MACADAMIA SHORTBREAD STARS


1 CUP butter, at room temperature
1/2 CUP unsifted powdered sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 CUPS cake flour (I have used regular flour with good results)
1/2 Teaspoon baking powder
1/4 Teaspoon salt
1 CUP finely chopped macadamia nuts
or salted cashew nuts
Powdered sugar for dusting
____________________________________________________________________________

Beat butter and powdered sugar together until creamy. Add vanilla, beating until light and fluffy. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture with nuts. Stir well. Cover and chill 1 hour. Roll out on a floured board about 1/4-inch thick. Cut cookies out with a small star or heart cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in a 350 Degree (Fahrenheit) oven for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove immediately from baking sheets to wire racks. Let cool almost to room temperature. Then dust tops lightly with powdered sugar shaken through a sieve. Makes about 5 dozen.


And this was very popular with my ME friends :

LEMON BARS


Crust: Topping:

2 CUPS all-purpose flour 4 eggs
1/2 CUP powdered sugar 1 1/2 CUPS sugar
1 CUP butter, chilled 1/4 CUP flour
6 Tablespoon Lemon juice
2 Tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar
_____________________________________________________________________________
For crust:

Mix together flour, sugar, and butter until crumbly. Pat into bottom and 1/4 inch up the sides of a buttered 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees (Fahrenheit) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

For topping:

Beat eggs slightly. In a separate bowl, stir together sugar and flour. Add to eggs. Beat well. Add lemon juice, peel, baking powder, and salt. Beat until smooth. Pour over baked crust. Return to oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes longer, or until just set. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while hot. Let cool and cut in bars.

Makes 4 dozen.



Note: I don’t always have fresh lemons around so I leave out the peel and use an additional tablespoon of lemon juice.
Note2: I substituted cake flour in the same amount as the regular flour for the crust which worked well.

omg................. i love lemon bars!

SUGAR AND SPICE COOKIES


3/4 CUP butter, at room temperature
1 CUP sugar
1 Egg
¼ Cup molasses
2 CUPS all-purpose flour
2 Teaspoon baking soda
1/4 Teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon cloves
¾ teaspoon ginger
Powdered sugar for dusting
____________________________________________________________________________

Beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Beat in egg and molasses. Sift flour with baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Add to creamed mixture. Mix well. Shape into balls using rounded teaspoonfuls of dough.

Place on greased baking sheets. Bake in a 375 Degree (Fahrenheit) oven for 10 - 15 minutes or until golden browned. Transfer to wire racks and let cool slightly. Dust tops lightly with powdered sugar shaken through a sieve. Makes about 4 dozen.

Note: I like them really spicy so I double up on the cinnamon, etc.

Bullets

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. In a meium bowl, beat together butter, granulated sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add flour, beating until well blended. If necessary, work with figers until dough holds together. Blend in nuts.Shape into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until bottoms are golden. Remove cookies from baking sheets; cool on racks. While warm, roll in powdered sugar, coating completely. (We usually do it again before they are served, after they cool) Makes 30 cookies.

Notice a common theme on all these cookies???? Butter and sugar!!! That's all they are!


Yum, I love butter and sugar . . . . . . .my favorite food groups, unfortunately .

I did a ton of baking last year at Christmas. My boss paid me to bake cookies for a bunch of people at work. Because I love to take pictures I took pictures of all of the cookies I made.
So, here's a picture of my snickerdoodles and also a picture of some very christmassy looking cookies that are chocolate with broken peppermint candies on top. yum.


snickerdoodles
[attachmentid=2926]



chocolate peppermint thingies
[attachmentid=2927]

those chocolate peppermint thingies look delicious!! mmmmmmmmmm..... i love chocolate & mint anything!

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!!!!!

It's about time! I just bought 10 pounds of butter in preparation.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!! I can't wait!!!!!

Tomorrow is butter day???

Maybe it is baking for the cookie exchange??? 10 lbs of butter is a lot of cookies!!

Here are some of my favorite christmas cookie recipes. The sugar cookie recipe I like cause the cookies come out a little bit thicker than regular sugar cookies and you can ice them really easily. You can make them for any holiday occasion that you have cookie cutters for (or just roll dough into a log, roll in sugar, chill, cut, and bake). The ginger cookies come out really nice and thin and you could just stuff 100 in your mouth. I like to make mine chewy cause... I just like chewy better. And the butter cookie recipe is just fun, it makes thousands of cookies, but it gets a little tiring after awhile. I would NOT DOUBLE the butter cookie recipe. Never ever.


Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Mix butter and sugar. Mix in egg and vanilla. Add sour cream. Mix in dry ingredients. Roll out and cut into holiday shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Cool and frost with different color icings. (I always use the frosting recipe on the powdered sugar box)



Ginger Cookies

3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. each of ginger, cloves, and cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg and molasses. Beat well. Sift in flour, baking soda, and spices. Mix well and chill. Roll into small balls about the size of a nickle and dip in white sugar (optional). Place on greased cookie sheet and flatten. Bake quickly for 3-5 minutes.

3 minutes = chewy
5 minutes = crispy

Easy to burn, so keep an eye on them!!


Butter Cookies

1 lb. butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1 tbls. vanilla
4 1/2 cups sifted flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Soften butter. Cream butter and sugar. Add in egg, egg yolks, and vanilla. Sift in flour. Chill dough. Put the dough in a spritz with the star shaped spritz thingy. You can experiment with other shapes, but ive found that this works best. Cut cookies at about an inch long. Place on a non greased cookie sheet and place in oven for 8 minutes.

While they're baking (time for a little multi tasking!!) heat on low/meduim 12 oz.semi sweet chocolate morsels, 1/4 cup light corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water. When the cookies come out of the oven and cool a bit, dip one end in chocolate and then dip in spinkles (you can use any kind... I always use 4 or 5 different kinds so the cookies look a little different) and let them cool on a piece of waxed paper.

Thanks everyone for posting those recipes!

I am waiting for Melly Crocker to post the recipes for the chocolate mint ones.

Actually I got the recipe for the chocolate cookies from a book I checked out from the library, "Pillsbury: Best Cookies Cookbook". It has tons of great looking recipes and I've had great reactions from the ones that I've made from it. Anyways, I just made the chocolate cookies from the recipe and decided that the peppermint chips might taste good on it so I added them. I got them from Williams Sonoma, though I'm sure they sell them other places as well.

Crisp Chocolate Snaps

2 cups of sugar
1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups margarine or butter, softened
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar

1. In large bowl, combine 2 cups sugar, brown sugar, and margarine (or butter); beat until light and fluffy. Add chocolate, vanilla and eggs; blend well. Add flour, baking soda and salt; mix well. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 to 2 hours for easier handling.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls; roll in 1/4 cup sugar. Place 3 inches apart on greased cookie sheets.
3. Bake at 350 for 8 to 12 minute or until set. (Cookies will puff up, then flatten during baking.) Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.

Makes 6 dozen cookies.

The first time I made these I made them plain and so I rolled them in the sugar as suggested in the recipe, but I think when I made them with peppermint I didn't do that, i just got them on the baking sheets and then baked them. I didn't add the peppermint until right after I took them out of the oven because the oven is too hot and melts the peppermint chips into the cookies.
I heard they were good with and without the peppermint.