Christmas Cookies

Hells-to-the-yeah, ladies and gentleman!!! Get excited for Christmas eating season!

I have been looking up a few recipes I want to try out. Cooking treats gets tricky in my house, considering Doug doesn't eat chocolate, and I really try to pick things that aren't like, a thousand calories. So...these all look pretty good. When it comes to recipes I am not loyal nor do I typically make the same thing more than 2 or 3 times. Maybe this Christmas I will find a few that can become "Midkiff classics." Here's a few I plan on making:

Lemon Buttermilk Cookies (via Tasty Kitchen)
•FOR THE COOKIES:
•1-½ cup Unbleached All-purpose Flour
•1 teaspoon Grated Lemon Zest
•¼ teaspoons Baking Soda
•¼ teaspoons Salt
•6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, At Room Temperature
•¾ cups Granulated Sugar
•1 whole Large Egg
•½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
•⅓ cups Well-shaken Buttermilk
•_____
•FOR THE GLAZE:
•¾ cups Confectioners Sugar (sifted)
•1-½ Tablespoon Well-shaken Buttermilk
•¼ teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, zest, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter briefly, until creamy. Add the sugar, and beat until pale and fluffy. Add the egg, and beat well to mix. Add the vanilla, and beat briefly again. Slowly mix in the flour mixture and the buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. The finished dough should be smooth and pale yellow.
4. Drop the dough by level tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 ½ inches between each cookie. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the cookies are puffed and their edges are golden, about 11 to 15 minutes per batch. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 1 minute; then transfer them to a wire rack.
5. To prepare the glaze, whisk together the sifted confectioners sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla. The mixture should be very smooth, with no lumps of sugar visible. Brush or spoon the glaze onto the warm cookies. Allow cookies to sit on the rack until they are fully cooled and the glaze is set.

Ginger Molasses Cookies (via Tasty Kitchen)
•2-¼ cups All-purpose Flour
•1 teaspoon Baking Soda
•1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
•2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
•½ teaspoons Ground Cloves
•¼ teaspoons Kosher Salt
•¾ cups Unsalted Butter, Softened
•1 cup Granulated Sugar
•1 whole Large Egg, At Room Temperature
•¼ cups Unsulfured Molasses
•1 Tablespoon Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
•2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar, For Coating Cookie Dough Balls
•2 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar, For Coating Tops Of Baked Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

Sift together 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl with the paddle attachment (a handheld mixer works fine) mix together 3/4 cup of softened unsalted butter and 1 cup sugar.

Add 1 large egg and mix it up!

Now add in 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses and 1 Tablespoon of freshly squeezed orange juice. Mix to combine.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until almost combined. Using a spatula/mixing spoon, fold the ingredients together in order to incorporate them.

Pour about 2 Tablespoons of sugar on a plate. The sugar will be used to roll the cookie dough balls in.

Scoop balls of cookie dough using a cookie dough scooper or a Tablespoon. Roll the balls of cookie dough in the sugar.

Place the cookie dough balls on the baking pan and using the palm of your hand, press the cookies to flatten them a bit.

Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet. Tranfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Pour 2 Tablespoons of powdered sugar on a plate. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies in the powdered sugar. Shake off the excess powdered sugar.


Oh Baby Bars! (Via Eat, Live, Run, -- NOT a Doug-friendly recipe, but these would be GREAT to bring to a party! Easy and super rich...not something you want sitting in your house all month long!)

makes about 48 small bars

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
7 ounces milk chocolate
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 T butter

Blend together the brown sugar, powdered sugar, butter and peanut butter until it reaches a smooth paste-like consistency. Press into the bottom of a nine by thirteen inch pan.

Melt the chocolate with the tablespoon of butter over very low heat (or in a microwave). Pour melted chocolate over the peanut butter crust and stick in the fridge for an hour to harden.

Cut into squares and serve!