Cookie recipes
Princess Bar Cookies
Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 sticks unsalted margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 3/4 cups bread flour
1 3/4 cups coconut
1 cup chopped hazelnuts
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups seedless raspberry or apricot marmalade
Mix all ingredients except butter, margarine and marmalade until combined. Add butter and margarine; pulse mixer until coarse and crumbly. Do not mix into a dough!
Press half of mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 pan or jelly roll pan to form a crust. Spread with marmalade. Scatter remaining mixture on top, leaving patches of marmalade exposed; press down lightly.
Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Makes 24 squares.
Pineapple Drop Cookies
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple in own juice, drained
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Cream sugar, shortening, eggs and vanilla. Add pineapple. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Chill dough.
Drop onto greased cookie sheet. The cookies can be iced with tinted frosting or sprinkled with colored sugars. At this point, if you're not going to ice the cookies, sprinkle with red or green sugars.
Bake at 350 F for 8 minutes or until just lightly browned.
If icing, frost with vanilla or cream cheese icing, tinted red or green if desired.
Molasses Sugar-Crusted Cookies
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
1/8 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon allspice
Pinch ground clove
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg, plus 1 egg white
1/4 cup molasses
In a mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients (flour through cloves). In a large mixing bowl, combine all wet ingredients (canola oil through molasses). Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix until smooth. Wrap bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
Scoop tablespoon-sized portions onto a lightly floured baking pan; freeze for 30 minutes. Roll each scoop into a small ball and toss in granulated sugar to cover.
Place on nonstick baking pan (leave approximately 2-inch spaces between each scoop). Bake at 375 F for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool at room temperature. Store covered at room temperature. Makes 36 cookies.
Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture one cup at a time until dough forms.
Chill dough for three to four hours. Roll out dough on floured surface to a quarter-inch thickness. Cut cookies into desired shapes, then bake at 350 F for 5 minutes. Rotate, and bake 4 more minutes. Cool on wire rack.
Gluten-Free Peppermint Snow Cutouts
Ingredients
For the cookies:
1 cup white rice flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup organic sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
For the frosting:
2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
Chopped candy canes for "snow"
To make cookies: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In bowl, whisk together flours, salt and baking powder. Set aside. Cream butter, add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla and beat. Add flour mixture and beat to a smooth consistency.
Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap, flatten into a disk and refrigerate for one hour. Remove dough, and on a lightly floured surface (tapioca flour or cornstarch) roll dough to a quarter-inch thickness.
Cut cookies with candy-cane cookie cutter. Transfer them to parchment-lined cookie sheet and place in refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Let cool before transferring to wire rack.
To make frosting: With an electric mixer, cream butter until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar, then add vanilla and milk. Beat on high speed until frosting is smooth and light.
To finish: Spread frosting on each cookie. Put Peppermint Snow in a wide/shallow bowl. Immediately after frosting each cookie, turn cookie over and dip in the peppermint snow. Place back on wire rack. Let dry, and store between layers of parchment or wax paper in an airtight container. Cookies will keep several days at room temp or frozen several weeks.