It's Christmas Cookie Time!!!!!

JoeV

Dough Boy
Site Supporter
After a dinner of 5-cheese ravioli, sweet Italian sausage and a salad of mixed greens, me and the Mrs. spent 2 hours making cut-out sugar cookies. What a lot of work these puppies were. I made the dough and cut out all the cookies while she iced and decorated them.

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This afternoon we also made snowballs, Danish sugar cookies and peanut butter blossoms.

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Tomorrow we'll make "Spritz" cookies with the cookie gun...more decorating. DW also want me to make Kolachis with homemade preserves. mot sure when I'll make those.
 

MexicoKaren

Joyfully Retired
Super Site Supporter
What alot of fun! Your cookies are dazzling. If I had more freezer space, I'd get started sooner, but I don't have anywhere to keep them fresh. I do plan to make some sugar cookies tomorrow, though. They keep well if they're sealed up tight.
 

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
:D
I'm going to start making some soon.
So far all I have planned are jam thumbprints, some iced sugar and those lovely peanut butter blossoms.
Might make some buckeyes too.
 

VeraBlue

Head Mistress
Gold Site Supporter
My heart is a little sad about the christmas cookies this year. My kids, my parents, my exhusband all visited in November, so none of them will be here for christmas. :cry: I always loved picking out the types to bake with my daughter and son. And watching them eat the cookies, or take trays to work with big proud smiles on their faces....

Anyway, I'll do the baking alone and send packages overnight to them. It makes me sad, though. I want them all so badly.

I usually make all the dough types in a couple of days, then start the baking when all the doughs are done. This way, all the butter is out, all the flours and sugars are out. It's easire to make the cookies when the kitchen is not such an explosion.
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
This is the first Holiday season with type 2. I am not sure if I will be baking homemade cookies this year. I usually made around a dozen different cookies and sometimes peanut brittle. I have experimented with candies over the years but I like making cookies the best.



Holiday cookies I have made in the past years (I rotate some and others I made every year)

  1. Gingerbread Boys and Girls (I make mini cookies)
  2. Chocolate Macadamia Cookies With White Chocolate Chunks
  3. Cream Cheese and Jelly Cookies
  4. Texas Sandies
  5. Jelly Tots
  6. Santa's Chocolate Thumbprints
  7. Chocolate Chip Cookies
  8. Caramel Acorns
  9. Peanut Butter Cookies
  10. Pecan Tassies (Miniature Pecan Pies)
  11. Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
  12. Santa's Jelly Thumbprints
  13. Pecan Puffs
  14. Cream Cheese Cookie Gun Cookies
  15. White Chocolate Brownie Drop Cookies
  16. Quick Peanut Oat Cookies
  17. Cream Cheese Spice Cookies
  18. Sugar Cookies
  19. Blonde Peanut Brittle
 
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MexicoKaren

Joyfully Retired
Super Site Supporter
Do you have any luck, Peeps, with substitutes for sweeteners? I know that changing out the sugar might affect the moisture and leavening of cookies, but perhaps less in some recipes. I bake cookies for gifts at Christmas and seldom eat any of them (Jerry is my taster.) Our close friends and neighbors always get a cookie platter, and since we moved to Bucerias, I send a big platter to the local children's shelter. This year, our local church is having a big Christmas dinner for folks who otherwise would not have one - I'll be sending cookies there, as well. It's fun to watch Mexicans eat their first American-style cookie...the cookies (galletas) here are more like English biscuits - not very moist or sweet. I've had several marriage proposals based on my cookies alone!
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
Do you have any luck, Peeps, with substitutes for sweeteners? I know that changing out the sugar might affect the moisture and leavening of cookies, but perhaps less in some recipes. I bake cookies for gifts at Christmas and seldom eat any of them (Jerry is my taster.) Our close friends and neighbors always get a cookie platter, and since we moved to Bucerias, I send a big platter to the local children's shelter. This year, our local church is having a big Christmas dinner for folks who otherwise would not have one - I'll be sending cookies there, as well. It's fun to watch Mexicans eat their first American-style cookie...the cookies (galletas) here are more like English biscuits - not very moist or sweet. I've had several marriage proposals based on my cookies alone!
I can use the Ideal sugar sub cup for cup as sugar. The thing is I can only get the bags through Amazon and it will get expensive first the cost of the Ideal itself AND the shipping. The bags of white sub are only 10.6 oz.
 

SilverSage

Resident Crone
Doesn't Splenda work? I know you can get big bags of that at the warehouse clubs - Costco, Sam's, BJ's.
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
Doesn't Splenda work? I know you can get big bags of that at the warehouse clubs - Costco, Sam's, BJ's.
Splenda has a nasty after taste. The Splenda Brown sugar is HALF REAL brown sugar. PLUS you have to adjust/convert the sugar measurements of your recipes and the volume and texture of baked goods are still not the same. The Ideal white, brown & powdered confectioner varities are ALL NO CAL, tastes like real sugar and can be used exactly cup for cup as real sugar. The volume (rise), taste and texture are like the real deal with a slight flavor diference but not very noticeable and no after taste like Splenda. Truvia also tastes better than Splenda but has the same short comings in baking as Splenda. I have made corn bread with Ideal and my hub said it was the best corn bread I have made BEFORE he knew it was made with "FAKE" sugar.
 

SilverSage

Resident Crone
I made 2 kinds today. The peanut butter sombreros and walnut snowballs.

More to come tomorrow.
 

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QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Fantastic cookies, everyone!!!

SS, I've been making those (what we call) Russian Teacakes since I was a little girl. A family favorite, especially QBro's.

Vera, would it make you a little happy if you took cookies to RedGravy to give away a few to customers?

Lee
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
BEAUTIFUL SS!! I have made both those cookies but my recipes call them Peanut Blossoms and Pecan Puffs respectively.
 

MexicoKaren

Joyfully Retired
Super Site Supporter
Actually, those Russian Tea Cakes/Pecan Puffs are also called Mexican Wedding Cakes/Polvorones. I think they are all the same thing....
 

goatherder

New member
Actually, those Russian Tea Cakes/Pecan Puffs are also called Mexican Wedding Cakes/Polvorones. I think they are all the same thing....

That's what I think too.

Lately I have been down to only making two cookies for Christmas; the Mexican Wedding Cakes and Chocolate Almond Cookies

And I only like my Mexican Wedding cakes:lol:, made with whole wheat pastry flour, good butter and freshly roasted and ground pecans...

Chocolate Almond Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
½ t. almond extract
½ t. vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup cocoa
¼ t, baking powder
¼ t. baking soda
1/8 t. salt
1-cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
additional sugar
almonds

Beat butter and 1 cup sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract; beat well. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating to form smooth dough. Stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough about 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350*. Shape dough into 1 1/8 inch balls, roll in additional sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased sheet. Place almonds on top and press to flatten dough to disc shape.

Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool slightly. Remove from sheet to wire rack.

 

SilverSage

Resident Crone
Yes, I've seen them called Russian Tea Cakes, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Snowballs, Butterballs, Sugared Nut Balls, and a few other things. But they are all the same basic cookie.

I've made them with almonds, pecans, and mixed nuts in past years. This batch was made with walnuts. Personally, I think I like the almond best. They just seem a little more delicate.
 

JoeV

Dough Boy
Site Supporter
Beautiful cookies SS. It's interesting all the different names for the same foods, desserts, sides. The one thing they have in common is GOOD EATS!!!!!!

DW gave away so many (and I ate so many) cookies, that we were at it again yesterday. More spritz and snowball cookies. Boy, those 2/3rd size sheet pans sure cut down on the bake time. We did the snowballs (4 dozen) on one pan made with #70 disher, and the spritz cookies only took two pans for all of them.

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SilverSage

Resident Crone
The spritz cookies look so festive, Joe.

I made 2 more kinds today. Semi-sweet chocolate chip and butter cookies with raspberry jam filling.

I took a cue from ATK and browned the butter for the chocolate chip cookies. It really added a nice toffee like undertone. Best ccc's I've ever made. Tomorrow I'm going to make some with milk chocolate chips (by request).

The jam cookies are tedious. Cutting all those centers out and handling the fragile butter dough. Half way through, I switched cutters to save time. (Smaller hole 0 easier to handle). So it looks like 2 different batches! Oh well!
 

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MexicoKaren

Joyfully Retired
Super Site Supporter
Oh, they are so beautiful, SS! Nice cookies. I have the cutters for those jam cookies, but I've never made them. Maybe I'll give them a go this year!
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
Absolutely BEAUTIFUL cookies SS and JoeV. The pics are cookbook quality!


Here's what I made. Nothing really elaborate this year. From top, clockwise: Chocolate Chip, peanut butter balls, pecan tassies, chocolate covered pretzels, oatmeal cookies, oreo truffels (I nestled a maraschino cherry in the middle for a nice little surprise, this will be a regular now
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) and peanut butter fudge in the center. I made up 8 gift boxes to give away as gifts.
 

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Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
Thanks Peeps!

Here's the inside of the Oreo Truffles:
 

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Guts

New member
I made some molasses Ginger cookies and some chocolate chip cookies for the holidays. Mama, SS, Joe great job on your cookies, looks like they were made in a bakery and Mama your photography is outstanding. Mama I know I've asked before but what program is it that you use to edit your photos if you don't mind me asking again.

I hope you see the humor in this "why men should not make cookies"
 

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Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
Thanks Guts!

It's the HP MediaSmart Photo Editor that came loaded on my Hp laptop.
 

Guts

New member
thanks Mama I haven't done any pictures on my new laptop so I don't know what's on their. I just looked Windows photo Gallery I guess I shouldn't expect too much for what I paid for it. I will look at HP and check into media smart photo editor, if it's not too much I might just get the software. Also I think you are using a high megapixel camera. Your photos are very professional looking. I really like looking at your post with pictures keep them coming. Thanks again Mama
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
Thanks Guts! I'm glad you enjoy them. I got a new camera when I got the new laptop. It's an Olympus Stylus-9000 12 megapixel. I learned that little tulip setting thingy from High Cheese and that has helped a lot too.

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Guts

New member
Mama I know I've seen that tulip setting thing I one of my cameras but I just can't recall where to find it or what it does.
 

SilverSage

Resident Crone
The tulip setting is for close ups. On my camera, it's on the dial where you turn it on to automatic - there's also a setting for wide scenery pictures.
 
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