Cookies

Is there anything better, snack-wise, than cookies? They're great for gift-giving, sharing with others, having a couple now and saving the rest for later.

Here are six yummy cookie recipes to check out, including Soft Ginger Cookies and Chocolate Fudge Cookies. Enjoy!

CHOCAPOCALYPSE COOKIES

This is from Alton Brown of the Food Network's show, Good Eats. Total Time: 2 hr 30 min; Prep: 45 min; Inactive: 1 hr 15 min; Cook: 30 min; Yield: 55 cookies; Level: Intermediate

To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocapocalypse-cookie-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

6 ounces 54-percent bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 ounces light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 ounces 70-percent bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

3 ounces 40-percent milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 ounces cocoa nibs

Directions

Place the 54-percent bittersweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate in a medium glass mixing bowl and microwave on high for two 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval. If still not smooth, heat for 10 additional seconds at a time and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool to 90 degrees F, approximately 15 minutes.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together, transfer to a paper plate and set aside.

Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until combined and looks like wet sand, about 2 minutes.

Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl. Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly add the egg mixture until fully incorporated. Pour in the melted chocolate and mix to combine. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until integrated. Add the 70-percent bittersweet chocolate, 40-percent milk chocolate and the cocoa nibs and mix until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Scoop the dough using a 1 1/4-inch-diameter disher or ice cream scoop onto parchment-lined half-sheet pans, placing 2 inches apart, 12 cookies per pan. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, rotating after 5 minutes. Do not over-bake; the cookies may look wet and doughy.

Cool the cookies on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer on the parchment paper to a cooling rack to cool completely.

RAISIN OATMEAL COOKIES

This is from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list, though it looks like it was from a diabetic list.

Yield: 2-1/2 dozen cookies (1 per serving)

Ingredients

6 tablespoons margarine, softened

1/4 cup fat-free sour cream

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins for baking

Directions

Mix margarine, sour cream, egg, and vanilla in large bowl; mix in brown sugar. Mix in combined oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Mix in raisins.

Drop dough onto greased cookie sheets, using 2 tablespoons for each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees F. until browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1 cookie): Calories: 90, Fat: 2.7 g, Cholesterol: 7.1 mg, Sodium: 57 mg, Protein: 1.5 g, Carbohydrate: 15.3 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 1 Bread/Starch, 1/2 Fat

PERFECT BLACK AND WHITE COOKIES

This is from Melissa Clark at The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “Tender, moist and scented with vanilla, almond and lemon, these classic confections popular all over the Midwest and the state of New York are more cake than cookie, with a fine crumb and velvet texture from the sour cream in the batter. Even better, they are glazed with both vanilla and chocolate, so you don’t have to pick favorites. These are best eaten within 24 hours of baking, when the cake is at its softest and the glaze at its snappiest. But if you store them in an airtight container at room temperature, they’ll be good for a few days longer.”

Yield: 12 to 14 cookies; Time: 1 hour, plus cooling

To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020254-perfect-black-and-white-cookies.

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup sour cream or whole-milk yogurt

1/3 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoonsgranulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

For the Glaze:

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Boiling water, as needed

1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of fine sea salt

2 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Preparation

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange racks in top and bottom thirds, and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sea salt and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, milk, vanilla, lemon zest and almond extract.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Reduce speed to low and beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/3 of the sour cream mixture. Repeat until both mixtures are incorporated, scraping sides of bowl as necessary. (Mixture will be the consistency of thick poundcake batter.)

Dollop heaping 1/4-cup scoops of batter onto prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. (You should have 12 to 14 cookies.) Bake for 6 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets. Continue to bake until the cookies have firmed up and spring back when lightly pressed in the center, 6 to 9 minutes. (They’ll brown only on the bottoms.) Take care not to overbake, or they will dry out.

Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool for 15 minutes, then transfer cookies directly to racks to cool completely.

While the cookies cool, make the glaze: Place the confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and whisk in 3 tablespoons boiling water, the corn syrup, vanilla and salt. Continue to whisk, adding more boiling water as needed, until you have a thick yet spreadable frosting that is the texture of hot fudge sauce. (Too thick is preferable to too thin.) Flip each cookie over and spoon glaze over half of its flat side, spreading to edges with the back of the spoon. Place on wire rack to set. You will have vanilla frosting left over.

Whisk melted chocolate into vanilla frosting, then whisk in cocoa and enough room temperature water to make a thick yet spreadable glaze. Glaze the bare half of each cookie. Let glaze set for at least 1 to 2 hours before serving.

CHOCOLATE FUDGE COOKIES

This is from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list. Prep: 15 min.

This begins, “This recipe serves 12 people. Due to the nature of this recipe, it adjusts the number of servings in multiples of 12 only.”

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups unsalted butter

3 cups sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. cocoa powder

3/4 cup milk

4 cups quick oatmeal

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups walnuts, chopped

1 cup raisins (optional)

Directions

Combine butter, sugar & cocoa in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir until butter is melted & mixture is combined. Stir in milk. Increase heat to high & bring to boil. Let boil 1-1/2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat & stir in remaining ingredients until mixed thoroughly. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper. Set aside to dry completely.

OATMEAL CRANBERRY COOKIES

Another yummy cookie recipe from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list.

Ingredients

1/2 Pound Unsalted Butter (2 Sticks)

1 1/4 Cups Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar

2 Large Eggs

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 Tablespoons Milk

2 Cups Rolled Oats

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Salt

2 Cups Dried Cranberries

Directions

Cream butter and sugars until fluffy, beat in eggs, vanilla and milk. In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and stir until combined. Stir in cranberries. Divide dough in half, roll into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Refrigerate until firm. Heat oven to 350, slice logs into cookies, bake on parchment lined cookie sheets leaving 1 1/2 inches between cookies. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

SOFT GINGER COOKIES

This is from Gesine Bullock-Prado in the January 2013 issue of Runners' World, page 36 (“The Athlete's Palate”). Genise writes, “Dates keep these whole-grain cookies moist without using butter or oil. 'Crystallized ginger adds the perfect bite--spicy and chewy at the same time,' says Bullock-Prado.” Makes 30 cookies.

To view this online, go to http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/soft-ginger-cookies.

Ingredients

3/4 cup hot coffee

1 cup chopped, pitted dates

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs at room temperature

1/4 cup organic blackstrap molasses

1 1/2 cups organic spelt flour or whole-wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger

1/4 cup turbinado sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine coffee and dates and stir in baking soda. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Put mixture in a food processor; process until nearly smooth. In a bowl, whisk eggs and molasses. Continue whisking and add date puree. In a small bowl, whisk flour, salt, and spices. Stir into date mixture. Stir in ginger pieces until just combined. Freeze till very firm but scoopable (30 minutes). Using a teaspoon, drop dough into little mounds, a few inches apart, on a parchment-lined tray. Sprinkle sugar over cookies. Bake 10 minutes or until they feel spongy yet firm and spring back when gently poked.

Calories Per Cookie: 66; Carbs: 14 g; Fiber: 1 g; Protein: 1 g; Fat: .5 g

Cookies

If you love homemade cookies as much as I do, then today's post is for you. Check out the Perfect Black and White Cookies, the Soft Ginger Cookies, or any of today's yummy offerings. Enjoy!

CHOCAPOCALYPSE COOKIES

This is from Alton Brown of the Food Network's show,Good Eats. Total Time: 2 hr 30 min; Prep: 45 min; Inactive: 1 hr 15 min; Cook: 30 min; Yield: 55 cookies; Level: Intermediate

To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocapocalypse-cookie-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

6 ounces 54-percent bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 ounces light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 ounces 70-percent bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

3 ounces 40-percent milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 ounces cocoa nibs

Directions

Place the 54-percent bittersweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate in a medium glass mixing bowl and microwave on high for two 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval. If still not smooth, heat for 10 additional seconds at a time and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool to 90 degrees F, approximately 15 minutes.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together, transfer to a paper plate and set aside.

Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until combined and looks like wet sand, about 2 minutes.

Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl. Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly add the egg mixture until fully incorporated. Pour in the melted chocolate and mix to combine. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until integrated. Add the 70-percent bittersweet chocolate, 40-percent milk chocolate and the cocoa nibs and mix until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Scoop the dough using a 1 1/4-inch-diameter disher or ice cream scoop onto parchment-lined half-sheet pans, placing 2 inches apart, 12 cookies per pan. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, rotating after 5 minutes. Do not over-bake; the cookies may look wet and doughy.

Cool the cookies on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer on the parchment paper to a cooling rack to cool completely.

OLD FASHIONED SUGAR COOKIES

This comes the Food Network Kitchen.Total Time: 4 hr 40 min; Prep: 10 min; Inactive: 4 hr; Cook: 30 min; Yield: 3 dozen cookies, depending on the size of the cutters; Level: Easy

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Colored sugar and milk, for decorating, or Royal Icing, recipe follows

Royal Icing:

2 pounds confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons meringue powder (egg white powder)

Food coloring, as desired

Directions

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a second large bowl and mix well. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture 1 cup at a time. Chill the dough for 3 to 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Roll out the dough and cut it into shapes with cookie cutters or a knife. Place the shapes on the prepared cookie sheet. If decorating with colored sugar, brush the cookies with milk and sprinkle with colored sugar (if using royal icing, leave unfinished). Bake until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies.

Remove the cookies to a rack to cool completely. If using royal icing, decorate the cookies as desired.

Royal Icing:

Combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 3/4 cup water in a large bowl. Mix slowly with an electric mixer until stiff enough to form peaks; the icing should be pure white and thick, but not fluffy and bubbly. If the frosting is over-beaten, it will get aerated which makes it harder to work with. If this happens, let the frosting sit to settle, and then use a rubber spatula to vigorously beat and smooth out the frosting.

Add up to 1 tablespoon food coloring and mix with a rubber spatula until the color is uniform. Gels are best with royal icing. You don't want to thin them with liquid colors. Be careful of adding too much color, which reduces the sheen of the frosting and can break down the consistency of the frosting over a couple of days. Store the icing at room temperature, covered, with plastic wrap on the surface.

Yield: 3 1/2 cups icing

PERFECT BLACK AND WHITE COOKIES

This is from Melissa Clark at The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “Tender, moist and scented with vanilla, almond and lemon, these classic confections popular all over the Midwest and the state of New York are more cake than cookie, with a fine crumb and velvet texture from the sour cream in the batter. Even better, they are glazed with both vanilla and chocolate, so you don’t have to pick favorites. These are best eaten within 24 hours of baking, when the cake is at its softest and the glaze at its snappiest. But if you store them in an airtight container at room temperature, they’ll be good for a few days longer.”

Yield: 12 to 14 cookies; Time: 1 hour, plus cooling

To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020254-perfect-black-and-white-cookies.

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup sour cream or whole-milk yogurt

1/3 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoonsgranulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

For the Glaze:

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Boiling water, as needed

1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of fine sea salt

2 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Preparation

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange racks in top and bottom thirds, and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sea salt and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, milk, vanilla, lemon zest and almond extract.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Reduce speed to low and beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/3 of the sour cream mixture. Repeat until both mixtures are incorporated, scraping sides of bowl as necessary. (Mixture will be the consistency of thick poundcake batter.)

Dollop heaping 1/4-cup scoops of batter onto prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. (You should have 12 to 14 cookies.) Bake for 6 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets. Continue to bake until the cookies have firmed up and spring back when lightly pressed in the center, 6 to 9 minutes. (They’ll brown only on the bottoms.) Take care not to overbake, or they will dry out.

Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool for 15 minutes, then transfer cookies directly to racks to cool completely.

While the cookies cool, make the glaze: Place the confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and whisk in 3 tablespoons boiling water, the corn syrup, vanilla and salt. Continue to whisk, adding more boiling water as needed, until you have a thick yet spreadable frosting that is the texture of hot fudge sauce. (Too thick is preferable to too thin.) Flip each cookie over and spoon glaze over half of its flat side, spreading to edges with the back of the spoon. Place on wire rack to set. You will have vanilla frosting left over.

Whisk melted chocolate into vanilla frosting, then whisk in cocoa and enough room temperature water to make a thick yet spreadable glaze. Glaze the bare half of each cookie. Let glaze set for at least 1 to 2 hours before serving.

CHOCOLATE FUDGE COOKIES

This is from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list. Prep: 15 min.

This begins, “This recipe serves 12 people. Due to the nature of this recipe, it adjusts the number of servings in multiples of 12 only.”

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups unsalted butter

3 cups sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. cocoa powder

3/4 cup milk

4 cups quick oatmeal

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups walnuts, chopped

1 cup raisins (optional)

Directions
Combine butter, sugar & cocoa in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir until butter is melted & mixture is combined. Stir in milk. Increase heat to high & bring to boil. Let boil 1-1/2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat & stir in remaining ingredients until mixed thoroughly. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper. Set aside to dry completely.

SKILLET PEANUT BUTTER CINNAMON SPICE COOKIE

This comes from Rachael Hartley, RD, LD, CDE at VeryWellFit, and begins, “This decadent yet low-carb skillet peanut butter cinnamon spice cookie is the perfect treat for someone with diabetes. It takes less than ten minutes of prep time, has only five grams of sugar per serving, and is made with blood sugar lowering cinnamon. Most importantly, it’s delicious!”

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 20 minutes; Servings: 16.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 large egg

1 cup natural peanut butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup almond meal

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

Non-stick spray

2 tablespoons peanuts, optional, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, beat egg until slightly frothy. Whisk in the peanut butter, brown sugar, almond meal, vanilla extract, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt until well combined.

Spray an ovenproof skillet lightly with nonstick spray. Pour batter into the skillet and spread evenly with a spatula. If desired, sprinkle the top with a few peanuts and press down slightly.

Place cookie on a rack set in the center of the oven and bake 10-12 minutes until puffed and golden around the edges. Let cool 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Ingredient Variations and Substitutions

“This is one of my favorite treats to make because I always have the ingredients on hand! Whenever I’m craving something warm, gooey and sweet, I know this skillet cookie is only 20 minutes away.”

Nut Butters

Even in your pantry is looking bare, this recipe is easy to adapt based on what you have on hand. You can use any type of nut butter—cashew butter and almond butter both work well. And if you’re in the unfortunate situation of running out of nut butter, you can make your own by blending a rounded cup of nuts with a tablespoon of oil in the food processor until if forms a creamy spread.

Sweeteners

I made these with brown sugar, which has a richer flavor than white sugar, although you could certainly substitute it in a pinch. You could also use pure maple syrup or honey, but be sure to reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees and cook it a couple minutes longer to prevent burning.

Nut-Free Variation

If anyone in your household is nut free, you can still make this cookie—just swap in sesame butter and leave out the almond meal. Made with sunflower seeds, it’s perfect for those with tree nut allergies.

Vegan Variation

For a vegan version, use a chia seed egg. Mix 1 tablespoon chia seeds with 3 tablespoons water and let it sit to gel for about 10 minutes before mixing in the other ingredients.

This trick is a perfect one to remember next time you run out of eggs.

More Add-Ins

If you’re feeling extra decadent, load this cookie up with lots of healthy add-ins. In the mood for something chocolatey? Swap the almond flour for 1/4 cup cocoa powder, or stir in 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate, which is rich in antioxidant polyphenols and flavanols. Want something fruity? Stir in a handful of frozen berries. This recipe is especially delicious with frozen wild blueberries.

Make an extra nutty cookie with different kinds of nuts and seeds, like walnuts, sunflower seeds, and almonds. Add a handful or two of dried fruit along with those nuts to make a granola inspired cookie. My favorite way to enjoy this cookie is with a handful of shredded dried coconut and dark chocolate chips.

Cooking and Serving Tips

This cookie is best when it’s slightly undercooked. The center might not look fully done when you take it out, but it will continue cooking as it cools.

Be sure to use a nonstick or well seasoned cast iron skillet to prevent sticking.

SOFT GINGER COOKIES

This is from Gesine Bullock-Prado in the January 2013 issue of Runners' World, page 36 (“The Athlete's Palate”). Genise writes, “Dates keep these whole-grain cookies moist without using butter or oil. 'Crystallized ginger adds the perfect bite--spicy and chewy at the same time,' says Bullock-Prado.” Makes 30 cookies.

To view this online, go to http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/soft-ginger-cookies.

3/4 cup hot coffee

1 cup chopped, pitted dates

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs at room temperature

1/4 cup organic blackstrap molasses

1 1/2 cups organic spelt flour or whole-wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger

1/4 cup turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine coffee and dates and stir in baking soda. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Put mixture in a food processor; process until nearly smooth. In a bowl, whisk eggs and molasses. Continue whisking and add date puree. In a small bowl, whisk flour, salt, and spices. Stir into date mixture. Stir in ginger pieces until just combined. Freeze till very firm but scoopable (30 minutes). Using a teaspoon, drop dough into little mounds, a few inches apart, on a parchment-lined tray. Sprinkle sugar over cookies. Bake 10 minutes or until they feel spongy yet firm and spring back when gently poked.

Calories Per Cookie: 66; Carbs: 14 g; Fiber: 1 g; Protein: 1 g; Fat: .5 g

Cookies

Is there anything yummier than homemade cookies? The taste, the way they make scent your home with their aroma...yum! I still have wonderful memories of my grandmother bringing over huge batches of her oatmeal cookies and peanut butter cookies - sometimes at the same time - and insisting on sharing them with us over a cup of tea, then regaling us with stories of her childhood.

Here are six cookie recipes to help you through the day, including my grandmother's aforementioned Oatmeal Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies. There's also a recipe for Chocolate Espresso Oatmeal Cookies and more. Enjoy!

GRANDMA'S OATMEAL COOKIES



Another one of my grandmother's recipes. When it came to baking, cookies were her specialty. You can also find these in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking

1 C flour

1 C brown sugar

3 C quick cooking oatmeal (NOT the instant oats!)

1 C butter or margarine

1/4 C boiling water

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Mix flour & brown sugar. Add oatmeal; stir. Melt butter; add to dry ingredients. Mix baking soda into boiling water; add to other ingredients, stirring well. Place batter into loaf pan, lined with aluminum foil & place in freeze for several hours. Slice & bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Oatmeal Cookie dough, taken from the freezer; showing first cuts before baking



Then cut down the center, like so:



Placed on parchment paper-covered baking sheet, for easier handling



PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES





This was one of my grandmother's recipes, along with the oatmeal cookie recipe that follows. You can find them in my e-cookbook, Off The Wall Cooking.

1/2 C butter

1/2 C peanut butter

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C brown sugar

1 egg, well beaten

1 1/4 C flour

3/4 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Cream butter & peanut butter together. Add sugar gradually & cream thoroughly. Add egg. Sift flour once before measuring. Sift flour, soda, baking powder & salt together & add to creamed mixture. Chill dough well, then form into balls the size of walnuts. Place balls on lightly greased baking sheet. Flatten with fork dipped in flour, making criss-cross pattern. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

CREAM CHEESE COOKIES

This recipe, from The Food Network, begins, “A triple dose of cream cheese (mixed into the batter, in chunks in the dough and as a glaze on top) makes these pillowy cookies extra tangy. Freezing the cream cheese before stirring it into the dough makes it easier to cut into clean pieces and keeps the chunks from disintegrating when shaping the dough into balls.” Total Time: 3 hr 25 min; Prep: 40 min; Inactive: 1 hr. 30 min; Cook: 1 hr 15 min; Yield: 3 dozen cookies; Level: Easy.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/cream-cheese-cookies.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

2 3/4 sticks (1 cup plus 6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

One 8-ounce package cream cheese, 6 ounces at room temperature, 2 ounces frozen

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 large egg yolk

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring (see Cook's Note)

2 tablespoons whole milk, plus more if needed

Very finely grated lime zest or finely minced cranberries, for garnish, optional

Directions

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Combine the butter, vanilla, 4 ounces of the room-temperature cream cheese and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups of the sugar and beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and beat until smooth, then add the flour and beat on low until the dough just comes together. Remove the frozen cream cheese from the freezer and chop into 1/4-inch cubes. Add the cubes to the dough, quickly stirring with a rubber spatula to evenly incorporate them into the dough. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.

Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop or 2 tablespoons, scoop 12 portions of dough, roll into balls and transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly apart. Lightly flour the bottom of a 1/2-cup measuring cup and use it to flatten each cookie into a disk about 1/2 inch thick, re-flouring the cup after each cookie.

Bake, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until the cookies look set but are still pale and barely brown on the bottom, 20 to 24 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 2 ounces room-temperature cream cheese, 2 cups sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture forms a thick paste. Add the milk and stir slowly until a thick glaze forms.

When the cookies are cool, dip the entire surface of the top of each cookie in the glaze and lift up, letting the excess glaze drip off, then flip the cookie right-side up and onto the cooling rack. If the glaze is too thick, add another teaspoon of milk to loosen it. If using the cranberries or lime zest, sprinkle on top of the cookies while the glaze is still wet. Allow the glaze to set before serving, at least 10 minutes. Store the cookies in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Special equipment: a 1-ounce ice cream scoop, optional

Cook's Note: When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)

CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO OATMEAL COOKIES

Makes 48 cookies.

From the December 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 75. This begins, “Take chocolate chip cookies to the next level with this espresso-spiked dough that's laced with chewy oats.”

To view this online, click here.

3/4 cup all-purpose flour or oat flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

4 oz. (1 stick) margarine, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cooled espresso or strong coffee

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups oats

1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda in bowl.

Cream margarine and sugar together with electric mixer in bowl. Beat in espresso and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time, adding up to 1/2 cup more if necessary to make thick dough. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.

Divide dough in half. Transfer each dough half to large sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper. Use plastic wrap to shape dough into 2 2-inch-diameter logs with plastic wrap or wax paper. Wrap tightly, and chill 2 hours, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Slice dough logs into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Transfer slices to greased or parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Bake 8 to 11 minutes, or until cookies look dry on top. Cool cookies 3 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to wire rack.

nutritional information Per Cookie: Calories: 56; Protein: less than 1 g; Total Fat: 3 g; Saturated Fat: less than 1 g; Carbohydrates: 8 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 43 mg; Fiber: less than 1 g; Sugar: 4 g; vegan

SOFT GINGER COOKIES

This is from Gesine Bullock-Prado in the January 2013 issue of Runners' World, page 36 (“The Athlete's Palate”). Genise writes, “Dates keep these whole-grain cookies moist without using butter or oil. 'Crystallized ginger adds the perfect bite--spicy and chewy at the same time,' says Bullock-Prado.” Makes 30 cookies.

To view this online, go to http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/soft-ginger-cookies.

3/4 cup hot coffee

1 cup chopped, pitted dates

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs at room temperature

1/4 cup organic blackstrap molasses

1 1/2 cups organic spelt flour or whole-wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger

1/4 cup turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine coffee and dates and stir in baking soda. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Put mixture in a food processor; process until nearly smooth. In a bowl, whisk eggs and molasses. Continue whisking and add date puree. In a small bowl, whisk flour, salt, and spices. Stir into date mixture. Stir in ginger pieces until just combined. Freeze till very firm but scoopable (30 minutes). Using a teaspoon, drop dough into little mounds, a few inches apart, on a parchment-lined tray. Sprinkle sugar over cookies. Bake 10 minutes or until they feel spongy yet firm and spring back when gently poked.

Calories Per Cookie: 66; Carbs: 14 g; Fiber: 1 g; Protein: 1 g; Fat: .5 g

PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH COOKIES

This comes from the December 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 55. It starts off, “These sandwich cookies are held together by a rich (and ridiculously easy) chocolate filling.” Makes 24 sandwiches.

To view this online, click here.

Cookies

2 cups smooth natural-style peanut butter

4 oz. Earth Balance margarine (1 stick)

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup evaporated cane sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup plain soymilk or almond milk

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped

Filling

1/2 cup coconut creamer or soy creamer

8 oz. vegan chocolate chips (1 1/4 cups)

To make Cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or coat with cooking spray.

Cream peanut butter, margarine, brown sugar, cane sugar, and vanilla 2 to 3 minutes with electric mixer, or until smooth. Beat in soymilk and 1/4 cup water.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and peanuts in separate bowl. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture, and beat just until dough forms.

Scoop 1 Tbs. dough onto prepared baking sheets 2 to 3 inches apart. Make crisscross pattern on top of each Cookie by pressing down with fork. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges of Cookies begin to brown. Cool on baking sheet.

To make Filling: Heat creamer in top half of double boiler over medium heat until steaming. Pour hot creamer over chocolate chips in bowl, and let stand 30 seconds. Mix creamer and chocolate with wooden spoon until chocolate is melted, then whisk until smooth.

Spread 2 tsp. Filling on flat sides of 24 Cookies. Top with remaining Cookies.

nutritional information Per Cookie sandwich: Calories: 344; Protein: 7 g; Total Fat: 18 g; Saturated Fat: 5 g; Carbohydrates: 38 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 304 mg; Fiber: 3 g; Sugar: 18 g; Vegan

Cookies

Here's another round of cookies to help you with your holiday baking, including Gingerbread Reindeer and Christmas Tree Cookie Forest. Enjoy!

HOLIDAY SWIRLED SUGAR COOKIES

This comes from the Food Network Kitchen. Total Time: 4 hours; Active Time: 1 hour; Yield: 24 cookies; Level: Easy

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Cookies:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (see Cook's Note)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Royal Icing:

One 1-pound box confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons meringue powder

Red and green gel food coloring

Edible glitter or sprinkles, for decorating, optional

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Special equipment: a 2-inch round cookie cutter

For the cookies: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Increase the mixer speed to medium high, add the vanilla and egg and beat until incorporated. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture in 2 batches and beat until just combined. Shape the dough into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Generously dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/2 inch, dusting with more confectioners' sugar as needed. (Return the dough to the refrigerator if it gets too soft.) Cut out shapes with a 2-inch round cookie cutter and arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. Refrigerate the cookies until firm, about 1 hour.

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Bake the cookies, rotating the pans halfway through, until lightly browned around the edges, 9 to 11 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.

For the royal icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 7 tablespoons water and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until soft glossy peaks form, adding up to 8 tablespoons water if necessary to make a smooth icing that thickly coats the back of a spoon.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and set a cooling rack on top.

Put 1/4 cup icing into each of 2 small bowls. Add 9 drops red food coloring to one bowl and stir until evenly combined. Add 2 drops green food coloring to the second bowl and stir until evenly combined. Pour the remaining white icing into a clean rimmed baking sheet and spread or shake to evenly coat it. Drizzle the red icing all over the white, then drizzle the green icing over both. One at a time, put the cookies face-side down in the baking sheet icing. Take the cookies out one at a time, shaking gently to let excess icing drip off, and place right-side up on the prepared cooling rack. Decorate with edible glitter or sprinkles if desired. Let the icing harden completely before serving, about 1 hour.

Cook's Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)

CHRISTMAS TREE COOKIE FOREST

This comes from the Food Network Kitchen, and begins, “Make your cookie platter vertical (and extra-impressive!) with this 3D Christmas tree forest. Chilling the dough after it's cut helps the shapes stay sharp during baking.”

Total Time: 10 hours; Active: 2 hours 30 minutes; Yield: 6 tree cookies; Level: Intermediate

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Dough:

4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (see Cook's Note)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

3 sticks (24 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Royal Icing:

1 pound (about 3 1/2 cups) confectioners' sugar, plus more for thickening and decorating the forest

2 tablespoons meringue powder

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Forest green gel food coloring

White sprinkles, for decorating

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Special equipment: tree-shaped cookie cutters (we used 4-inch, 6-inch and 8-inch cutters); 2 pastry bags; 2 small no. 4 round tips

For the dough: Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat together the vanilla and 2 eggs in a small bowl.

Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Once they are incorporated, increase the speed to medium and, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, beat until slightly creamy, about 3 minutes.

Reduce the speed to low, slowly pour in the egg mixture and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, increasing the speed as the dough gets thicker to keep the beaters spinning and scraping down the sides of the bowl and the beaters as needed. Once all the flour is just incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes.

Turn the dough out of the bowl and bring it together on a clean surface. Divide into 2 pieces. Shape each piece into a flat square and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

To cut and bake the forest: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment.

Dust your work surface with flour and roll out a piece of dough until about 1/4-inch thick. Keep the other piece refrigerated while you work. Punch out shapes in the dough with tree cookie cutters of various sizes and cut off the dough trunks; for every 3D tree you will need 2 tree cutouts of the same size so punch out the shapes in pairs. For our forest we used 4-inch, 6-inch and 8-inch cutters. Put the trees on the prepared baking sheets and chill while you roll and cut trees from the remaining dough. Combine the scraps of the 2 squares. Chill again, reroll and cut out more trees You should have 8 to 10 pairs of trees, depending on the size of your cutters. Freeze the cutout cookies for at least 30 minutes.

Rearrange the cookies on the baking sheets so that the pairs are next to each other. For the first cookie of each pair, use a sharp paring knife to cut a 1/2-inch-wide slot from the bottom to a little more than halfway up the cookie. For the second cookie of each pair, cut a similar slot but from the top of the tree down to a little past the middle. You will fit the cookies together with these slots after they are baked. Return the cookies to the freezer for 30 minutes more.

Whisk together the remaining egg with 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Brush a thin layer of egg wash on the cookies right before baking.

Bake the cookies, rotating the baking sheets front to back and bottom to top about halfway through, until golden brown and dry on top, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets set on a cooling rack, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the royal icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and vanilla in a large bowl. Add 5 tablespoons water and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the icing forms thick and glossy peaks, about 2 minutes, adding up to 1 tablespoon more water, if needed.

Remove a third of the royal icing and place it in a pastry bag fitted with a small no. 4 round tip. Color the remaining icing with the green food coloring, one drop at a time, until it's a shade you like. If the frosting is still very stiff, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of water. Fill a second pastry bag fitted with another small no. 4 round tip with the green frosting.

Use a sharp paring knife to shave the cookie edges so they are smooth and flat: Pay attention to the tree bottoms (so the trees will stand straight) and the inner edges of the slots. Assemble the trees by sliding the top-slot trees into the bottom-slot trees. Shave the cookies as needed for a smooth fit, then disassemble them and place the pieces on a flat surface. Don't worry if a tree breaks; glue the pieces together with green royal icing.

To decorate the forest: Decorate each cookie with the green icing, leaving a blank strip up the center without icing; this is where the pieces will fit together. We used a zigzag line of green on each side. Sprinkle with white sprinkles while the icing is still wet. Let set until firm, 30 to 45 minutes. Turn the cookies over and decorate the backs in the same fashion. Let set until firm, 30 to 45 minutes.

Assemble the trees. Pipe a thin line of white icing on the outer edges of the trees for snow. Let set before serving, 30 to 45 minutes. Arrange the trees on a serving platter to create a forest. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar for snow.

Cook's Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.) If you don't have tree-shaped cutters, you can make a stencil. Use a ruler to draw the outline of a tree on paper. Cut it out and use it as a guide for trimming the dough with a paring knife.

GINGERBREAD REINDEER

This also comes from the Food Network Kitchen, and begins, “These cookies turn gingerbread on its head -- literally. Flipping gingerbread men upside down provides the perfect shape to decorate the cookies to look like reindeer. Leave some out for Santa and his reindeer and they will most certainly be impressed.”

Total Time: 6 hours; Active Time: 1 hour; Yield: 18 gingerbread reindeer; Level: Intermediate.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (see Cook's Note)

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, at room temperature

1/4 cup molasses

1 large egg

One 1-pound box confectioners' sugar

5 tablespoons meringue powder

Black gel food coloring

Brown gel food coloring

18 red cinnamon candies

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Special equipment: a 4-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter

Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until well blended.

Beat the granulated sugar and butter with an electric mixer in a large bowl starting on low speed and increasing to medium, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the molasses until combined, then beat in the egg (the mixture will look curdled). Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour mixture a little at a time until the mixture comes together. Then increase the speed to medium and beat until well incorporated and a sticky dough forms. Divide the dough in half, flatten into 2 disks and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Keeping one disk refrigerated, roll the other disk on a well-floured surface to a thickness of 1/8 inch, sprinkling flour on and under the dough as needed and sliding a spatula underneath every so often to prevent sticking. If the dough looks crackly or breaks apart, press it back together from the outside edge in. With a 4-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter, cut out cookies as close together as possible. Pull away the extra dough around each shape and use a small spatula to transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Gather together the scraps, leaving behind the excess flour, knead a few times to form a smooth dough again and reroll in the same way. (If there are any pieces of stuck dough on your surface, scrape them away with a spatula, flour the surface again and then continue to roll the dough.)

Bake the cookies in the center of the oven racks, rotating them from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until slightly firm to the touch but not brown, about 12 minutes. Cool the cookies 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely before icing. The cookies will continue to firm as they cool. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.

Meanwhile, make the royal icing for decorating. Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 6 tablespoons water and beat with an electric mixer on low until the icing thickens. The icing should be pure white and thick, but not fluffy and bubbly. (If overbeaten, it will get aerated, which makes it harder to work with. If this happens, let the icing sit for a bit to settle, then use a rubber spatula to vigorously beat and smooth it out.)

Spoon about 1/3 cup of icing into each of 3 separate bowls (cover any remaining icing with plastic wrap and reserve in case you need more). Leave 1 bowl white. Dye the second bowl black and the third light brown. Thin out the light brown icing with 1 teaspoon water. Transfer the icing to separate resealable plastic bags. Snip a very tiny hole in the corner of the white and black icing bags, and snip a larger hole in the corner of the light brown icing bag.

Place each cookie right side up in front of you. With the black icing, pipe an outline around the head of each cookie, around the arms and across the chest with a bowed line. Turn the gingerbread man upside down so it is standing on its head; now you can see the shape of the reindeer's head. Pipe black antlers coming out of the top of the head, over the gingerbread man's legs and feet.

Using the loose light brown icing, flood each reindeer's head, using a toothpick to nudge the icing into any tight spots. Place a red cinnamon candy in the center of each face for the nose. Dry until set, 40 minutes to 1 hour.

Once the brown base has dried, pipe on the rest of the face. Pipe 2 white dots above the nose for the whites of the eyes, and 2 white dots on the underside of the ears for downy fur. Use the black icing to pipe a smiling mouth and eyebrows. Once the white icing has slightly dried, pipe in black pupils. Give your reindeer some personality! Let the icing dry until hardened, 1 hour or ideally overnight.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days, but are best eaten fresh.

Cook's Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)

PEANUT BUTTER SNOWBALLS

This comes from the Recipe Lion Test Kitchen, and begins, “Peanut Butter Snowballs are a new twist on the classic snowball cookie recipe. This Christmas cookie recipe uses peanut butter in the filling and, instead of being dusted with powdered sugar, white chocolate coats the outside. Sprinkle the tops with silver sugar sprinkles if you want to go above and beyond (The sprinkles make them look super fancy). This 5 ingredient dessert recipe makes 24-30 balls, so make sure you share them. Otherwise, you may end up eating them all yourself before you know it!”
Makes: 24 snowballs; Chilling Time: 30 minutes.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 cup powdered sugar, plus 2 tablespoons

3 tablespoons soft butter

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

12 ounces white chocolate candy coating

sprinkles for decorating

Instructions

Line a cookie sheet with parchment or waxed paper.

Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and peanut butter in a large bowl, stirring until completely mixed and smooth.

Sprinkle the remaining powdered sugar on a clean work surface and form the dough into a log shape 12 inches long. Cut into inch pieces and roll each between your palms to make smooth balls. Place on the prepared bake sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

In a medium bowl, melt the candy coating in 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring until completely smooth. Dip the balls into the candy coating, return to the lined sheet and add sprinkles as desired while coating is still wet. Return to the refrigerator until ready to serve.

OLD-FASHIONED SOFT PUMPKIN COOKIES

This one is from Very Best Baking Kitchen. To view this online, click here.

Prep: 10 min; Cooking: 18 min; Cooling time: 2 min cooling; Yields: 36 cookies

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze (recipe follows)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease baking sheets.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle Glaze over cookies.

FOR GLAZE:

Combine 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in small bowl until smooth.

Remember to follow baking instructions before consuming.

Tips from Very Best Baking Kitchen

Note: For a variation add 1/2 cup chocolate chips or nuts to the recipe.

Nutrition Facts: Amount Per Serving 36 cookies, Serving Size 1/36 of recipe, Calories 120, Total Fat 3g, Dietary Fiber .5g

SOFT GINGER COOKIES

This is from Gesine Bullock-Prado in the January 2013 issue of Runners' World, page 36 (“The Athlete's Palate”). Genise writes, “Dates keep these whole-grain cookies moist without using butter or oil. 'Crystallized ginger adds the perfect bite--spicy and chewy at the same time,' says Bullock-Prado.” Makes 30 cookies.

To view this online, go to http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/soft-ginger-cookies.

3/4 cup hot coffee

1 cup chopped, pitted dates

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs at room temperature

1/4 cup organic blackstrap molasses

1 1/2 cups organic spelt flour or whole-wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger

1/4 cup turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine coffee and dates and stir in baking soda. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Put mixture in a food processor; process until nearly smooth. In a bowl, whisk eggs and molasses. Continue whisking and add date puree. In a small bowl, whisk flour, salt, and spices. Stir into date mixture. Stir in ginger pieces until just combined. Freeze till very firm but scoopable (30 minutes). Using a teaspoon, drop dough into little mounds, a few inches apart, on a parchment-lined tray. Sprinkle sugar over cookies. Bake 10 minutes or until they feel spongy yet firm and spring back when gently poked.

Calories Per Cookie: 66; Carbs: 14 g; Fiber: 1 g; Protein: 1 g; Fat: .5 g

Cookies! - Double-Post Tuesday

Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday. Todays double post deals with cookies.

It's that time of year when so many of us love baking and cooking homemade presents for everyone around us. And who doesn't love homemade cookies? Here are six yummy cookie recipes to help you get started, including The Spiciest Gingerbread Cookies Ever and Soft Ginger Cookies. Enjoy!

APRICOT AND NUT COOKIES WITH AMARETTO ICING

This is from Giada De Laurentiis of The Food Network’s Everyday Italian.

Total: 2 hr 49 min; Prep: 4 min; Inactive: 2 hr 30 min; Cook: 15 min; Yield: 2 to 2 1/2 dozen cookies; Level: Easy

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Cookies:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 large egg

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

Icing:

1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

5 to 7 tablespoons almond flavored liqueur (recommended: Amaretto)

Directions

For the Cookies: In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg. Stir in the flour until just blended. Mix in the apricots, almonds, and pine nuts.

Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a log, about 12-inches long and 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Wrap the dough in the plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 heavy baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cut the dough log crosswise into 1/4 to 1/2 inch-thick slices. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly apart. Bake until the cookies are golden around the edges, about 15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

For the Icing: Place the confectioners' sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Gradually whisk in the almond flavored liqueur, until the mixture is of drizzling consistency.

Place the wire rack over a baking sheet. Using a spoon or fork, drizzle the cookies with the icing, allowing any excess icing to drip onto the baking sheet. Allow the icing to set before serving, about 30 minutes.

GRANDMA'S PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES





One of Grandma Hallock’s cookie recipes.

1/2 C butter

1/2 C peanut butter

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C brown sugar

1 egg, well beaten

1 1/4 C flour

3/4 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Cream butter & peanut butter together. Add sugar & brown sugar gradually & cream thoroughly. Add egg. Sift flour once before measuring. Sift flour, soda, baking powder & salt together & add to creamed mixture. Chill dough well, then form into balls the size of walnuts. Place balls on lightly greased baking sheet. Flatten with fork dipped in flour, making criss-cross pattern. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

GRANDMA'S OATMEAL COOKIES



Another one of my grandmother's recipes. When it came to baking, cookies were her specialty. You can also find these in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking

1 C flour

1 C brown sugar

3 C quick cooking oatmeal (NOT the instant oats!)

1 C butter or margarine

1/4 C boiling water

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Mix flour & brown sugar. Add oatmeal; stir. Melt butter; add to dry ingredients. Mix baking soda into boiling water; add to other ingredients, stirring well. Place batter into loaf pan, lined with aluminum foil & place in freeze for several hours. Slice & bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Oatmeal Cookie dough, taken from the freezer; showing first cuts before baking



Then cut down the center, like so:



Placed on parchment paper-covered baking sheet, for easier handling



SOFT GINGER COOKIES

This is from Gesine Bullock-Prado in the January 2013 issue of Runners' World, page 36 (“The Athlete's Palate”). Genise writes, “Dates keep these whole-grain cookies moist without using butter or oil. 'Crystallized ginger adds the perfect bite--spicy and chewy at the same time,' says Bullock-Prado.” Makes 30 cookies.

To view this online, go to http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/soft-ginger-cookies.

3/4 cup hot coffee

1 cup chopped, pitted dates

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs at room temperature

1/4 cup organic blackstrap molasses

1 1/2 cups organic spelt flour or whole-wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger

1/4 cup turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine coffee and dates and stir in baking soda. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Put mixture in a food processor; process until nearly smooth. In a bowl, whisk eggs and molasses. Continue whisking and add date puree. In a small bowl, whisk flour, salt, and spices. Stir into date mixture. Stir in ginger pieces until just combined. Freeze till very firm but scoopable (30 minutes). Using a teaspoon, drop dough into little mounds, a few inches apart, on a parchment-lined tray. Sprinkle sugar over cookies. Bake 10 minutes or until they feel spongy yet firm and spring back when gently poked.

Calories Per Cookie: 66; Carbs: 14 g; Fiber: 1 g; Protein: 1 g; Fat: .5 g

THE SPICIEST GINGERBREAD COOKIES EVER

This recipe from The Food Network Kitchen begins, “This gingerbread cookie is super-spicy from the very first bite. Molasses makes it chewy and white sugar rounds out the spices. Cayenne, allspice and a hefty dose of black pepper result in a complex, lingering heat that is surprising and pleasant.” Total Time: 5 hr 20 min; Prep: 1 hr 10 min; Inactive: 3 hr 40 min; Cook: 30 min; Yield: Eighteen 4-inch gingerbread people; Level: Intermediate

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/the-spiciest-gingerbread-cookies-ever.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting and rolling (see Cook's Note)

3 tablespoons ground ginger

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon fine salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter cut into 1-inch pieces, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 large egg

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup meringue powder (egg white powder)

Cinnamon candies, such as Red Hots, chocolate chips, raisins or other candies for decorating

Directions

Make the cookies: Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, salt, baking soda, allspice, nutmeg, cayenne, and baking powder in a medium bowl.

Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes (scrape down the sides of the bowl, as needed). Beat in the molasses until combined, then the egg (the mixture will look curdled). Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until the dough comes together. Divide the dough in 2 pieces, flatten each half into a disk and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Position 2 racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Keeping one disk refrigerated, roll the other disk on a well-floured work surface to 1/4 inch thick, sprinkling flour on and under the dough as needed and sliding a spatula underneath every so often to prevent sticking (If the dough looks crackly or breaks apart, press it back together from the outside edge in). Using cookie cutters, cut out gingerbread shapes as close together as possible. Pull away the extra dough around each shape then use a small offset spatula to transfer the shapes to the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. Reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. Freeze the cookies until firm, about 15 minutes.

Bake the cookies, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through cooking, until they are slightly firm to the touch but not browned at the edges, about 12 minutes. Repeat the rolling, cutting and baking with the remaining dough disk.

Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes (The cookies will continue to firm as they cool).

Make the icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 3 tablespoons water in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the frosting thickens, trying not to incorporate too much air. (The icing should be pure white and thick, but not fluffy and bubbly.)

Scrape the icing into a resealable plastic bag and snip the corner to the desired size. Pipe the icing onto the cookies to decorate, as desired, sticking the candy onto the icing while it is still wet. Let the cookies stand at room temperature until the icing hardens, at least 1 hour.

Special equipment: a small offset spatula

CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES

Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/1077.shtml

Yield: 40 cookies

Serving size: 1 cookie

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups rolled oats

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons trans-free margarine, softened

1/2 cup SPLENDA Sugar Blend

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine flour, oats, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

In bowl of electric mixer, beat margarine and SPLENDA Sugar Blend on medium speed 1 to 2 minutes, or until light and aerated. Beat in eggs for 1 minute, or until light. Beat in vanilla and almond extract. Stir in dry ingredients.

Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto lightly greased baking sheets and flatten each with the back of a fork dipped in water.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or just until puffed and no longer shiny on top. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 50; Calories from Fat: 20; Protein: 1 g; Fat: 2 g; Sodium: 55 mg; Cholesterol: 10 mg; Saturated Fat: 0 g; Dietary Fiber: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 7 g

Cookies!

Here's another round of cookies to help you with your holiday baking, including Gingerbread Reindeer and Christmas Tree Cookie Forest. Enjoy!

HOLIDAY SWIRLED SUGAR COOKIES

This comes from the Food Network Kitchen. Total Time: 4 hours; Active Time: 1 hour; Yield: 24 cookies; Level: Easy

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Cookies:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (see Cook's Note)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Royal Icing:

One 1-pound box confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons meringue powder

Red and green gel food coloring

Edible glitter or sprinkles, for decorating, optional

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Special equipment: a 2-inch round cookie cutter

For the cookies: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Increase the mixer speed to medium high, add the vanilla and egg and beat until incorporated. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture in 2 batches and beat until just combined. Shape the dough into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Generously dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/2 inch, dusting with more confectioners' sugar as needed. (Return the dough to the refrigerator if it gets too soft.) Cut out shapes with a 2-inch round cookie cutter and arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. Refrigerate the cookies until firm, about 1 hour.

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Bake the cookies, rotating the pans halfway through, until lightly browned around the edges, 9 to 11 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.

For the royal icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 7 tablespoons water and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until soft glossy peaks form, adding up to 8 tablespoons water if necessary to make a smooth icing that thickly coats the back of a spoon.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and set a cooling rack on top.

Put 1/4 cup icing into each of 2 small bowls. Add 9 drops red food coloring to one bowl and stir until evenly combined. Add 2 drops green food coloring to the second bowl and stir until evenly combined. Pour the remaining white icing into a clean rimmed baking sheet and spread or shake to evenly coat it. Drizzle the red icing all over the white, then drizzle the green icing over both. One at a time, put the cookies face-side down in the baking sheet icing. Take the cookies out one at a time, shaking gently to let excess icing drip off, and place right-side up on the prepared cooling rack. Decorate with edible glitter or sprinkles if desired. Let the icing harden completely before serving, about 1 hour.

Cook's Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)

CHRISTMAS TREE COOKIE FOREST

This comes from the Food Network Kitchen, and begins, “Make your cookie platter vertical (and extra-impressive!) with this 3D Christmas tree forest. Chilling the dough after it's cut helps the shapes stay sharp during baking.”

Total Time: 10 hours; Active: 2 hours 30 minutes; Yield: 6 tree cookies; Level: Intermediate

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Dough:

4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (see Cook's Note)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

3 sticks (24 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Royal Icing:

1 pound (about 3 1/2 cups) confectioners' sugar, plus more for thickening and decorating the forest

2 tablespoons meringue powder

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Forest green gel food coloring

White sprinkles, for decorating

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Special equipment: tree-shaped cookie cutters (we used 4-inch, 6-inch and 8-inch cutters); 2 pastry bags; 2 small no. 4 round tips

For the dough: Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat together the vanilla and 2 eggs in a small bowl.

Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Once they are incorporated, increase the speed to medium and, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, beat until slightly creamy, about 3 minutes.

Reduce the speed to low, slowly pour in the egg mixture and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, increasing the speed as the dough gets thicker to keep the beaters spinning and scraping down the sides of the bowl and the beaters as needed. Once all the flour is just incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes.

Turn the dough out of the bowl and bring it together on a clean surface. Divide into 2 pieces. Shape each piece into a flat square and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

To cut and bake the forest: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment.

Dust your work surface with flour and roll out a piece of dough until about 1/4-inch thick. Keep the other piece refrigerated while you work. Punch out shapes in the dough with tree cookie cutters of various sizes and cut off the dough trunks; for every 3D tree you will need 2 tree cutouts of the same size so punch out the shapes in pairs. For our forest we used 4-inch, 6-inch and 8-inch cutters. Put the trees on the prepared baking sheets and chill while you roll and cut trees from the remaining dough. Combine the scraps of the 2 squares. Chill again, reroll and cut out more trees You should have 8 to 10 pairs of trees, depending on the size of your cutters. Freeze the cutout cookies for at least 30 minutes.

Rearrange the cookies on the baking sheets so that the pairs are next to each other. For the first cookie of each pair, use a sharp paring knife to cut a 1/2-inch-wide slot from the bottom to a little more than halfway up the cookie. For the second cookie of each pair, cut a similar slot but from the top of the tree down to a little past the middle. You will fit the cookies together with these slots after they are baked. Return the cookies to the freezer for 30 minutes more.

Whisk together the remaining egg with 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Brush a thin layer of egg wash on the cookies right before baking.

Bake the cookies, rotating the baking sheets front to back and bottom to top about halfway through, until golden brown and dry on top, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets set on a cooling rack, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the royal icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and vanilla in a large bowl. Add 5 tablespoons water and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the icing forms thick and glossy peaks, about 2 minutes, adding up to 1 tablespoon more water, if needed.

Remove a third of the royal icing and place it in a pastry bag fitted with a small no. 4 round tip. Color the remaining icing with the green food coloring, one drop at a time, until it's a shade you like. If the frosting is still very stiff, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of water. Fill a second pastry bag fitted with another small no. 4 round tip with the green frosting.

Use a sharp paring knife to shave the cookie edges so they are smooth and flat: Pay attention to the tree bottoms (so the trees will stand straight) and the inner edges of the slots. Assemble the trees by sliding the top-slot trees into the bottom-slot trees. Shave the cookies as needed for a smooth fit, then disassemble them and place the pieces on a flat surface. Don't worry if a tree breaks; glue the pieces together with green royal icing.

To decorate the forest: Decorate each cookie with the green icing, leaving a blank strip up the center without icing; this is where the pieces will fit together. We used a zigzag line of green on each side. Sprinkle with white sprinkles while the icing is still wet. Let set until firm, 30 to 45 minutes. Turn the cookies over and decorate the backs in the same fashion. Let set until firm, 30 to 45 minutes.

Assemble the trees. Pipe a thin line of white icing on the outer edges of the trees for snow. Let set before serving, 30 to 45 minutes. Arrange the trees on a serving platter to create a forest. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar for snow.

Cook's Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.) If you don't have tree-shaped cutters, you can make a stencil. Use a ruler to draw the outline of a tree on paper. Cut it out and use it as a guide for trimming the dough with a paring knife.

GINGERBREAD REINDEER

This also comes from the Food Network Kitchen, and begins, “These cookies turn gingerbread on its head -- literally. Flipping gingerbread men upside down provides the perfect shape to decorate the cookies to look like reindeer. Leave some out for Santa and his reindeer and they will most certainly be impressed.”

Total Time: 6 hours; Active Time: 1 hour; Yield: 18 gingerbread reindeer; Level: Intermediate.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (see Cook's Note)

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, at room temperature

1/4 cup molasses

1 large egg

One 1-pound box confectioners' sugar

5 tablespoons meringue powder

Black gel food coloring

Brown gel food coloring

18 red cinnamon candies

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Special equipment: a 4-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter

Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until well blended.

Beat the granulated sugar and butter with an electric mixer in a large bowl starting on low speed and increasing to medium, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the molasses until combined, then beat in the egg (the mixture will look curdled). Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour mixture a little at a time until the mixture comes together. Then increase the speed to medium and beat until well incorporated and a sticky dough forms. Divide the dough in half, flatten into 2 disks and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Keeping one disk refrigerated, roll the other disk on a well-floured surface to a thickness of 1/8 inch, sprinkling flour on and under the dough as needed and sliding a spatula underneath every so often to prevent sticking. If the dough looks crackly or breaks apart, press it back together from the outside edge in. With a 4-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter, cut out cookies as close together as possible. Pull away the extra dough around each shape and use a small spatula to transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Gather together the scraps, leaving behind the excess flour, knead a few times to form a smooth dough again and reroll in the same way. (If there are any pieces of stuck dough on your surface, scrape them away with a spatula, flour the surface again and then continue to roll the dough.)

Bake the cookies in the center of the oven racks, rotating them from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until slightly firm to the touch but not brown, about 12 minutes. Cool the cookies 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely before icing. The cookies will continue to firm as they cool. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.

Meanwhile, make the royal icing for decorating. Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 6 tablespoons water and beat with an electric mixer on low until the icing thickens. The icing should be pure white and thick, but not fluffy and bubbly. (If overbeaten, it will get aerated, which makes it harder to work with. If this happens, let the icing sit for a bit to settle, then use a rubber spatula to vigorously beat and smooth it out.)

Spoon about 1/3 cup of icing into each of 3 separate bowls (cover any remaining icing with plastic wrap and reserve in case you need more). Leave 1 bowl white. Dye the second bowl black and the third light brown. Thin out the light brown icing with 1 teaspoon water. Transfer the icing to separate resealable plastic bags. Snip a very tiny hole in the corner of the white and black icing bags, and snip a larger hole in the corner of the light brown icing bag.

Place each cookie right side up in front of you. With the black icing, pipe an outline around the head of each cookie, around the arms and across the chest with a bowed line. Turn the gingerbread man upside down so it is standing on its head; now you can see the shape of the reindeer's head. Pipe black antlers coming out of the top of the head, over the gingerbread man's legs and feet.

Using the loose light brown icing, flood each reindeer's head, using a toothpick to nudge the icing into any tight spots. Place a red cinnamon candy in the center of each face for the nose. Dry until set, 40 minutes to 1 hour.

Once the brown base has dried, pipe on the rest of the face. Pipe 2 white dots above the nose for the whites of the eyes, and 2 white dots on the underside of the ears for downy fur. Use the black icing to pipe a smiling mouth and eyebrows. Once the white icing has slightly dried, pipe in black pupils. Give your reindeer some personality! Let the icing dry until hardened, 1 hour or ideally overnight.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days, but are best eaten fresh.

Cook's Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)

PEANUT BUTTER SNOWBALLS

This comes from the Recipe Lion Test Kitchen, and begins, “Peanut Butter Snowballs are a new twist on the classic snowball cookie recipe. This Christmas cookie recipe uses peanut butter in the filling and, instead of being dusted with powdered sugar, white chocolate coats the outside. Sprinkle the tops with silver sugar sprinkles if you want to go above and beyond (The sprinkles make them look super fancy). This 5 ingredient dessert recipe makes 24-30 balls, so make sure you share them. Otherwise, you may end up eating them all yourself before you know it!”
Makes: 24 snowballs; Chilling Time: 30 minutes.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 cup powdered sugar, plus 2 tablespoons

3 tablespoons soft butter

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

12 ounces white chocolate candy coating

sprinkles for decorating

Instructions

Line a cookie sheet with parchment or waxed paper.

Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and peanut butter in a large bowl, stirring until completely mixed and smooth.

Sprinkle the remaining powdered sugar on a clean work surface and form the dough into a log shape 12 inches long. Cut into inch pieces and roll each between your palms to make smooth balls. Place on the prepared bake sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

In a medium bowl, melt the candy coating in 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring until completely smooth. Dip the balls into the candy coating, return to the lined sheet and add sprinkles as desired while coating is still wet. Return to the refrigerator until ready to serve.

OLD-FASHIONED SOFT PUMPKIN COOKIES

This one is from Very Best Baking Kitchen. To view this online, click here.

Prep: 10 min; Cooking: 18 min; Cooling time: 2 min cooling; Yields: 36 cookies

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze (recipe follows)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease baking sheets.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle Glaze over cookies.

FOR GLAZE:

Combine 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in small bowl until smooth.

Remember to follow baking instructions before consuming.

Tips from Very Best Baking Kitchen

Note: For a variation add 1/2 cup chocolate chips or nuts to the recipe.

Nutrition Facts: Amount Per Serving 36 cookies, Serving Size 1/36 of recipe, Calories 120, Total Fat 3g, Dietary Fiber .5g

SOFT GINGER COOKIES

This is from Gesine Bullock-Prado in the January 2013 issue of Runners' World, page 36 (“The Athlete's Palate”). Genise writes, “Dates keep these whole-grain cookies moist without using butter or oil. 'Crystallized ginger adds the perfect bite--spicy and chewy at the same time,' says Bullock-Prado.” Makes 30 cookies.

To view this online, go to http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/soft-ginger-cookies.

3/4 cup hot coffee

1 cup chopped, pitted dates

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs at room temperature

1/4 cup organic blackstrap molasses

1 1/2 cups organic spelt flour or whole-wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger

1/4 cup turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine coffee and dates and stir in baking soda. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Put mixture in a food processor; process until nearly smooth. In a bowl, whisk eggs and molasses. Continue whisking and add date puree. In a small bowl, whisk flour, salt, and spices. Stir into date mixture. Stir in ginger pieces until just combined. Freeze till very firm but scoopable (30 minutes). Using a teaspoon, drop dough into little mounds, a few inches apart, on a parchment-lined tray. Sprinkle sugar over cookies. Bake 10 minutes or until they feel spongy yet firm and spring back when gently poked.

Calories Per Cookie: 66; Carbs: 14 g; Fiber: 1 g; Protein: 1 g; Fat: .5 g