Christmas Cookies - Day 12

Final Day for Christmas Cookies since I will not be in the office on Friday.

Since the Peanut Butter cookies were such a hit and some people didn't get any.  I decided to make them again but add a small twist - Peanut Butter Blossoms

Christmas Cookies - Day 11

I decided to take a little break from cookies and made Toffee Brownies instead

They were a big hit and went quickly.

Christmas Cookies - Day 10

I made Red Velvet Double Doozies today.  I didn't think to take picture so I am re-posting a photo that I took the first time I made them.  They are very festive - I almost rolled them in green sugar but they are already pretty sweet so I decided against that.

Christmas Cookies - Day 9

Taking on this daily cookie challenge is starting to take a little bit of a toll on me.  But I only have 3 more days after today (since I am off Friday)

Day 9 brings - Easy Russian Tea Cakes (aka Mexican Wedding Cookies; aka Snowball Cookies

Christmas Cookies - Day 8

Day 8 - I decided to go with another chocolate cookie and made

Hot Chocolate Cookies

• 1 cup butter
• 1 ¼ cups brown sugar (packed)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2-4 ounce semisweet baking chocolate bars (roughly chopped)
• 1 cup marshmallow bits

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

 

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan.

 

Add sugars to a large bowl.

 

Pour melted butter over sugars.

 

Stir to combine butter and sugars. Let stand 5 minutes.

 

Add egg and egg yolk; stir to combine.

 

Stir in vanilla extract.

 

Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until just combined.

 

Stir in chopped chocolate and marshmallow bits.

 

Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes to give the ingredients a chance to meld.

 

Using a medium cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoon), drop scoops of dough 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet.  Bake for about 8-12 minutes. The cookies should look set at the edges and slightly underdone in the center. Slightly underbaking the cookies will help them to stay soft. 

Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

Christmas Cookies - Day 7

Yesterday was our Christmas luncheon - we just had appetizers and desserts but since I knew we'd have so much sitting around, I didn't make cookies yesterday.

Today I made Snickerdoodles...once again, I was surprised at the number of people that never heard of them or had them before.  They were well received.

Christmas Cookies - Day 8

I was off work yesterday so my co-workers didn't get cookies.  Someone else mentioned that she would bring an afternoon treat but she didn't - oh well.

Anyway...today my co-workers enjoyed Chocolate Mint Cookies.  They were a big hit.  My boss ate 3 of them and he rarely eats cookies and cakes and such.  He remarked how good they were.  That made me smile.

I got the recipe from Becky Higgins

CHOCOLATE MINT COOKIES

3/4 c. butter

1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 T. water

Melt in a saucepan over medium heat until melted and then add:

2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, stirring until completely melted.

Cool for 10 minutes. Pour into a mixing bowl and beat in 2 eggs.

Add:
2 1/2 c. four
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix together and chill for about 45 minutes. Roll into balls (like 1 - 1 1/2 inches big), flatten slightly, and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes (for my oven, this is the perfect time, keeping my cookies soft; your oven may be slightly different).

When cookies come out of the oven, place an Andes mint on top of each cookie and allow to melt for a few minutes. Swirl the melted chocolate like icing. Allow to cool.

December Cookies - Day 5

One co-worker mentioned several times (daily actually) that Peanut Butter cookies are her favorite.  So I decided to make those, even though I initially hadn't intended to make them because they are so "common" and I didn't think a lot of people liked Peanut Butter cookies.

Boy was I wrong!  They didn't last but 3 minutes.  I had at least 4 people tell me that Peanut Butter cookies were their favorite.

I did find out (from the co-worker who requested them) that she ended up eating 11 of them - almost a whole dozen herself.  I am glad she loved them but my goodness - how do you eat a dozen cookies by yourself - plus, you should have at least let others get some first.  People just amaze me sometimes.

Christmas Cookies - Day 4

I've been wanting to try making Cranberry Bliss Bars for at least a year now but haven't really had an occasion to make them.

While very tasty and delicious, I will never make these again.  I made them 3 times.  The first time, they stuck to the pan (even though the instructions say not to grease or flour the pan).  It was a sticky mess.  So I tried again and this time, using parchment paper instead of foil (like the recipe suggested) - nope, still stuck.  So I tried a 3rd time.  I used parchment paper AND sprayed it with Pam...STILL stuck.  What a mess.

I managed to make them look decent and got lots of complements on the taste.  However, I did get annoyed at one co-worker who said that I made a mistake by putting white chocolate chips in it (excuse me, that is what the recipe called for and I didn't FORCE you to eat it) - geez!!

December Cookies - Day 3

I decided to make a no-bake cookie - an idea I got from The Pioneer Woman.

Peppermint Bark Cookies

I added a little twist to mine.  I found Peppermint Bark Oreos so it made them extra good.

Easy but time consuming - takes a while to melt and re-melt the chocolate.

December Cookies - Day 2

On Day 2 - My co-workers received...Oatmeal Scotchies.

I was surprised at how many of them had never heard of or tasted them before...they were a big hit!

December Means...Cookie Time

I am not really sure what put this thought in my head but I decided that I would bake cookies (or some kind of sweet treat) every work day for the month of December and take them to my co-workers.

Day 1:

Chocolate Chip Cookies