Christmas Cookies!, You know it had to be done!

Hokay, I'll get the ball rolling.

Cinnamon Stars! They're simple in their ingredients, but zomg, they're so good. This is one of the recipes my family guards with their collective lives...

1 1/2 c. butter
3 tsp. cinnamon (you may want to go up or down with this, depending on your taste)
1 egg
3 c. flour
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. ground almonds
1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Grease and flour your cookie sheet. Pam for Bakers is wonderful. I've been told the flour needs sifted but truthfully, I've never done it and nobody's died. Your choice. Put in the rest of your ingredients. Roll the dough into a ball and chill in the fridge for at least two hours, overnight is better. Flour your work area, roll out the dough to about 1/8" (standard rollout cookie thickness). Cut out with star cookie cutter (again, whatever strikes your fancy), *carefully* lift these with a spatula and place on your baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes, watch for the bottoms to be brown. While still on the sheet, give them a dusting of powdered sugar before removal.

Oh... Me next jumpin' up ~ n ~ down . This one was made by my grammy & sent afew years back to my as a special day treat.
The recipe is from the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village,New Gloucester, Me. They do have a mail order cat. on the I~net if you want to order their Rose Water.
The cookie is a rich, light, velvety texture cookie with a hint of hint of Roses. It's one of my favorites at any time of the year.

1 cup butter 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup sugar 2 tbsp. Rose Water
2 eggs beaten light & fluffy 1/2 cup chopped orange or lemon zest
1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 cup raisins
2 3/4 cup flour pinch o' salt
Add additional raisins for decorations

Cream butter & sugar, add beaten eggs.
Add flour, baking soda, cream o' tartar.
Mix well.
Add Rose Water, fruit zest, salt & raisins.
Blend well into mixture.
Drop onto greased cookie sheet. Dot with a raisin. Bake in oven at 375* for 20min. being extremely careful not to burn them.

Best Wishes Throughout This Holiday Season & ENJOY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh those sound so good! I'm going to have to break down and get that jumbo jar of cream of tartar I see...now, where'd I stick that bottle of rosewater...

Don't know if this will work ... it is the Allrecipes countdown to Christmas cookie recipe calander... new cookie recipe every day until Christmas:

http://allrecipes.com/howto/2006-christmas...own/detail.aspx

VANILLEKIPERL - Vanilla Crescents

These crescent-shaped cookies are a traditional German holiday specialty. I have to bake the double recipe twice at least because we all love them very much.


Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar plus 1/3 cup for dusting
3 Tbsp. vanilla sugar**
1/2 cup ground hazelnuts, walnuts, or almonds
1 egg

Preparation:

Sift the flour into a large bowl.Cut the cold butter into the flour. Add the 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, ground nuts, and egg. Dampen hands with ocold water and knead mixture into a dough. Chill for 1/2 hour I chill it in the fridge over night for bettr results in baking the crescents).

Roll chunks of the chilled dough between your palms to form 1/2-inch thick ropes. Cut and form crescents and place on baking sheet. Bake at 325° F for 10 to 15 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden brown. Roll the crescents in powdered sugar while still hot.

Mix the 1/3 cup of powdered sugar together with the vanilla sugar. Roll the crescents in this mixture while they are still hot.

When they have cooled, store in a tin box.

** If vanilla sugar is unavailable where you live, you can make your own by placing a vanilla bean and 1 lb. of granulated sugar in an airtight container for 1 week.

LEBKUCHEN

The sweet, spiced dough has a centuries-long history in German-speaking Europe. German Lebkuchen is different from the gingerbread known in the English-speaking world. First of all, it may or may not contain ginger. It also has a somewhat different consistency, both because it is chewier and contains nuts and fruits. And the German confection has a lemon glaze or icing on the top and is sometimes dipped in chocolate.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 egg
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup mixed chopped candied fruits & peels


Lemon glaze:
1 slightly beaten egg white
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
dash salt

Preparation:

Stir together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the egg. Add the brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Stir in honey and molasses and beat until well mixed. Add dry ingredients to the mixture, stirring well until combined. Stir in nuts and fruits. Chill overnight.

Roll chilled dough on a floured surface into a 14-inch square. Cut into 3 1/2 x 2-inch rectangles or use cookie cutters to form the desired shapes. Place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet and bake at 375°F for 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool 1 minute before moving to wire rack.

While Lebkuchen is baking, make the lemon glaze. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Brush onto the cookies while they are still warm.

Before I locate my cookie recipes, I figured I'd throw in some of my it's-not-strictly-cookies-but-we-make-it-for-Christmas things...most of these are *really* easy.

Peanut Butter Fudge

3 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. baking cocoa

Boil above ingredients approximately 1/2 hour, or until mixture goes to hard ball stage (drop a tiny bit in a cup of water...if it forms a hard ball of sugar, you're ready).

Let the mix cool, add 3T. of butter and 1 c. peanut butter. Pour onto a greased baking sheet (with sides!) or one or two 9x 13" baking pans, I like to both grease them and lay down a sheet of waxed paper. Allow it to set up firm, cut into serving-size blocks.

Popcorn Balls

3 quarts popped corn
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. white corn syrup
1 c. water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp lemon or vanilla extract

Place popped corn into a large pan. Cook sugar, syrup and water to 280F. (Gonna need a candy thermometer for this one) Add flavoring and salt. Pour over the corn, stirring with a spoon so that all kernels will be evenly coated. Shape into balls ( I suggest spraying your hands with non-stick cooking spray), lay on waxed paper to harden.

Peppermint Bark

1 bag starlite mints, or several candy canes
1 bag white baking chips, or about 3/4 lb. of confectioner's chocolate discs (or chocolate chips, whatever suits your fancy)

Take your peppermint candy and put it in a strong zip-top storage bag. Purge the air and seal. Fold it over, wrap with a dishtowel, and get a hammer. Beat the holy bejeezus out of it till you have candy dust and chips. Wasn't that therapeutic? Set aside for now.

In a microwave safe bowl, or in a double boiler on the stove, melt chocolate. Lay down waxed paper onto a cookie sheet that has sides, or two 9x13" baking pans. Pour the chocolate into the pan(s). Move it around or level it as best you can with a spatula. Liberally coat the melted chocolate with your peppermints, gently pushing in the larger pieces, and set it aside in a cool place to set up (I have an unheated pantry that works wonders). Break into pieces, place in storage containers for serving or gift-giving. Keeps about three weeks.

Ridiculously Easy Shortbread

...so darned easy, I make this by the job lot.

1 lb. butter
1 c. sugar
1 T. vanilla extract
4 c. flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla. Slowly add flour, mix until dough forms a ball.

Spoon up spoonsfull of the dough, form into balls. Press molds into them if you have them, if not toss into a 350 oven for 15 minutes.

Nother candy one...this one the kids can do with a little supervision.

Chocolate Pretzel Bites

1 bag mini pretzels (looks really cool with the Christmas shaped ones)
1 bag Rollo (those candies that are chocolate with caramel inside)
1 can/bag fancy cashew halves


Peel your Rollo, if they came that way (some are packaged without foil). On a cookie sheet or two lined with waxed paper, place pretzels neatly in rows. Top with one Rollo. Put into a preheated oven (say about 275) and WATCH THEM. Just when the chocolate melts over the pretzels, remove.
Gently press half a cashew on top. Allow to cool the rest of the way. That's it!

How thoroughly cool. I could so easily branch out to dark chocolate and coffee-drops . . . or orange sourballs with some Altoids tangereenies in there.

Gaberlunzie put in the lebkuchen! Ohohohohohohohohohohhoh!!

OK, so this is Christmas cookies, and it's only October 5th and 82 degrees outside. But I just found this recipe on Yahoo! food -- for an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, but check out the odd ingredient for making the fat content healthier, and I wonder what it does for the flavor? Going to try it, as soon as the weather finally cools down.


2 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 CUP TAHINI (!)
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts


1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Whisk oats, all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat tahini and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until blended into a paste. Add granulated sugar (or Splenda) and brown sugar; continue beating until well combined-the mixture will still be a little grainy. Beat in egg, then egg white, then vanilla. Stir in the oat mixture with a wooden spoon until just moistened. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

3. With damp hands, roll 1 tablespoon of the batter into a ball, place it on a prepared baking sheet and flatten it until squat, but don't let the sides crack. Continue with the remaining batter, spacing the flattened balls 2 inches apart.

4. Bake the cookies until golden brown, about 16 minutes, switching the pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through. Cool on the pans for 2 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Let the pans cool for a few minutes before baking another batch.

Yield: 45 servings


Always thinking of the variations -- think I might leave out the walnuts and put in orange peel and chopped almonds for one batch, to check it out.

...tahini?! Dammit now I'm curious...

Tahini "whats that?" lol..Sekhmet glad you posted first....

Slainte