Dec. 20, 2008 - Cookie Making day

This last week has been cookie time at our house.  Over the years I have scaled way back on the cookie making in hopes to cut down on calories.  (Don’t even ask how this has worked for us! grin…)  But we narrowed our list this year to these favorites;

1. Peanut Butter and Chocolate kiss cookies (Chris’s favorite)

2. Chocolate Maraschino Cherry cookies (my favorite)

3. Cream Cheese cutout cookies (best cook-out type I’ve ever made)

4. Russian Tea cakes (my grandpa’s favorite)

5. Turtles (for my Dad, okay, it’s a candy not a cookie)

6. Cherry Chocolate cookie (new one we’re trying this year, they’re yummy!)

7. Seven layer bars (an old favorite Chris requested that his mom used to make)

 8. Peanut Butter balls

Notice no favorites for the kids…they like them all!

So what have you baked this year? 

Here are a few pictures to get you in the mood!

Most of the recipes you probably all have in your books but I’ll give you the Chocolate Maraschino Cherry cookies since they ARE MY favorite and they are a bit different.  Don’t worry, it sounds like a complicated recipe but it’s really easy and makes a very nice presentation.

Chocolate Cherry Cookies (modified from a Pillsbury recipe)

½ cup sugar

¾ cup butter, softened

1 t. vanilla

1 egg yolk

1 ½ cups flour

¼ cup cocoa

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix  the first 4 ingredients till light and fluffy.  Add the flour and cocoa till well mixed.  Shape into small 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Make a small indentation in the center of each cookie with your finger.  Bake 7-9 minutes till set, cool completely on rack.

For filling- While baking the cookie combine ¼ cup butter, 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 T. almond extract.  Once cookies are cool put approximately ½ t. into the indentation of each cookie.

Top with- a marschino cherry (with or without stems, up to you) placed in the center of the filling.  Melt ½ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and add 1 t. of oil.  Use the tines of a fork to drizzle over the cookies.