maraschino cherry squares *

my dad is a huge cherry fan! in fact, the only candy that I can ever remember my mom buying at christmas time are the cherry cordials that she would put in his stocking every year. so when I saw this recipe in paula dean’s christmas magazine, I knew that I had to make them in honor of my dad. they are really good and another slice and bake cookie that I love for this time of year.

1 cup all-vegetable shortening
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons half-and-half
1/2 cup drained and minced maraschino cherries
1/2 cup minced candied cherries
red sanding sugar (optional)

1. in a medium bowl, beat shortening, sugar, and salt at high speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. stir in extracts.
2. gradually add flour, beating at low speed until mixture is combined. add half-and-half, maraschino cherries, and candied cherries; beating until combined.
3. shape dough into a 2x15 inch log on a sheet of parchment paper. sprinkle red sugar on parchment paper and wrap. refrigerate for 2 hours.
4. preheat oven to 350f. line baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. slice dough into 1/4 inch thick cookies. roll edges of cookies in red sanding sugar, if desired. bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. cool on pans for 5 minutes. remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. makes 5 dozen.

lime meltaways

the dough for these icebox cookies can be frozen in logs for up to two months. these are one of my favorite cookies and every year I say that I am going to make them in the summer as well, but every year, I forget.

12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
grated zest of 2 limes
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt

1. in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. add lime zest, juice, and vanilla; beat until fluffy.
   
2. in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. add to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.
   
3. between two 8-by-12-inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch-diameter logs. chill at least 1 hour.
   
4. heat oven to 350°. line two baking sheets with parchment. place remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a re-sealable plastic bag. remove parchment from logs; slice dough into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.
   
5. bake cookies until barely golden, about 15 minutes. transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. while still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag; toss to coat.
   
6. bake or freeze remaining dough. store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. makes 10 dozen.
   

brown family sugar cookies

I got this recipe from my mom and the original recipe was called green family sugar cookies (I have no idea why), but since I have now made my own "tweaks" to the recipe, I now call them the brown family sugar cookies. I am not usually a fan of sugar cookies, but this recipe is really good.  since I didn't get the decorating gene with my cooking gene, I usually just make these as the stained glass cookies and bake the small cookies cut out and without icing or decorating them.  you can decorate them with sprinkles and colored sugar or ice them.

1 ¼ cup sugar
½ cup butter
½ cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon lemon or almond extract (I use the sweet dough flavoring from king aurthur)
1 egg
3 cups flour, plus more for rolling out cookies
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
dash of nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt

1. put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
2. add buttermilk, vanilla, lemon or almond extract and egg; mix until combined.
3. sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. slowly add into the mixer and mix on low speed until smooth.
4. chill dough at least 2 hrs.
5. preheat oven to 350. line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
6. roll dough to a ¼” thick and cut out (use plenty of flour). for stained glass cookies, follow instructions below. otherwise, decorate with colored sugar or sprinkles and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown. cool on cookie sheet for 15 minutes and then cool on cooling rack.

stained glass cookies

jolly ranchers (or other clear hard candy)
freezer bags
meat mallet
small and large cookie cutters

1. unwrap the jolly ranchers in the color that you want to use and place them in a freezer bag.  crush the jolly ranchers with the meat mallet.
   
2. once you have rolled out the dough, cut with the large cookie cutters and move to the prepared cookie sheet.
3. using one of the small cookie cutters, cut out the middle of the cookie.  fill the cookie center with a generous amount of the crushed jolly ranchers.
4. the cutouts from the small cookie cutters can be re-rolled or baked as small cookies.
5. bake cookies in the preheated 350 oven for 10 to 12 minutes for the large cookies and 8 to 10 minutes for the smaller cookies or until golden brown.
   

gingersnaps

these cookies remind me of christmas’ when I was growing up.  these are very delicious spice cookies.  if you don’t have any cardamom, you can double the cinnamon instead.

¾ cup shortening1 cup white sugar
¼ cup molasses
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon salt
4 t red granulated sugar
4 t green granulated sugar
2 t dark brown sugar
1 t cinnamon

1. melt the shortening in the microwave and let cool.  add white sugar, molasses, and egg and mix well.
   
2. sift together the next 7 ingredients (baking soda through salt) and add to the shortening and sugar mixture.  mix well and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 1 week.
   
3. when you are ready to bake the cookies, remove the dough from the refrigerator and pre-heat oven to 375.
   
4. in a shallow bowl mix together the remaining ingredients (red sugar through the cinnamon).
   
5. form the dough into 1 inch balls, roll in sugar mixture and place on cookies sheets 2 inches apart.
   
6. bake at 375 degrees for 8 -10 minutes.

chewy coconut chocolate pinwheels

these michael’s favorite christmas cookies.  they are a little time consuming, but very worth it.  this recipe is also really nice because the finished, chilled logs will keep in the fridge for about 3 weeks, so you can bake a sheet of these at a time and have them fresh out of the oven whenever you want.

9 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups cake flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1½ cups shredded coconut

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

½ cup sweetened condensed milk

1. in the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, beat 8 tablespoons butter and the sugar on medium speed until fluffy.  add the egg and vanilla, and beat until combined. 
2. sift together flour, baking soda, and salt and add to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.  add coconut, and beat until combined. 
3. roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper into a 7 to 8 inch-by-15½ inch rectangle, a very scant ¼ inch thick.  using a sharp knife, trim to form neat edges.  transfer dough to a baking sheet, and place in refrigerator to chill. 
4. melt the chocolate and the remaining tablespoon butter in the microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.  stir in the condensed milk and let stand until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
5. remove the dough from the refrigerator (if the dough is not pliable enough to work with; allow the dough to warm to room temperature until it is pliable enough to work with) and peel off the top piece of parchment.  using an offset spatula spread the melted chocolate mixture over the dough.
6. using the bottom piece of parchment for support, roll the dough into a tight log.  wrap the log in parchment, and chill overnight or up to three weeks.
7. when you are ready to bake the cookies, remove the log from the refrigerator and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  remove the parchment from the log, and cut log into 1/4-inch rounds.
8. place the rounds on a parchment covered cookie sheet and bake until light golden brown on edges, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating half way through.  transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.  store the cookies in an airtight container up to two weeks.  makes about 3 dozen.