My Mom's Sugar Cookies

I think some of you have this, but a friend requested it so I thought I would post it here. These are our absolute favorite sugar cookies!

Cream together:
1 1/2 c. butter (I usually beat this first)
1 1/2 c. sugar

Beat till light and fluffy

add:
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla

Beat till very light and fluffy then add 2 tbsp. milk or cream

Sift together and add:
4 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Chill dough at least 1 hour

Roll out and cut out. Do not roll them too thin or they will be crispy

Bake at 375 degrees, roughly 8-10 minutes

UNDER COOK SLIGHTLY!! If the edges start to brown take them out and get them on a cooling rack!

Frosting:

Cream together:
Roughly 1/2-3/4 cup salted butter
1/2 cube (4 oz) cream cheese

Beat in powdered sugar till it is sweet enough
Then add 1 tsp or so of vanilla and milk or cream till the consistency is spreadable

Frost and Enjoy!

Caramel Walnut Cookies

My Grandma has made these round cookies every Thanksgiving as long as I remember. They are absolutely wonderful, but kind of a pain simply because of the time involved. You can break it into two stages to make it easier: Roll and bake cookies and nougat one night, dip in caramel and nuts the next day.




Nougat:

1/3 c evaporated milk
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c chopped walnuts

Boil till thickened and let cool. (Don't let it get too thick)

Cookie:

1/2 c butter
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c powdered sugar (I use half granulated sugar for a softer cookie, but it flattens them a bit.)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c flour

Cream butter and sugar till light, then add egg and vanilla till mixed. Combine with dry ingredients.

Roll dough into a ball roughly the size of a large walnut. Make an indent with your thumb, and fill with roughly 1/2tsp (Whatever fits!) of the nougat filling. Seal the ball, and start another one . . . Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 min.

Walnuts: Chop up 2 or so cups of walnuts while the caramel is boiling.

Caramel: (This makes enough caramel for a double batch, so you can halve it, but you'll need to be careful not to run out. Another solution is just to double the cookies and nougat!)

2 c sugar
3/4 c light corn syrup
1 c evaporated milk
1/2 c butter

Bring to a boil without stirring, then add 3/4 c more evaporated milk or cream. Boil till the caramel starts to darken and reaches soft ball stage.

Working quickly, poke a toothpick in the top of a cookie, dip and roll in the caramel, then roll the bottom of the cookie in the chopped walnuts. Take the toothpick out, and enjoy the fruits of your labor. We usually cut the cookie into quarters or more, but you can grab one and eat it whole. Cutting the cookies makes them last longer.

Andes Cookies

These cookies are so awesome!!! I got them from my sister-in-law. The crushed candy canes add a festive flare.

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

3/4 c. butter, softened

2 lg. eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbs. water

3 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

6 oz. Andes mints

Preheat oven to 375. Mix dry ingredients. Beat sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and water together. Add dry ingredients. Chill dough overnight (or until cold) (I rolled the dough and put them in freezer for a bit after chilling in fridge for 5 hours). Wrap dough around a mint until covered. Place 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookies sheet. Bake 7-9 mins or until golden brown. Right after taking out of oven sprinkle with crushed peppermint. Cool

Enjoy!!!

Oreo Truffles

Oreo Truffles

1pkg. Oreo cookies

1 8oz. cream cheese

2 large milk chocolate Symphony bars

Variations:

crushed candy canes

white chocolate

mint Oreos or mint flavoring

Directions:

Use food processor or blender to finely crush Oreos. Mix in softened block of cream cheese. Roll Oreo mixture into balls and place in freezer for at least 1hr. Melt chocolate and use toothpicks to dip Oreo balls into chocolate.

Variations:

Sprinkle with crushed candy cane while chocolate is still warm.

Drizzle with white chocolate.

Use mint Oreos or mint flavoring.

Banana Bread Cookies

This recipe is from Ashley's sister-in-law's cookbook that some of us have, but for those of you who don't have it, here you go. The picture is horrible for which I apologize, but these are really tasty, though I recommend doubling the recipe as a single version only makes about 2 dozen, and you'll definitely want more than that.

3/4 c. shortening
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. banana flavoring
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Mix shortening, brown sugar, egg, banana flavoring, and vanilla. Mix in a different bowl flour, salt and soda. Add flour mixture. Rotate bananas into batter, then mix well. Drop onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8-11 min. (You can also add milk chocolate chips to batter ...which I recommend!)

Frosting (This is what really makes the cookie good!)

6 T. Brown Sugar
4 T. Milk
4 T. Butter
Powdered Sugar

Bring all brown sugar, milk and butter to a boil. Take off heat, and add powdered sugar until frosting consistency (about 1 1/2 - 2 cups).

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

These cookies have the most delightful texture. They are crackly on the outside and fudgy and brownie-like on the inside. They are very rich and I would recommend eating them warm out of the oven with a glass of milk. Contrary to how this looks, they are very easy to make.
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tbsp cocoa powder (optional - this makes it richer and darker)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp unsalted butter
5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix eggs, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla on high speed for 15 minutes, until thick.
While eggs are whipping, place butter and chocolate in double boiler/glass or metal bowl suspended over a pot of simmering water. Heat until butter and chocolate melt. Remove from heat and stir until smooth.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (This makes it easier to remove the delicate cookies to keep them from over-baking)
Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until partially combined. Gently fold in flour mixture. Let batter rest for 5 min. to thicken.
Drop batter by heaping teaspoonfuls/small ice cream scoop onto baking sheets. Bake until puffed and cracked, 8-9 minutes. Do Not Over-Bake! Remove parchment paper of cookies to wire rack to cool.

This doesn't make more than 2 dozen small cookies, but they are rich and best eaten warm.

Red, White and Blueberry Cookies

On Memorial Day, we had lunch with Matt at the community here in AZ since he had to work. For dessert, they had these Otis Spunkmeyer cookies called "Red, White, and Blueberry Cookies" and they were to die for. I went on a hunt to find something similar and didn't have much luck. I adapted another recipie I had and they didn't turn out that bad. Not as good as Otis Spunkmeyer, but we still gobbled them up. Anyway, here's the recipe for a fun patriotic cookie:

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup crasins
2/3 cup dried blueberries
2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat Oven to 350

Beat butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well.

Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in a seperate bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in crasins, blueberries, and white chocolate chips.

Drop on cookie sheet and flatten with a spoon. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool on a wire rack.