Cookies!

Linzer Cookies

Ingredients

5 ounces unblanched hazelnuts (1 cup)

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon table salt

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

2/3 cup raspberry or cherry jam

Directions

-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet, and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and immediately transfer nuts to a clean towel. Vigorously rub the nuts in the towel to remove as much of the skins as possible. Set nuts aside until completely cool. Place nuts in a food processor, and process until finely ground. Set aside.

-In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla.

-Whisk together reserved hazelnuts, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add to butter mixture; beat on low until combined, about 2 minutes. Form dough into two flattened disks, wrap each with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have ready two baking sheets lined with Silpats (French baking mats; see sources) or parchment paper. Also have ready one 2 1/2-inch round fluted cookie cutter and one 3/4-inch cookie cutter. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out half the dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness. Using the 3-inch fluted cutter, cut out cookies. ---

-With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheets. Using the smaller cutter, cut the centers out of half of the cookies. Repeat rolling and cutting with the other half of the dough. Combine the scraps from both batches, reroll and cut.

-Bake until the edges are golden, 12 to 16 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from oven; place on wire racks until completely cool.

-Lightly sift confectioners' sugar over the decorative tops; set aside. Spread a scant tablespoon of jam on the bottoms of each cookie, and sandwich with the sugar-dusted tops.

Grandma Egger's Jubilee Cookies (Half Recipe)

1 3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2/3 cup shortening

1/2 tablespoon soda

1 teaspoon salt

5 ounces eggs

1 can milk (12 oz.)

1 tablespoon vanilla

5 cups flour

1 1/4 cup coconut

1 cup nuts

Cream sugars and shortening.

Add soda salt eggs milk and vanilla.

Mix well.

Add flour, then coconut and nuts.

Drop on greased cookie sheets.

Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Ice with frosting when cool.

CARAMEL FROSTING

Melt 1/2 cup butter and add 1 cup brown sugar.

Boil over low heat 2 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup milk and cook, stirring constantly, unitl it comes to a boil.

Remove and let cool ten minutes.

Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
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Spritz Cookies 
1 C Powdered Sugar
1 C Butter, at room temperature
1 Egg
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
2 1/3 C Flour

Heat oven to 400
Cream together butter and powdered sugar.  Beat in egg, salt and extracts.  Then stir in flour, until well combined.
Press dough through cookie press onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 7-9 minutes until edges are firm but not brown.
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Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 C Butter Flavor Crisco

3/4 C Brown Sugar

3/4 C Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

2 Eggs

12 oz Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 C Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream together Crisco, sugars and vanilla.  Add eggs one at time, mix well.  Sprinkle in baking soda and salt. Gradually add flour until mixed well.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes.  Allow to cool on sheet for 1-2 minutes before moving to cooling rack.

*Cookies should be very lightly browned when removed from oven.  They will darken as they cool.
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Forgotten Cookies
2 Egg Whites
Pinch Salt
2/3 C Sugar
1 C Semisweet Chocolate Chips


Preheat Oven to 350
Beat egg whites until foamy.  Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in chocolate chips and salt.  
Drop by small spoonfuls onto cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment paper.
Place in oven and turn off heat.  Leave in oven overnight. Don't peek once they're in the oven!
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Sand Tarts
From Coco and Mary Jane
1 C Butter
2 C Flour
4 T (heaping) Powdered Sugar
1 T Vanilla
1 T water
1 C Ground Pecans


Add powdered sugar to flour and mix with creamed butter.  Add ground pecans, water and vanilla.  Take a small amount of dough and roll in palm of hand.  Shape in small half moons.
Cook on ungreased pans 45 minutes in slow oven, 275 or 300.  Roll in granulated sugar.
Makes 80 cookies.
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Orange Slice Cookies
4 Eggs, Beaten
2 C Flour
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
2 C Sugar (1 white & 1 brown)
1 1/4 C Chopped Orange Slices
1 1/2 Chopped Nuts


Toss orange slices with flour prior to adding to batter. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 until golden brown.  Ice while still warm.


Icing
3 T Melted Butter
2 T Orange Juice
1 tsp Grated Orange Rind
Powdered Sugar to Mix
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Gum Drop Cookies
From Coco
1 C gum drops, gut fine
4 eggs 
1/2 C chopped nuts
2 C Flour
1 C Brown Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 C White Sugar
2 T Cold Water
1/2 tsp salt


Combine all ingredients in large bowl.  Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 until golden brown.  Ice while still warm with the same icing used for Orange Slice Cookies.

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Mini Peppermint-Meringue Cups With Ganache

Thank you Martha Stewart!!

Ingredients

• For the meringue cups:
• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 3 large egg whites, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
• Red gel-paste food coloring (sugarcraft.com)
• For the ganache:
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Garnish: 1 large candy cane, finely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Trace 16 circles onto each of 2 pieces of parchment using a 1 3/4-inch round cookie cutter, spacing about 2 inches apart. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray, and top each with a sheet of parchment, traced side down.
2. Make the meringue cups: Heat egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl of a mixer set over a pan of simmering water, stirring, until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm to the touch, about 3 minutes. Transfer bowl to mixer. Whisk on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Beat in peppermint extract.
3. Using a small food-safe paintbrush, paint 3 stripes of red food coloring up the inside of a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain round tip. Transfer egg-white mixture to pastry bag; pipe coils to fill each traced circle. Pipe up sides of each to create 3/4-inch- to 1-inch-high cups.
4. Bake until meringue cups are crisp but not browned and lift off parchment easily, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Transfer meringue cups to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
5. Meanwhile, make the ganache: Transfer chocolate to a heatproof bowl. Bring cream to a gentle simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour over chocolate, and let stand for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and cut a small slit in the top. Refrigerate until firm, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.
6. Stir ganache, and transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch open-star tip. Pipe ganache into the center of each meringue cup. Garnish with candy cane.

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Lime Meltaways

Ingredients

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners' sugar

Finely grated zest of 2 limes

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Directions

Put butter and 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add lime zest and juice and vanilla, and mix until fluffy.

Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined.

Divide dough in half. Place each half on an 8-by-12-inch sheet of parchment paper. Roll in parchment to form a log 1 1/4 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow log. Refrigerate logs until cold and firm, at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove parchment from logs; cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space rounds 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, toss cookies with remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 weeks.
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