Cookies
Amy Wiles
United States
Macon
GA
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This Christmas season I made a few cookies. Well, 1,617, to be precise. And I went through over 12 cups of margarine and about 10 pounds of flour. I hope that you and/or your family will make one of these for family, friends, or just for yourself this holiday season. Enjoy!
Tips general to the geeklist as a whole:
– Butter can be replaced with margarine; either should be softened first (just leave it out a half hour before starting).
– Measurements should be level and not packed, unless otherwise stated.
– Flour should be sifted, but I never do that (I just take about a teaspoon out).
– Powdered sugar should also be sifted, but I never do that either.
– If it calls for a dough to be chilled, I often just put it in the refrigerator overnight or for a couple days. I mix up several recipes in one afternoon, then the next day use the oven.
– Use parchment paper – it’s awesome stuff. Cookies don’t stick, and when you take them out of the oven, you can just pull the paper off the tray with the cookies still on it and right to the counter. Then just leave them there to cool. You can even place dough on the paper while you have your trays in the oven.
– Bake until slightly browned. If they look done in the oven, they’re overdone. I actually use Egg Replacer because of my egg allergy. It’s great but things don’t get quite as browned in the oven, and I wonder if baked goods with Egg Replacer don’t take as long to bake, because I never have cookies in the oven as long as the recipe calls for. Also, oven temperatures vary, so keep an eye on them!
– Start the cookies on the bottom rack. Set the timer for half the baking time. When the timer goes off, move the cookies to the top rack and turn the tray so the side that was at the back of the oven is now at the front of the oven. Put the next tray in on the bottom rack. Cycle through all trays like this. This will ensure even baking.
– If you don’t use parchment paper, you can cool cookies on a wire cooling rack. Also acceptable is a brown paper bag that has been cut open. Importantly, you need to remove the cookies from the tray immediately, or they'll keep baking.
c = cup
t = teaspoon
T = tablespoon
oz = ounce
Beat: Mix using a stand mixer or hand mixer. Should be thoroughly mixed when done.
Cream: Beat sugar and butter together until fluffy.
Chill: Refrigerate. Should be covered. You can use a reusable, sealable container, or a piece of plastic wrap over the bowl, or wrap the dough in a piece of wax paper.
Recipe names are copyrighted, but recipes themselves can’t be. I’ve changed the names below to protect the innocent.
(That's not all of them, just some I took to work last week. I'll try to post a better picture tomorrow.)
Edit: At the request of scspider23, I'm opening this geeklist up to the community to post their own holiday cookie recipes.
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Amy Wiles
United States
Macon
GA
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Gingerbread
1-1/2 c butter
2 c sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c molasses
4 c flour
1 t salt
2 t baking soda
2 t ground ginger
2 t ground cinnamon
2 t ground cloves
sugar
– Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and molasses. Beat in 1 c flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Stir in as much of the rest of the flour as you can. You may need to use a spoon. With a stand mixer, I get all 4 cups in. With a hand mixer, I have to get my husband to stir the last cup in with a wooden spoon.
– Make 1-inch balls (for a 1-1/2-inch cookie, or you can make 1-1/2-inch balls, which will make a 3 to 4-inch cookie) and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Grease bottom of a glass and dip into bowl of sugar. Flatten balls of dough with the glass. Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes.
Two batches made 101 cookies.
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Amy Wiles
United States
Macon
GA
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Roister Bars
A good bar for “reveling.” These things are awesome!
1
c butter or margarine
2
c brown sugar, packed
2
eggs
2
t vanilla
2-1/2
c flour
1
t baking soda
3
c quick-cooking rolled oats
1
14-oz can (1-1/4 c) sweetened condensed milk
1
12-oz package (2 c) semisweet chocolate chips
2
t vanilla
– Set aside 2 T of the butter. Beat the remaining butter until soft. Cream in brown sugar. Beat in eggs and 2 t vanilla. In another large bowl, stir together flour and baking soda; stir in oats. Gradually stir dry mixture into beaten mixture. Set aside.
– In a medium saucepan, combine the reserved butter, milk, and chocolate. Cook over low heat until chocolate melts completely, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in 2 t vanilla.
– Press two-thirds of the oat mixture into the bottom of a 15x10x1-inch baking pan lined with parchment paper. Spread chocolate mixture over the oat mixture. Using your fingers, dot remaining oat mixture over the chocolate.
– Bake at 350° F for 25 minutes (chocolate mixture will still look moist, check with a toothpick). If parchment paper was used, remove from pan and cool on kitchen towel. Otherwise, cool on a wire rack. Cut into 2x1-inch bars. Makes about 75 bars.
Two batches made 112 cookies.
Edit to add: I highly recommend removing them from the pan to cut, but you can really only do that if they're baked on parchment paper. Also, I highly recommend using a pizza cutter to cut the bars.
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Amy Wiles
United States
Macon
GA
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Candy Sticks
Candy canes, but softer!
1 c butter
1 c powdered sugar
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 t peppermint extract (or 2 drops of peppermint oil)
salt
2-1/2 c flour
10 drops red food coloring
– Beat butter until soft. Cream in sugar. Beat in egg, vanilla, peppermint, and a dash of salt. Beat in flour. Divide dough in half, stir food coloring into one half. Cover each half and chill 1 hour.
– On a surface dusted with powdered sugar, shape into ropes 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 4-inch lengths. Place one red and one white rope side-by-side and gently twist together. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake at 375°F for 8-10 minutes.
One batch made 64 cookies (on the left).
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Amy Wiles
United States
Macon
GA
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Eggnog Thumbs-Up
Rich and creamy
3/4 c butter
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
2 c flour
1/4 c butter
1 c powdered sugar
1 T rum*
ground nutmeg
– Beat butter. Cream in sugar and brown sugar. Beat in egg, vanilla, and salt. Mix in flour. Cover and chill 1 hour.
– Shape into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Press down centers with thumb. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes.
– For icing, beat 1/4 c butter until soft. Cream in powdered sugar. Beat in rum. Spoon about 1/2 t or less of icing into center of each cookie. Sprinkle with nutmeg. You may chill until icing is firm.
*May substitute 1 T milk and 1/4 t rum extract for the rum.
Two batches made 161 cookies.
No image yet.
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5.
Board Game: Limes
[Average Rating:0.00 Unranked]
Amy Wiles
United States
Macon
GA
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Lime Slices
Shortbread-like, with lime
1-1/2 c powdered sugar
1 c butter
1 t grated lime peel (could be orange or lemon instead, alternatively, use 5 drops of appropriate citrus oil)
1 t vanilla
1 egg
2-3/4 c flour
1 t baking soda
1 t cream of tartar
10 drops green food coloring (or orange or yellow)
green decorating sugar (or orange or yellow)
– Beat sugar and butter. Beat in citrus flavor, vanilla, and egg. Beat in flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Beat in coloring.* Cover and chill; 1 hour.
– On a surface lightly dusted with powdered sugar, roll into 2-inch ropes. Press colored sugar onto outside of rope. Using a thread, cut into 1/4-inch pieces. Bake at 375°F for 8-10 minutes.
– After the cookies cool, outline citrus segments on cookies with piped white icing.
*Alternatively, you may divide into fourths. Add lime and green coloring to one, orange and orange coloring to the second, lemon and yellow coloring to the third, and leave the fourth plain. When rolling into rope, roll the colored dough. Then divide the plain dough into thirds and with a rolling pin, roll plain dough into a length that will wrap around the outside of the colored ropes. This will be the “rind” of the citrus fruit. Then press the appropriate colored sugar onto the outside of the ropes.
Two batches made 118 cookies. I didn’t decorate them, and I’d left the dough in the fridge a bit long, and so they didn’t roll out well. I promise they look better than this! (And they taste awesome, too!)
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Amy Wiles
United States
Macon
GA
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Crinkles
Fudge-like
1 package fudge cake mix
2 eggs
1 T water
1/2 c shortening
powdered sugar
– Beat ingredients together.
– Roll into a 1-inch ball. Roll in powdered sugar. Bake at 375°F for 8-10 minutes.
One batch made 60 cookies.
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Amy Wiles
United States
Macon
GA
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Mint Swirls
Mmmmm…. minty!
1 c butter
1 c sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1/2 t peppermint extract (or 2 drops of peppermint oil)
2 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
10 drops red food coloring
10 drops green food coloring
– Beat butter until soft. Cream in sugar. Beat in egg, vanilla, and peppermint. Add flour and baking powder and beat well. Divide dough into thirds. Add red coloring to one, add green coloring to another, and leave the third plain. Cover each and chill 1 hour.
– Divide each third into four equal parts. On a surface lightly dusted with powdered sugar, roll each into a 1/2-inch rope. Place a rope of each color side-by-side and gently twist. Cut rope into 1/2-inch pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
– Grease bottom of a glass and dip into bowl of sugar. Flatten balls of dough with the glass. Bake at 375°F for 8-10 minutes.
Two batches made 189 cookies (on the right).
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8.
Board Game: Nuts!
[Average Rating:7.47 Unranked]
Amy Wiles
United States
Macon
GA
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Christmas Nuts
Small, crunchy, and spicy
3/4 c sugar
2/3 c dark corn syrup
1/4 c milk
1/4 c shortening
1 t anise extract
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cardamom
1/4 t ground cloves
3-1/3 c flour
powdered sugar
– In large saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, milk, and shortening. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool 15 minutes. Stir in anise, baking powder, vanilla, salt, and spices. Stir in flour. Cover and chill 2 hours.
– Divide dough into 24 equal parts. Keep those you are not yet working with in the refrigerator. On a surface dusted with powdered sugar, roll each part into a 1/4-inch thick rope. Cut into 3/8 inch long pieces. Scatter onto cookie sheet. Bake at 375°F for 8-10 minutes.
One batch made 742 cookies.
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Amy Wiles
United States
Macon
GA
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Rick-Rolled Cookies
Shortbread-like
1 c butter
2/3 c sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
2-1/2 c flour
1/2 t salt
– Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix in remaining ingredients. Cover and chill 4 hours.
– Roll dough about 1/4-inch thick. Roll onto powdered sugar surface. Ensure that rolling pin is also sugared. Cut with cookie cutters of choice. Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes.
– Once cool, decorate the cookies with icing or better yet, sprinkle with colored sugars before baking.
Two batches made 70 cookies.
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Amy Wiles
United States
Macon
GA
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Basic Icing
1 pound powdered sugar
3 T butter
1 t vanilla
1/4 c milk
– Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla and enough milk to make it spreadable.
* You can add other flavors or food coloring to this to liven things up. But then it wouldn’t be Basic Icing anymore, would it?
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Joseph Hayden
United States
Amelia
Virginia
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Peanut Butter Cookies
1 Cup Peanut Butter (chunky is best)
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
Bake in a 350°F oven for 8 minutes or until done.
You can adjust the batch size by simple doubling or tripling of the recipe. Best of all, for those of us who are gluten intolerant, this recipe is wheat free and very good.
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Nate Felger
United States
Fort Wayne
Indiana
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Sooo I stayed up way too late last night decorating these guys
for a work carry-in.
The cookie cutters are available from Williams-Sonoma. I used pastry bags with a small opening tip to decorate 'em.
Here's my Mom's sugar cookie recipe:
3/4 cup crisco
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix the above 4 ingredients with mixer until well incorporated
4 eggs, room temperature
Mix in the eggs and beat until fluffy
5 cups flour (spoon lightly into measuring cup and level off with the back of a straight knife)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt with a fork or whisk
Fold the flour mixture into the egg/sugar/butter mixture just until the flour is absorbed. Do not over mix or cookies will be tough
chill dough in plastic container or ziplock bag overnight or until firm (several hours)
Oven 375
Parchment paper on cookie sheet if you have it. Otherwise, plain cookie sheet...no need to grease
roll 1/4 dough out on well floured counter to about 1/8 inch thick. keep rest in refrig. til needed
try not to re-roll dough more than twice....get's really tough...the more you work it.
bake until set and just barely browning at edges...the lighter the cookie, the better
remove to cake rack to cool. when completely cool, ice and decorrate as desired, let set on trays or waxed paper until icing is set.
tastes better the next day!
And the icing:
2 lbs powdered sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
halt and half or milk as needed
mix the butter and p. sugar and vanilla together. begin adding the half and half in small amounts. beat until fluffy. Thin with just a bit more milk as needed to make a rather soft frosting.
All that lets you come up with something like this:
Unfortunately, I always make too many cookies and never have the time/patience to decorate them all. Other than that, I'm very satisfied that I brought the geekiest thing possible to a work carry-in.
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Peter Schott
Germany
Nürnberg
Franconia
Please fondle my bum.
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Butterzeug
These are more or less THE classic German christmas cookies.
we do these every year, and they are simply delicious.
I hope I do well translating the recipe.
you need:
750g flour
250g butter
250g clarified butter
275g sugar
2 eggs
2 husks of lemons (it means, take 2 lemons and grind the hull off it)
dont use anything else!
take everything but the flour and mix it with a mixer
then take this stuff and mix it with the flour on the board of your kitchen with your hands until you get a nice dough
take it and put it in the fridge over night
take a rolling pin and make the dough very flat (rougly 2-3 mm), on a floured board
take metal or plastic molds and cut (?) the dough with that in nice shapes, whatever you like
put them on a tray in the oven (190°C) until they are golden coloured (shouldnt take more than a few minutes)
if you like you could take a brush and brush the cookies with mixed raw egg before baking
or take them them out and put them with one side in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon while they are still hot
or do neither of the above
put them somewhere to cool down
store dry
well, thats about it
take the rest of the dough and flatten and cut it again and again until nothing is left. (Though a lot gets eaten in the process...)
simply delicious, and simple to do
sorry that I don't have pictures
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cakeball sally
United States
Austin
Texas
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This is my current favorite cookie. The recipe is from
http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/1869/frosted-lemon-cookies but because I suck at zesting lemons I substitute lemon extract for the lemon peel. Also I use salted butter and omit the 1/4 tsp of salt.
To glaze them I mix the lemon juice and powdered sugar in a cereal bowl, hold a cookie upsidedown and dip the top surface of the cookie into the glaze, then set it aside on waxed paper and grab the next cookie to dip.
Frosted Lemon Cookies
Cookie
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Glaze
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
Heat oven to 400°F. Combine all cookie ingredients in large bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
Meanwhile, combine all glaze ingredients in small bowl; stir until smooth. Frost warm cookies with glaze. Sprinkle with additional lemon peel, if desired.
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When I became a dad I developed a catalogue of easy to make recipes and have upskilled so much (I'd never baked before) that the kids now all call me the cookie man.....although I've never baked in your quantities!!
These are the two favourites.
All measurements and temps are metric (apologies to North American baking Geeks)....and I don't have pictures sorry (all eaten  )
MUESLI COOKIES
125 g butter
2 tbsp water
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups of toasted muesli (must be toasted, not natural....for Australians, Coles store brand is toasted with cinnamon and is the best)
1 cup plain sifted flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
Melt butter
Dissolve baking soda in boiling water, then add to melted butter
Combine muesli, flour and brown sugar, then add melted butter mixture and mix thoroughly into a dough
Divide into small balls, flatten slightly and bake for 12 minutes at 160C
I usually make a double batch.
Brent.
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HELLO DOLLY SQUARES
Why the naff name? I don't know, but god they're good.
90 g soft butter
125 g crumbed Nice biscuits (exactly half a pack....do they have these in the U.S?....just a basic, sugar sprinkled tea biscuit)
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup milk chocolate buds (small, not large)
1/2 cup crumbed walnut pieces
1 395 g can Nestle sweetened condensed milk
Line a shallow slice baking dish with baking paper
Combine biscuit and butter in a food processor, then press into bottom of tray to form a base for the slice
Sprinkle remaining ingredients in order listed, then pour condensed milk to cover the lot
Bake at 170C for 30 minutes or until golden on top
Cool and cut into small squares
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Chris Funk
United States
Springfield
Ohio
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Funkbreads
These are my specialty cookie. Not good for you, goes incredible with coffe, tea, milk, whipped cream and macerated starberries, ice cream, etc.
These are not your typical shortbread cookies. They are light, fluffy, and melt in your mouth and they take a lot more care to make than others because they are sticky to work with.
1 Lb. softened room-temp butter (yes, MUST be butter)
4 cups AP Flour - sifted
1 cup sugar
That's it.
Oven to 375.
Now, cream the butter and sugar until it's fluffy and light. In my Kitchenaid with the paddle, it takes about 5 minutes on highest setting to get it to the CoolWhip color and consistency I like.
Sift in the flour, one cup at a time until all four cups are in. You want to make sure the mixer is down to lowest setting if you're using one or it really will be a white Christmas. Depending on your environment, you might go 4 1/2 cups or 4 1/4. I generally eyeball it after four cups are in. We're looking for solid, yet sticky to the touch.
Empty the mix onto a well floured work surface and roll out to about 3/4" thinkness. This will be tough as you will need to flour the dough to work with it at all and I use my hands to flatten it out most of the way before rolling only to get an even thickness. You want to flour enough to keep your hands and rolling pin from sticking, but not enough to work too much flour into the dough.
Then take a knife or another kitchen tool with a very thin blade. The less surface area, the better. Cut 3/4" x 1" sections and move them to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place them about an inch apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes but start checking at 8. When you see the top edges just start to brown, they are ready to come out.
Move them immediately to a cooling rack and top with sugar. Wait until cool and eat.
Makes about 4-5 dozen.
If you want to go all nutty, I like to put raw pecan halves on top of them cookies before I put them in the oven. The oven roasts the pecans perfectly and they look really pretty when you get them out of the oven.
It's definitely a labor or love for me with these. Been perfecting the process for about 12 years now.
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Florida
And now you need 3 days sleep to recover?
I commend you. I could never spend that much time baking if my life depended on it!
Macon
GA
um... no. And to have a Southerner suggest such sacrilege! One of the reasons I miss living in the South is the totally delicious (yet totally unhealthy) food there!
I'm actually not from the South. I don't know where I'm from except the U.S. My mom was born in one state (not the state her family was from), my dad was born in another. I've never lived in any of those three states, but I have lived in eight others. And none of that has anything to do with the military.
I've never actually been to Montana, which I'd wanted to do for some time.
Minneapolis
Minnesota
Terrible for you, but makes great cookie.
San Mateo
California
I'm actually not from the South. I don't know where I'm from except the U.S. My mom was born in one state (not the state her family was from), my dad was born in another. I've never lived in any of those three states, but I have lived in eight others. And none of that has anything to do with the military.
As someone born in Texas and only lived the first 18 months of his life there... once from Texas always from Texas. Seriously, though I don't know why that is. My uncle (born in Texas, raised in Virginia and who lived many years overseas as a missionary and whose kids were all born in other countries, and who now lives in San Antonio) asked me, "So, were you born in Zion?"
I'd say Texas can claim you.
oh, edit to add:
Awesome list, Ms. Wiles.
Victoria
BC
To the lab! er... kitchen!