"Virtual" Cookie Exchange

Russian Tea Cakes

* 1 cup butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans or almonds
* 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine the 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar and flour; stir into the butter mixture until just blended. Mix in the chopped nuts. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place them 2 inches apart on an un-greased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When mostly cool, roll in remaining confectioners' sugar. I also like to roll mine in the sugar a second time.

Gail's Oh-So-Fudgy Sugar Cookies (roll and cut to shapes)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
(now THIS is a chocolate sugar cookie!!!My own recipe, because most chocolate sugar cookies dont have much flavor. This has now become by sisters favorite recipie to bake every year also)

Sift together in large bowl:

4 C flour
1 1/4 C unsweetened coaco
1/4 c ground chocolate
1/4 t salt
1/8 t cinnamon
1 1/2 t baking powder

cream together in separate bowl with mixer:

4 sticks room temp butter
2 3/4 c powdered sugar

Then beat into butter mixture:

3 slightly beaten eggs
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t almond extract

Combine both mixtures. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350. Roll out on floured surface to a nice one half inch thickness. YES one half inch. Cut with floured cutter and place on UNgreased sheets . Bake 6 minutes for tiny cutters or up to 12 minutes, depending how big the cutters are. I usually bake at 9-10 minutes. * If shapes are spreading too much it means the dough is too warm. Keep dough in fridge between cuttings or place cookie sheet of shapes in fridge for 15 minutes before baking.

Cool on cookie sheets and then carefully remove to a flat surface. Can be baked a day ahead and placed in tupperware flats with wax paper between layers.

Decorate with fudgy icing:

Gails Fudgy Cookie (soft) Icing
-----------------------------

Heat 1 cube of butter and 5T cream or sour cream until melted.

beat/Stir in:
4 c powdered sugar
2 t vanilla
1/4 t almond extract

Separate into bowls and tint with colors. Makes 5 cups. Use as a BASE frosting for cookie.
Use Royal (hardening) icing to pipe details and around the edges or cookies.

Store baked, decorated cookies in covered containers at room temp. ( the nice thickness will help them stay fresh longer).
Uncooked dough can store a week in fridge.

Royal Icing
---------------

Beat in clean large bowl with very clean beaters, until foamy:

4 eggs whites (absolutely no yolk in them)

Gradually add and beat until thick: (could take a while!)

4 c SIFTED powdered sugar
1 t extract (use lemon for vanilla cookies or Almond for fudge cookies)

Keep covered with a damp towel to keep it from hardening while in use, or tint and put into decorator tubes with tips.

My favorite are Peanut Butter No Bakes

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup peanutbutter
3 and 1/2 cups Quick Oats

Heat sugar, butter, milk in a sauce pan, on medium until it boils (stirring occasionally). Put in teaspoon of vanilla.

Remove from heat, add peanut butter, stir until melted.

Stir in oatmeal.

Using a tablespoon (or teaspoon) drop mixture onto wax paper. Let cool and enjoy :D

So easy and so good!

Special K Bars

1 cup Karo Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
6 cups Special K cereal
1 pkg. chocolate chips
1 pkg. butterscotch chips

Melt first 3 ingrediants together until sugar is melted. Pour over cereal and mix to coat. Press in to greased 9x13 pan (just like you do for rice krispie treats). Then melt the chocolate and peanut butter chips together and spread over the cereal bars. Let chocolate firm up and cut as soon as possible. I put them in the fridge for about 30 minutes to set up. If they get too cold, it is really hard to cut them.

These are a favorite of my husband's because his grandmother used to make these at Christmas. They are super easy and the kids love them. Also, I've used other cake mixes (carrot cake and funfetti mixes have been favorites) so it's very versitile!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies

1/4 cup butter, softened
1, 8-oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 box of Strawberry cake mix
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla, and half of the cake mix (dry) until smooth. Stir in remaining cake mix and the nuts. Drop dough by teaspoon about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet.

These are my specialty and my family's favorite for Christmas. It is basically a meringue shell type of cookie.

Forgotten Cookies

3-4 medium eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cream of tartar
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
1 bag chocolate chips and/or m&ms

A few hours before making, put a glass bowl and your beaters in the fridge, and put out 3-4 eggs to get to room temperature..NOT overnight, but for a few hours.

When ready to make, place sheets of foil on baking sheets. These will all be baked at the same time, so you will need a couple of pans. Spray heavily with cooking spray. Oven set at 300 degrees.

Separate eggs. Make sure NO yolk gets in the whites or it will be ruined. Put eggs whites in your cold glass bowl and add salt. Beat on high until they start to get stiff and are white and foamy. Add cream of tartar and vanilla. Beat again, adding sugar gradually until they are firm peaks. That means when you turn off the beater and raise it up, it stands up by itself in a peak. Usually with a regular mixer it takes three or four minutes. Fold in candy or chocolate chips

Put on pans by heaping spoonful. Place in oven and then TURN OVEN OFF. Leave them in oven all night (or about 8 hours), but no peeking!!! In the morning they should be light and airy, somewhat crunchy. VERY yummy.

*note: they are called Forgotten Cookies because it is easy to forget they are in the oven, and then you go to in the morning to preheat your oven for your Christmas ham, and burn them. LOL*

This is my contribution to my in-laws' cookie traditions, and my FIL always asks for them now. =)

Cashew Cream Cookies

Cookie

½ c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 c. flour
¾ t. b. powder
¾ t. b. soda
¼ t. salt
1/3 c. sour cream
1 c. salted whole cashews (I always use the whole and pieces—it is cheaper!)

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Alternate sifted dry ingredients and sour cream. Fold in nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls on greased baking sheet. Bake 400 degrees F. for 8-10 minutes. Frost while warm.

Golden Butter Frosting

½ c. butter
3 T. cream (non-skim milk is okay)
2 c. powdered sugar

Slightly brown butter and add cream and sifted powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Frost cookies (sometimes more of a drizzle, depending on how the butter turns out).