CHRISTMAS PRETZEL COOKIES
2 lbs. white chocolate bark (can be melted in microwave or double boiler)
8 to 10 oz. long stick pretzels, broken into 3
2 c. Rice Krispies & 2 c. Captain Crunch (or 4 c. Rice Krispies)
1 c. Spanish peanuts (or any nuts)
Wax paper
Mix everything together. Pour melted bark over all and spoon out on wax paper to form candy. Candy will harden as it dries.
Christmas Wreaths
1/2 c. butter
1 (10 oz.) bag marshmallows
2 tsp. vanilla
4 tsp. green food coloring
4 c. corn flakes
1/4 cup small cinnamon candies
Microwave butter and marshmallows on high until melted (1-3 minutes depending your microwave). Stir once at halfway point. Stir until smooth. Add vanilla and green food coloring. Put corn flakes in a large bowl then pour butter mixture over them. Stir thoroughly and quickly. Grease hands with cooking spray or butter. Shape 1/2 c. of corn flakes on wax paper to form a cookie sized wreath. Sprinkle with the red candies. Continue on working quickly until all of the corn flake mixture is made into cookies.
SOFT MOLASSES COOKIES
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
Extra sugar
Combine all dry ingredients. Cream the butter and 1 cup
sugar; add the eggs and molasses and blend well. Add
dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and blend well.
Shape into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar. Place 2 inches
apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12
minutes at 350 degrees.
CRUNCHY FROSTY SNOWMAN
15 cups popped popcorn
1 stick of butter or margarine
2 10-ounce packages marshmallows
Pretzel sticks
Mini jawbreakers
Gumdrops or red hots
Fruit leather
Put the popcorn in large mixing bowl. Set it aside.
Melt the butter/ margarine in a nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat.
Add all the marshmallows, stirring with a wooden spoon until melted.
Pour the mixture over the popcorn and stir to coat evenly.
When the marshmallow mixture is cool enough to touch,
rub a little margarine on your hands and start making popcorn balls.
Each snowman requires about 1 cup of popcorn or less for the head of
the snowman, more for the base.
Build and decorate your snowmen on a sheet of waxed paper.
For each snowman, stack 3 popcorn balls on top of each other.
Push pretzel stick arms into the sides of the middle popcorn ball.
Add raisins for eyes and a candy corn nose.
Arrange a row of mini jawbreakers into a broad grin. For buttons
on the snowman's chest, use gumdrops or red hots.
TIP:
If your popcorn balls aren't sticky enough for the decorations, mix up a small batch of
stiff white icing and use it to glue the candy in place. To make the icing, add water
a few drops at a time to 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and stir until smooth.
PISTACHIO CRANBERRY ICEBOX COOKIES
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
1/2 cup shelled pistachios (2 1/4 oz; not dyed red)
1/3 cup dried cranberries (1 1/4 oz)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup decorative sugar (preferably coarse)
Make dough:
Stir together flour, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.
Beat together butter, granulated sugar, and zest in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing until dough just comes together in clumps, then mix in pistachios and cranberries. Gather and press dough together, then divide into 2 equal pieces. Using a sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper as an aid, form each piece of dough into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Square off long sides of each log to form a bar, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until very firm, at least 2 hours.
Slice and bake cookies:
Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Brush egg over all 4 long sides of bars (but not ends). Sprinkle decorative sugar on a separate sheet of parchment or wax paper and press bars into sugar, coating well.
Cut each bar crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, rotating bar after cutting each slice to help keep square shape. (If dough gets too soft to slice, freeze bars briefly until firm.) Arrange cookies about 1/2 inch apart on lined baking sheets.
Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are pale golden, 15 to 18 minutes total. Transfer cookies from parchment to racks using a slotted spatula and cool completely.
notes:
• Dough bars can be chilled up to 3 days or frozen, wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil, 1 month (thaw frozen dough in refrigerator just until dough can be sliced).
• Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 5 days.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
PRETZEL TREE
skinny stick pretzel
large marshmallow
Hershey's kiss
peanut butter
Take the pretzel and the marshmallow and stick the pretzel inside the marshmallow (1/2 way through). Spread the peanut butter on the bottom of the marshmallow. Then stick the kiss on the peanut butter.
DIPPING SAUCE
2 cups (12 oz.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, any kind
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
LINE baking sheets with waxed paper. Melt morsels and shortening in small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Dip half of each cookie into chocolate; place on prepared baking sheets. Let stand until chocolate is set. Sprinkle remaining half with powdered sugar. Store between sheets of waxed paper in covered containers.
DOUBLE DIPPED SANDWICH COOKIES
10 oz. pkg. vanilla milk chips
2 tsp. solid shortening
30 sandwich cookies (chocolate or vanilla)
12 oz. pkg. semisweet chocolate chips
2 tsp. solid shortening
decorator frostings, sprinkles
Combine vanilla milk chips and 2 tsp. solid shortening in a small saucepan and melt over very low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Set aside.
Combine semisweet chocolate chips and 2 tsp. solid shortening in another small saucepan and melt over very low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Set aside.
Line cookie sheets with waxed paper or parchment paper. Dip cookies, one at a time, into white or semisweet chocolate. Have fun with this part - dip half a cookie into the white chocolate, then another half into the semisweet chocolate. Or dip into one kind of chocolate, chill until set, then dip again into the other chocolate. You can also drizzle the contrasting chocolate over the set dipped cookies in patterns, like Christmas trees, stars, and bells. Sprinkle with colored sugars or non pareils or decorate with decorator frostings. You may need to reheat the chocolates over very low heat if it thickens or begins to harden during the dipping process.
Place the dipped cookies onto the lined cookie sheets and let stand until set (you may need to refrigerate the cookies to harden the chocolate depending on the weather).
CHOCOLATE DIPPED COOKIES
1 pkg. Dipping Chocolate, or any variety of chips
CHIPS AHOY! Real Chocolate Chip Cookies
NUTTER BUTTER Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
NILLA Wafers
FAMOUS Chocolate Wafers
HEAT chocolate as directed on package.
DIP cookies halfway into chocolate (using about 1 Tbsp. chocolate for each serving), then sprinkle or roll in the 1 Tbsp. topping. Place on wax paper-covered plate and let stand until set.
VARIATION
Chocolate Dipped Frozen Banana
: Omit cookies. Cut 1 banana crosswise into 3 or 4 pieces. Insert wooden stick into each banana chunk.
Dip in chocolate, then coat with toppings as directed. Place on baking sheet and freeze until firm. Store in freezer until ready to serve. Makes 1 serving
CHOCOLATE REINDEER
3 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
72 small pretzel twists
72 candy-coated milk chocolate pieces
36 small red gumdrops
Mix, flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; set aside.
Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually stir in flour mixture until well mixed. Divide dough into 6 portions. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate about 3 hours or until dough is easy to handle.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough into a 6-inch circle. Using a knife, cut each circle into 6 wedges. Place wedges about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
For antlers,
lightly press pretzels into the upper corners of each triangle. Press in chocolate pieces for eyes.
For a nose,
press a red gumdrop about 1/2 inch from the point.
Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are firm. Do not overbake. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
CHERRY CHOCOLATE COOKIES
1 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1 cup chopped dried or maraschino cherries
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; set aside.
Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually stir in flour mixture until well mixed. Stir in chopped cherries. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
DREAMSICKLE COOKIES
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup white chocolate chips
3 tablespoons orange powdered drink mix, such as Tang
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt ,
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
3 tablespoons powdered orange flavored drink mix, such as Tang
1 cup confectioners' sugar, water or milk
Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease baking sheets.
Cream the shortening and the sugar together until light. Add the eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Dissolve the baking soda in the buttermilk. Add the buttermilk mixture, salt, 3 tablespoons Tang, flour and baking powder to the shortening mixture. Mix well. Stir in the white chocolate chips.
Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Frost cookies while still hot with Tang Glaze.
TANG GLAZE
Combine the butter, 3 tablespoons Tang, confectioners sugar plus enough water or milk to reach a thick yet still pourable consistency and beat until smooth.
