A merry mix of holiday cookies

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar.

Add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, then add the almond and vanilla extracts.

Add the salt, then slowly add the flour, a little at a time, until completely incorporated to form the dough.

2. Divide the dough in half. Cover and refrigerate half.

To the other half, add enough food coloring to turn the dough a rich pink. Cover the other half; and refrigerate both pieces of dough about 30 minutes.

3. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

4. Form the cookies: Take a heaping tablespoon each of the pink and white dough. Roll each piece into a strip, then take the two strips and place them side by side so they are touching each other. Roll them together so you have one uniform piece, red on one side and white on the other, then twist to swirl. Twist the dough to form the shape of a candy cane. Continue forming the cookies with all of the dough.

5. Bake on a cookie sheet until set, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the hot cookies from the sheet carefully, as the “hook” of the cane can break easily; allowing them to sit on the cookie sheet for a minute or so after baking makes the removal a bit easier. Glaze while hot. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the softened butter with the powdered sugar. Beat in the almond extract, then slowly add the milk. Add enough milk to create a glaze-like consistency (not as thick as frosting, but thick enough to coat the cookie).

Glaze the cookies generously while hot. Feel free to add a second coating of glaze if you’d like.

The cookies are good warm, but they are actually at their best the second day, or after they have had time to really cool and properly set.

Los Angeles Times

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Place cooled cookies on prepared baking sheet.

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, microwave candy coating on 50 percent power for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, or until melted and smooth, stirring every 30 seconds.

Spoon melted coating over each cookie to cover cookie and resemble melted snow. While coating is still tacky, add a half a peanut butter cup for a top hat and decorate with sprinkles or other candies to resemble snowman faces (If using frosting to make snowman faces, add it when the candy coating is dry.) Let stand until set.

There is no resisting rugelach, no matter how nubbly or imperfectly rolled. They're buttery, flaky and just the right amount of sweet.

1. Combine flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to mix.

2. Scatter cubes of cream cheese and butter over the flour. Pulse 10 to 12 times until coarse crumbs form.

3. Whisk together the vanilla and yolk in a bowl, and then pour them over the butter-flour mixture. Run the processor continuously until the dough starts to clump together and form large curdlike pieces.

4. Turn the dough out onto the counter and gather the pieces into a ball. Divide into four portions and flatten each into 1-inch thick disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate the dough at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. (Thaw in the refrigerator before using.)

When ready to bake the rugelach, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prepare your fillings.

5. Sprinkle your work surface generously with powdered sugar. Take one disk of dough from the refrigerator and let it warm on the counter for 1-2 minutes.

Sprinkle the surface of the dough and the rolling pin with more powdered sugar. Roll the dough from the center out into a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Don’ worry if a few cracks form near the edges. Use more powdered sugar as needed to prevent sticking.

6. Spread with filling. Spread the filling in a thin layer evenly over the surface of the dough. Make sure it goes right up to the edge of the dough.

7. Slice the dough into 16 wedges, like a pizza, using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Roll up each wedge, beginning at the wide outer edge and moving inward, like crescent rolls. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make sure the tip is tucked underneath.

8. Refrigerate cookies on the baking sheet, 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare remaining batches.

9. Bake the first tray of cookies until golden-brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool on the sheet, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack. Bake the remaining cookies. Makes 64 cookies.

Cookies will keep in an air-tight container at room temperature for about a week.

Halving this recipe: Nix the egg yolk and cut the rest of the ingredients in half.

Nut filling: In a food processor, grind 1 cup walnuts and 1 cup pecans until they break into tiny crumbs, 30 to 40 pulses. (Be careful of over-processing and making nut-butter.) Combine the ground nuts in a bowl with 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) melted butter, 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Fruit and jam filling: Warm 1/4 cup marmalade, apricot jam or raspberry jam in the microwave until it liquefies. Stir in the 1 tablespoon sugar. Set aside to cool until no longer steaming, still liquidy. Pulse 2 cups (roughly 10 ounces) dried fruit, such as apricots, cranberries, cherries or currants, in a food processor until it breaks down into tiny pieces. To assemble, spread the jam onto the rugelach dough; sprinkle the dried fruit on top.

thekitchn.com

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy with mixer.

Beat in egg yolks, 1 tablespoon honey and vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cream of tartar; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Shape a heaping tablespoonful of dough into a 6-inch log.

In a shallow bowl, combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; roll log in cinnamon-sugar.

Loosely coil log into a spiral shape; place on baking sheet. Repeat, placing cookies 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar.

Bake 8-10 minutes, or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

In a small bowl, melt baking chocolate with remaining honey; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container. Yield: about 2 1/2 dozen.

Taste of Home October/November 2010

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-by-8 baking dish with parchment paper so that the ends hang over the sides of the pan. Coat the parchment and exposed sides of the pan with nonstick spray.

To make the shortbread, cream the butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the flour and the salt until the dough comes together and no more dry flour is visible.

Scoop out about 1/2 cup of the dough, transfer it to a covered container and refrigerate.

Scrape the remaining dough into the baking dish. Press the dough flat with buttered hands, pushing the dough into the corners and smoothing the top. Bake 20-25 minutes, until the shortbread is turning golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and cool 10 minutes.

While the shortbread is baking, prepare the filling. Place the soft mint candies in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they have broken down into powder with pieces no larger than rock salt. Alternatively, place the candies in a sturdy plastic bag, go outside, and smash the candies with a hammer (a fantastic holiday stress-reliever).

Mix the powdered candies with 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and milk. Warm briefly in the microwave if the cream cheese is too stiff. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 3/4 cup of the powdered candy mixture to the cream cheese. Whisk to form a thick paste. Taste and add peppermint extract in 1/4 teaspoon increments if you’d like a stronger peppermint flavor.

When the shortbread has cooled but is still warm to the touch, pour the peppermint cream mixture over the top and spread it evenly into the corners. Remove the reserved shortbread dough from the fridge and crumble it evenly over the top of the peppermint cream (or grate it on the large holes of a cheese grater).

Bake the peppermint bars for another 10-13 minutes, until the edges are just starting to bubble. The crumbs will still be fairly light-colored. Let the bars cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then sprinkle the top with a few tablespoons of the remaining peppermint powder (you may not use it all) while the bars are still warm. Let the bars cool completely, then lift them from the pan and cut into squares. Keep in the refrigerator. Serve chilled. Yield: 16 two-inch squares.

*Editor’s note: Soft peppermint candies are the puffier ones, not the disk-shaped hard ones. When you bite into one, it’s crunchy, but then begins to soften.

thekitchn.com

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom of 13-by-9-inch pan with cooking spray.

2. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, water and egg until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan.

3. Bake 15 minutes. Pour condensed milk evenly over surface. Sprinkle white vanilla baking chips, pecans, cranberries and coconut evenly over top. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until bubbling along edges and coconut is lightly toasted. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 2 hours. Cut into 8 rows by 4 rows. Makes 32 bars.

Tips: Skip the cooking spray, and line the pan with foil for quick cleanup and easy bar removal. For a new twist, try half dark and half white chips.

Betty Crocker

The name doesn’t say enough: Under the marshmallow topping is a melty chocolate filling.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chopped chocolate, stirring frequently, over medium heat. Let cool 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla at low speed until smooth, 2 minutes.

Mix in the cooled chocolate mixture just until blended.

Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, mixing on low speed until just combined. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a tablespoon, scoop the dough and roll between your palms to form 1-inch balls. Arrange about 16 balls 2 inches apart on each cookie sheet, flattening slightly. Bake until the tops of the cookies crack, about 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, snip 8 marshmallows in half crosswise and stick 1 square of chocolate onto each of the cut sides.

Remove the cookie sheets from the oven; gently press a marshmallow half, chocolate side down, into each cookie. Bake until the marshmallows are just softened, about 4 minutes.

Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 5 minutes; grate the remaining chocolate over the hot cookies.

Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to the racks; let cool. Repeat the process with the remaining dough, marshmallows and chocolate. Bake each batch on a clean sheet of parchment. Makes 3-4 dozen.

pipandebby.com