Sugar Cookies for Every Season

1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla (you can also use almond extract)
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder

Cream sugar and butter. Add egg and vanilla. Sift flour, salt, baking powder; add to wet mixture. Chill at least one hour. The dough is easier to cut into shapes when cold. Bake at 375º` for about 8 minutes. Keep an eye on them so as not to burn. Makes 3 dozen cookies. Dough freezes really well.

White Chocolate Frosting

4 two-ounce squares of white chocolate
1/4 cup of whipping cream
Food coloring (I used red to make red and pink frosting and then kept some of it white for our Valentine's Day cookies.)

Microwave chocolate and whipping cream in glass bow at 50% for about 3 minutes, stirring once. Add food coloring to achieve desired color. Warm in microwave if frosting hardens.

Best Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies Eer

Courtesy of Minnesota Mom over at her cooking blog Come for Coffee.

Ginger Chocolate Chip Bars

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. kosher salt
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350º. Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish and line it with 2 criss-crossed pieces or parchment paper, leaving and overhang on all sides. In large bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt.

With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat to combine. Add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool completely in the pan. Lift out by paper and cut into 32 bars (8 rows by 4 rows).

German Crescent Cookies

My mom has been making these cookies (courtesy of her German grandmother) every Christmas for as long as I can remember, and they're always big hit. They freeze well and are the perfect addition to a cup of coffee or cocoa.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound butter (2 sticks)
2 cups of flour
2 cups of chopped pecans
5 tablespoons of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 tablespoon of water
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients except for powdered sugar. Divide dough up and roll into small crescents. Bake for 20 minutes at 325º (cookies should be a golden brown). Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar.

Baby Jesus Birthday Cake

1 cup of canola oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
3 eggs
1 tsp. ground cloves
2 small (or 1 large) jars of plum with tapioca baby food (this type of baby food has become increasingly more difficult to find, so we've successfully substituted other kinds of baby food with plum in it such as plum-apple as well as prune baby food.)

Optional: Add 1/2 cup raisins or dates and/or 1 cup chopped pecans. You can also dust the cake with powdered sugar.

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix all the ingredients together.
3. Grease and flour a tube or bundt pan.
4. Bake for 60-65 minutes.


We sing " Happy Birthday" to Jesus and enjoy this following Christmas Eve dinner. It's even better the next morning with a cup of coffee.

PB Cupcakes with PB Frosting

Cupcakes:
Ingredients
Brownie mix (I use a dark chocolate mix) - make according to directions
Peanut butter chips

Fill lined cupcake spots half-full and then sprinkle with PB chips (I let my kids do this part). Then put a big spoonful of batter on top.

Bake 30-35 minutes (depending on brownie's baking directions) at 350°.

Frosting:
Ingredients
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup whole milk

Beat peanut butter and butter until smooth. Add sugar in batches, alternating with milk. Beat until smooth and no lumps remain.

Cool cupcakes and top with frosting. Embellish with Reese's Pieces.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with PB Frosting

Muffins:
1 cup mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350º. Beat oil and honey together; add eggs. Mix well. Combine dry ingredients. Alternate adding dry ingredients and water to honey mixture. Mix in pumpkin and nuts. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes. Ice with peanut butter frosting.

PB Frosting
1/2 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
5 T. butter
2 T. honey
1-3 T. milk

Beat butters and honey. Add milk gradually, as needed to make frosting easy to spread.

Pumpkin Crunch

Ingredients:
1 package yellow cake mix
1 can (16 oz.) pumpkin
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup melted butter
Whipped topping or vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease bottom of 9x13 pan. Combine pumpkin, eggs, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in large bowl. Pour into pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over the pumpkin mixture. Top with pecans, and drizzle with melted butter. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Serve with whipped topping or vanilla ice cream.

Cupcake Cookies

I made these "cupcakes" for Rachel Marie's first birthday. We weren't having a party on the weekend of her big day, so I just wanted something simple. We'd also had one of those days and the last thing I wanted to do was slave away in the kitchen. I adapted this recipe from one I'd clipped from an old issue of Parents magazine. They were delicious, fun for the kiddos to eat, and very easy. Enjoy!



Ingredients
1-17.5. ounce box of sugar cookie
Chocolate pudding (I made Instant Jell-O pudding using two-percent milk.)
Strawberries
Whipped cream




Directions
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Prepare cookies as directions on box indicate. Generously coat a 12-cup muffin pan with vegetable cooking spray. Drop a heaping tablespoon of cookie dough into each cup. Press dough into bottom and up the sides of cups. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately reshape cookies into the cups, using the back of a spoon to press them along the pan. Let cool for 10 minutes. Fill cups with pudding and add whipped cream, if desired. Top with fruit.