Christmas Cookies

I spent the entire week making them. For quite awhile now I have been the one to do it. It was always my mother before. I ended up working on them a lot longer than expected this week. In fact, I almost cried more than once over them. It was ridiculous. Everything that could go wrong did! It isn't like I have never baked cookies before. That is the ONE thing that I can do!

I baked more than usual this year. I cheated with some Betty Crocker mixes. I decided to do that because I was making more homemade than I did before. I cheated and made the Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chunk, Gingerbread, Snickerdoodle and their version of M&M cookies. I also decided to give the Pillsbury Funfetti Cookies a try. Only the Chocolate Chunk worked out. For some crazy reason the dough was SO dry! I NEVER have a problem with these! That was Tuesday. On Wednesday I started the homemade. I knew these would be good to do. So I started with these "Rainbow Cookies" (a sugar dough that forms a flower shape with a cherry in the middle). Driest dough ever! I then made Butterscotch Snaps. But do you think it was easy melting the Butterscotch Chips?!? Instead of regular Spritz, I just made the Spice Spritz and Chocolate Spritz. They were OK. But then I made this chocolate cookie that called for chips to be placed on top like Hershey Kisses. The dough was the best that I worked with the entire time. But the chips (I used mint ones) would NOT stay on the cookies!!! I know by the time that I take them out of the container the chips will be off! Thursday came and I planned on a total of 7 cookies (I was deliberately leaving a specific one for the end - on Friday - my day was going to be devoted to that cookie). I made these Ranger Cookies (they call for Rice Krispies). They were the first ones I made and it was fairly easy. It looked like a promising day until I made the pecan fingers and these caramel filled balls (which were also like the pecan ones). They both just crumble! I then made Potato Chip cookies. But I gave up after that. I started these like 11:00 in the morning and it was 6:00 by the time I stopped because of all of my problems. So I moved the oatmeal and peanut butter to today. There was NO reason for dry dough when using peanut butter. And those were probably my best cookies this year. I made a mistake with the oatmeal. I didn't read it right and I put a cup of water in instead of half a cup, but I loaded it with flour and it held together fairly well. Anyway, it seemed that if they baked for 10 minutes, they burned. So I let them go for 8 minutes. The first couple of trays seemed fine. Then, by the end, as I was looking at them while I was putting them away, I noticed that they weren't baked through. And you know what? I DON'T CARE!!! Anyway, the time had come for the last cookies. A ginger cookie. A simple cutout cookie. A family recipe that has to be at least 120 years old for sure. THE EASIEST COOKIES EVER!!! Never a problem with the dough. They cut out so well. They bake so well. The average person I have known never really cared for them, but for me, they ARE Christmas. I look forward to these. And they make so many. So the recipe has been cut in half and you still get a lot. Do you think any of these things happened this year???? I just gave up. I was done today. If people don't like these cookies, tough! Don't eat them then!

Anyway, how about you guys? What are your plans for this year? Are you making any? Or will you cheat and just go to the store? What kind will they be? Or do you not even care if you have any? Have you ever had any real trouble while making them?

I used to have the annual cookie bake and swap here, but since my sister moved to PA we don't do it. My DIL asked if I would consider it again. I might. This just wasn't the year for it because I was tied up with book promotion.

I always make chocolate chip cookies. My MIL will probably make Greek sugar cookies. It's a holiday tradition.

My sister used to make Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies. They were my favorites, and they're very easy to make. Here's the recipe:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter

Combine sugar, cocoa, butter and milk in a saucepan. Over medium heat, bring to a boil for one minute.

Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal.

Drop by spoonful onto wax paper and let cool for at least 30 minutes.

Christmas in my home is almost all homemade little treats. My father does the filled eggs and the meat roll, my granny brings the grilled pork, I cooks the panettone, the Vittel Thoné and prepares homemade liquors as gifts, my mother cooks some good salads and there are some good nuts, hazelnuts, nougats, almonds and all this stuff. There also are champagne and some more of these kind of beverages.

Oh! And my sister in law always borught her delicious homemade ginger-clove-cinnammon heart-shapped Christmas German cookies!

Vanesa.

Yikes, MissOleson! Your cookie woes sound like my pie crust woes at work two weeks ago. I've never seen pie crust just crumble to pieces like they did then!


I've been tossing around the idea of making cut-out cookies today... I just hate frosting them and I'm going to be the only person at home!

What I will make for certain for Christmas will be fudge. I just don't know what kind I'll make! Too many choices!

I'm thinking of making M&M cookies today... though not for anything special other than to be eaten! ~laughs~

bethandmanly wrote:

I used to have the annual cookie bake and swap here, but since my sister moved to PA we don't do it. My DIL asked if I would consider it again. I might. This just wasn't the year for it because I was tied up with book promotion.

I always make chocolate chip cookies. My MIL will probably make Greek sugar cookies. It's a holiday tradition.

Just the sound of "Greek Sugar cookies" sounds so good to me!

Rob wrote:

My sister used to make Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies. They were my favorites, and they're very easy to make. Here's the recipe:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter

Combine sugar, cocoa, butter and milk in a saucepan. Over medium heat, bring to a boil for one minute.

Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal.

Drop by spoonful onto wax paper and let cool for at least 30 minutes.

Interesting recipe. Thanks! I will definitely have to try that.

Vanesa wrote:

Christmas in my home is almost all homemade little treats. My father does the filled eggs and the meat roll, my granny brings the grilled pork, I cooks the panettone, the Vittel Thoné and prepares homemade liquors as gifts, my mother cooks some good salads and there are some good nuts, hazelnuts, nougats, almonds and all this stuff. There also are champagne and some more of these kind of beverages.

Oh! And my sister in law always borught her delicious homemade ginger-clove-cinnammon heart-shapped Christmas German cookies!

Vanesa.

You have NO idea how good "ginger-clove-cinnamon heart-shaped Christmas German cookies" sounds to me!! I love those spices. Especially with cookies and cakes!

Prairie Dweller wrote:

Yikes, MissOleson! Your cookie woes sound like my pie crust woes at work two weeks ago. I've never seen pie crust just crumble to pieces like they did then!

Knowing what I went through this week, I am REALLY sorry to hear that! And it just makes it so frustrating when it is something that really never goes wrong, did go wrong. And it was terribly wrong! My mother said today "Well, nobody can say that you didn't try". Do you have any idea why your crust would do something like that? Or was it some odd thing that there doesn't seem to be an answer for - like my cookies?

Prairie Dweller wrote:

I've been tossing around the idea of making cut-out cookies today... I just hate frosting them and I'm going to be the only person at home!

That is why I just use a variety of sprinkles on them. It simplifies things so much. But I was thinking of trying these cutout cookies again for Easter. I have some Easter cookie cutters that I basically never use. And the one is an egg. So I was thinking of making some and decorating the "eggs" with different frosted designs. I have just frosted these cookies before, too (they are great with a simple powdered sugar-milk-vanilla frosting), but I think I will decorate with the buttercream or royal icing so I can put some good details on the cookies. I decorate cakes. I never decorate cookies. So I think I will give it a try at Easter.

Prairie Dweller wrote:

What I will make for certain for Christmas will be fudge. I just don't know what kind I'll make! Too many choices!

I'm thinking of making M&M cookies today... though not for anything special other than to be eaten! ~laughs~

I've never made fudge before. So I bought one of those all-in-one kits that they have been selling this year (this was the first year I have seen them, at least). I was going to try that next week. It should be interesting. Just reading "M&M cookies" makes me want to steal one of the ones I made, but I will be good and wait until Christmas.

MissOleson wrote:

bethandmanly wrote:

I used to have the annual cookie bake and swap here, but since my sister moved to PA we don't do it. My DIL asked if I would consider it again. I might. This just wasn't the year for it because I was tied up with book promotion.

I always make chocolate chip cookies. My MIL will probably make Greek sugar cookies. It's a holiday tradition.

Just the sound of "Greek Sugar cookies" sounds so good to me!

Well, I've always said they are sugar cookies, hold the cookies. Pretty much when you're done all it looks like is a mountain of powdered sugar. Here's the recipe:

Kourambiethes

1 lb. sweet butter

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ cup powder sugar

4 ½ – 5 cups of sifted flour

2 – 1 lb. boxes of powdered sugar, shifted on top immediately after baking*

Preheat oven to 400°.

Cream butter well (until butter turns white). Add egg and beat again. Add vanilla and sugar.

Gradually add sifted flour and blend until the dough is easy to handle (knead the dough with your hands when you are no longer able to blend it with the mixer, but only until the dough does not stick to your hands.)

Bake at 400° for 20 – 25 minutes.

Put newspaper down on the table and cover the newspaper with wax paper. Sift powdered sugar onto the wax paper to coat it. Take cookies out of the oven and put on the sugar-coated wax paper. Sift a thick layer of powdered sugar on the top of the cookies while they are still hot.

Cool well before handling.

My only guess with the pie crusts is that they were too dry... which is amusing because they did not feel dry. My thought while attempting to piece a crust together was, "My boss had better not come in!"

After I finished fighting those five crusts I made a new batch and they rolled out perfectly.


I ended up making cut-out cookies yesterday. When it came time to frost them I put the icing in a tube and squirting the icing on the cookies. It went much faster that way and was also much neater. I just need to get a larger tube so that I don't have to refill it every six cookies.


I also made molasses cookies yesterday. ~licks lips~

This must be the year for things not turning out. I made Meringue Candy Canes a couple of weeks ago. I've been making at least two batches of them for several years since the kids love them. For the first time ever, something went wrong. They were edible, but they were really chewy. I'll be making another batch this week, so I hope they turn out.

If you lives in a damp place, maybe dampness could ruin your work. Dampness is bad enough for homemade candies. They keep chewy no wonder you give them the exact amount of heat recquired... Dampness could be bad even for homemade doughs...

Vanesa.