Christmas Cookies, Pretzels, Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake, and more Cookies

 

 

This weekend I baked. I baked more than I have ever baked on a single day in my twenty-something years of existence.

I’m pretty sure we made over 250 cookies and treats between Jessica and I – ohh, and our little helper Jersey, who you will meet soon.

We made these Ginger Spice Cookies – holy moly. Awesome. Fresh out of the oven they are a pillowy, soft, and puffy cookie and they form these earthquake looking cracks in them. As they cool they are a dense, harder cookie (probably from the molasses) bursting with flavor.

I melted down a package of Vanilla Candiquik and dipped these in – perfection.

Ingredients

yield: 25 (4 inch cookies)

  • 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1-1/2 cups shortening
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 3/4 cup coarse sugar or granulated sugar

Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds to soften. Gradually add the 2 cups granulated sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour mixture.

3. Shape dough into 2-inch balls using 1/4 cup dough. Roll balls in the 3/4 cup coarse or granulated sugar. Place about 2-1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies are light brown and puffed. (Do not overbake or cookies will not be chewy.) Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Makes twenty-five (25) 4-inch cookies

(Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)

We also did some “drizzling” with Candiquik….

And some more dipping…

(yes, these are newspapers that we had to put the cookies on & yes, these pictures were taken with my phone)

Oooo, have you ever made these? Homemade butterfinger bars?! I posted about them a little while back. If you haven’t tried these, do so (if you’re into this kinda thing of course)…

These are soon-to-be homemade mini candy bars. lots of them.

They are simply the BIG cheese-its and then we smeared peanut butter in between them…

If this sounds funny to you, just trust me here…

So then melt a package of Chocolate Candiquik down and dip, dip away.

This is where you meet Jersey. She is half husky, half wolf. Craziest dog ever.

Have you ever known of a dog to bury her food in the backyard? I guess you just never know when you might starve or a recession may hit. Planning ahead I suppose…anyways, back to cookies and stuff.

 

She was watching intensely. With every move I made she was hoping, wishing, and dreaming for something, or more like anything!

Jersey and I made sure each little cheese-it p.b. sandwich was coated with the chocolate candiquik…(let the excess chocolate run off and then set on wax paper to dry)

Smash up the broken or funky shaped cheese-its (you know, the ones that didn’t make the cut to be a butterfinger)  and sprinkle them on top. Cute.

Jersey even helped with clean-up on this one…

sorry girly…it’s empty.

Wanted to remind you of this Pumpkin Cheesecake – No bake Pumpkin Cheesecake that is.

It’s pretty much to die for.

(no, this pic wasn’t taken with my phone…)

  • INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 package (16oz) Vanilla CANDIQUIK
  • 2 packages (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 package (3.4 oz) instant Pumpkin flavored pudding
  • 1 container (8 oz) whipped topping, thawed
  • 1 (9 inch) graham cracker crust
  1. Melt Vanilla CANDIQUIK in microwave (1 minute, stir, and heat an additional 15 seconds)
  2. In a large bowl, beat softened cream cheese, CANDIQUIK, and pumpkin pudding with an electric mixer until well blended.
  3. Fold in whipped topping and mix until well blended again.
  4. Spoon mixture into graham cracker crust.
  5. Refrigerate. Garnish as desired, but I highly recommend A LOT of whipped cream…

easy as pie. haha.

Next are these Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies and yummy Shortbread Sugar Cookies with Almond Frosting…I nicknamed the little shortbread sugar cookies as my underrated, ugly (but delicious) Christmas Cookie – because…well – look at them. Not the cutest thing I’ve made.

They are basically sugar cookies with this amazing almond glaze…I wish I could give you measurements, but Jessica just started pouring. So this is how it goes: a lot of powdered sugar, a little milk, and almond extract to your desired liking (~ 1 tbsp), oh and food coloring if you wish. Mix until it is a thin, but still spreadable frosting glaze. Apologies for being so vague.

Peanut Butter Blossoms (top of picture)

Yield: 54 cookies

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • (54) Milk chocolate Kisses

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour.

2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in the 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate kiss into each cookie’s center. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Makes 54 cookies. (Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)

These next treats are pretty much self-explainable.

They satisfy both your salty and sweet craving.

Pretzel rods + Candiquik + whatever you decide to decorate them with :)

 

Happy Holidays everyone….and remember – Dreams do come true ;)  just ask Jersey…

Tell Me Something Sweet

  1. says

    I’ve seen these “butterfingers” made with triscuits, but not cheez-its(which I like more)…I need to try it! :) P.S. That’s one lucky pup!
    Thanks for visiting/commenting on my blog:)

  2. says

    Thanks for all these awesome pointers. I love your sense of humor. Luckily you usually say something amusing when my ADD kicks in, so I can move on & focus after a good laugh. Lol. You were definitely gifted & blessed!!!

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