Christmas Cookie 2012- Andees Mint Cookie

Do you get giddy when your co-workers bring in their daughter's girl scout cookie form every year and then spend a small fortune on the best mint cookie in the world? Wait no longer... this cookie will give you your Thin Mint fix.  This cookie is not only amazing, but also extremely easy. Four ingredients to make this decadent cookie from Six Sister's Stuff. I changed it slightly, but anyway you go, this is a great cookie.

Christmas Cookie 2012- M&M Chocolate Chip & Peanut Butter Cookies

It's December 2nd and I've officially started my Christmas cookie baking. A few years back, a received come good advice regarding Christmas cookies. Clinton's friend's mom always gives out the most amazing cookie trays every year. There are at least 30 different cookies on the tray. I asked her how she has time to make so many. She told me that she starts mid-November and freezes them in her deep freezer. I tried this last year and it worked! You'd never know the cookies weren't fresh. So, that's my strategy again this year. I'll make a few different cookies a week and have a great collection by Christmas.

Now, to have the time to give out the cookies I make...

For these two cookies, I doubled my normal chocolate chip cookie dough and divided it once everything was mixed minus the chips.

Diva/ Bride Cut-out Butter Cookies

 For my sister's bachelorette party, I made these fun cookies for all the goodie bags. I purchased diva and wedding cookie cutters from amazon months ago and I was so excited to finally use them last week. (although, at 1 in the morning, I wasn't too ecstatic about decorating cookies on Friday night).

Butterfly Cookies

For my sister-in-law's shower, her sister and I made butterfly cookie favors. We made them using my blog tutorial. As usual, these cookies taste awesome and look great even when you mess them up!

Baby Onesie Cookies

My girlfriend, Lee's baby shower was this weekend. She's due September 29th with her first baby. I was so excited to have her back in Chicago for her shower this weekend. For the favor, I made butter cookies decorated with royal frosting. To learn how to make these cookies, here is a link to my blog post.

White Chocolate Chip Pistachio Cookie Bars

 For a recipe I put together on a whim, this is a really great one. This cookie bar recipe came as a request from my husband. He loves white chocolate chips and pistachios, so when I asked his opinion about what kind cookies I should make today, he asked for this. I've never baked with pistachios, in fact, up until very recently, I've never eaten one. But they complemented the white chocolate chips very nicely. And the fact that this is made with a cake mix, makes it a very easy recipe.

Auntie Jeannie's Famous Butter Cookies

My Auntie Jeannie is amazing.  Growing up, my siblings and I would get excited to go to holiday dinners because we knew that Auntie Jeannie's cookies would be there. She made the most beautiful cookies that tasted as good as they looked. Each one is a little work of art that I knew took forever for her to create. Three years ago, she invited my sisters, mom and I over to learn how to make them. Mine are not even close to the caliber of Auntie Jeannie's but I keep in mind that it takes years of practice to achieve her level of perfection and my kiddos are glad to be the guinea pigs!

Don't be tempted to skip the butter cookie recipe and use refrigerated dough.  It might still be pretty, but DOES NOT taste the same. This recipe is the perfect combination with the sweet royal frosting. I always double the recipe because these cookies are so labor intensive that I want to give them to as many people as possible each time I make them.

Saltine Toffee

This was another hit this Christmas. It has a perfect combination of Salty and Sweet. You may have to adjust your ingredients to fit your pan.

A Few Easy Cookies...

So here are the last few of my Christmas cookie tray cookies. I've gotten so many compliments, that I wanted to post all of the cookies I made so that I can remember what to make next year. I think this was my favorite cookie tray yet... and I'm not happy about still having a freezer full of cookies! Tomorrow Clinton's staff will be getting a very big New Year's tray of cookies so they aren't tempting me!

I don't shortcut many cookies because I love to bake from scratch. These are the exception. Betty Crocker has an awesome peanut butter cookie mix and I believe it turns out the same as if they were made from scratch... I have even purchased the already made Pillsbury dough tubes. I think when you're doing 15 different cookies, its ok to cheap once in a while.

Peanut Butter Blossom Cups

Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Mix plus the ingredients
1 bag of Hershey's Kisses
mini muffin liners

Prepare cookie dough. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350. Line your mini muffin pan with mini cup liners. Take a small cookie scoop and place a scoop of dough in each liner. You don't need to press it into the liner, it will form to it as it bakes. Be careful not to overfill the cups. Bake for 9-11 minutes.

Remove from oven. Place a Hershey's Kiss in the center of each cup and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

So Easy, but one of my favorites!

2 sleeves of Ritz crackers
Peanut Butter
1 Pkg chocolate flavored almond bark
Few Tbsp shortening
Sprinkles

Spread peanut butter between two crackers to make sandwiches. Melt chocolate according to the package directions. Add shortening until the chocolate is a good coating consistency. I usually use about 2 tbsp for the entire package of chocolate. Dip sandwiches in chocolate and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Add sprinkles if desired. Place cookies in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Peppermint Chocolate Covered Oreos

1 Pkg Double Stuff Oreos
2 Pkgs Wilton peppermint melting chocolate disks
shortening
sprinkles

Melt Chocolate according to package directions. Add shortening to thin out chocolate. (The Wilton chocolate needs a little more shortening than almond bark because it's a denser chocolate). Dip Oreos in melted chocolate. Place on wax paper lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with decorations, if desired. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Gingerbread Cheesecake Bites

My name is Sandie and I'm a pintrest-a-holic.  I can't believe how quickly I have become addicted to pinterest.com. It's the greatest website ever! Thanks to pinterest I was able to have four family friendly, low-cost, but meaningful, crafts at my special event at work on Friday night. We had approximately 500 participants at our Candy Cane Lane and not one of them had to do a cheesy Oriental Trading craft.

Also thanks to pinterest, I currently have about 25 cookies on my to-do list for Christmas, which is about 10 too many. I'm doing a couple short cuts this year- for example, I bought refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough for my peanut butter blossoms and I made the cake balls a few weeks in advance knowing how crazy I'd be.  So here is my first cookie of the day... Gingerbread Cheesecake bites. They aren't as pretty as the picture I saw on pinterest, but they are good! I tweaked the recipe listed here. I really love my homemade gingerbread, so I used that instead of the store bought and I doubled the cream cheese to make it a little more like cheesecake. I hope you enjoy it!

Peppermint Mocha Rice Krispie Treats

I think I look forward to certain times of the year solely because of the seasonal coffee drinks from Starbucks and Caribou. In the summer, I love iced carmel frappuccino...especially the once in a blue moon that I allow myself to order it full-fat, the way it's meant to be enjoyed. Pumpkin lattes mean fall is coming. And my favorite of all- peppermint mocha's! That means Christmas.

I picked up some peppermint mini marshmallows at the store a few weeks ago, just because. And today, I decided to make one of my favorite desserts, Rice Krispie Treats, with a coffee twist. Here is my recipe...

Peanut Butter Toffee Cookie

This cookie is a toffee lovers dream- complete with peanut butter, toffee and semi-sweet chocolate chips, this cookie is guarenteed to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Hot Cocoa Cookies...my favorite cookie I made this year!

These cookies are amazing. They have a sweet and salty combination that is perfect. The marshmallow center is perfectly gooey and in every bite. Every time I turned my head, Elsie was reaching for more. I finally had to banish everyone out of the kitchen so that I would have some cookies left for Christmas!

7 Days of Pumpkin Day 7- Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I saved the best for last! What's not to love about these awesome cookies... pumpkin cake cookie with a creme center...heaven! Try these cookies once and they will instantly be your favorite Christmas go-to cookie.

I've been perfecting this recipe for a few years and here is a few words of advice that I have learned through trial and error:

1. If you're putting in canned pumpkin, you will be temped to just put in the last bit in the can...don't do it. This is a very moist recipe and it will be too moist if you do
2. Don't go too big... teaspoonfuls of dough are the perfect size. These cookies are very rich.
3. To easily measure and add marshmallow fluff, spray measuring cup with cooking spray
4. Don't sit down with the whole plate or you won't have any to share later!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies