Linzer Tart Cookies

If I had to pick a favorite cookie this would probably be it.  I've have gotten big Linzer Tart Cookies from different bakeries through the years and loved them all. I have always wanted to try and make these at home and decided to do it at Christmas time after I bought mini Christmas tree and angel cookie cutters.  The raspberry jam with the sweet sugar cookie and powdered sugar topping is just perfect.  

Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large egg
3 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups flour plus more for work surface
1/2 tsp salt
confectioners sugar for dusting
3/4 cup raspberry preserves

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar together in bowl of an electric mixer on low speed.  Mix thoroughly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for a few more seconds.

Add eggs slowly and mix.  Scrape down the bowl again and mix again.  Add vanilla and mix briefly.  Stir your dry ingredients together.  Add all of the flour mixture to the bowl.  Mix on low for a few seconds.  Stir on medium until everything is incorporated.

Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper.  Place on a baking sheet and cool in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour.

Roll out the dough further and cut out the cookie shapes.  Make sure to do an even number for pairing later. Cut out shapes on 1/2 of the shapes for the cookie tops.

Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Re roll scraps and repeat until most of the dough is used.

Chill cookie sheets again for at least 15 minutes.  Then place in a preheated oven set to 350 degrees.  Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the edges become slightly golden brown.  The baking time will depend on the size of the cookie.

Let cookies cool to room temperature and apply jam to the bottom cookie with a knife.  Put the top of the cookie on and once all of the cookies are put together, dust thoroughly with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!!

Chocolate Coconut Cookie Cups

We want to wish you and your family a Very Merry Christmas and share one more holiday treat with you!! The majority of cookies we make leading up to Christmas are cookies we've made for years and years but it is always fun to try a new recipes as well. We love anything chocolate and coconut so I knew these would be a big hit, we will definitely be adding them into our holiday baking rotation.

Ingredients for Coconut filling:

6oz Reduced Fat Cream Cheese - Softened

3/4 Cup Sugar

1 Egg Yolk - Room Temperature

1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

7oz Sweetened Coconut Flakes

Ingredients for Chocolate Cookie:

1 3/4 Flour

1/3 Cup Coco powder

1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

1/4 Tsp Salt

1 1/2 Sticks I Can't Believe it's not Butter - Softened

1 Cup Sugar

1 Egg - Room Temperature

Adapted from http://mykitchenjourney.blogspot.com

 Start by preheating your oven to 375 F. In your stand mixer bowl combine the softened cream cheese with the sugar on a medium speed until smooth and light. Beat in the egg yolk and then the vanilla. Turn the mixer down to low and beat in the coconut until it is all evenly distributed. Set aside in the fridge.

 In a small bowl whisk together the flour, salt, coco powder and baking soda. In your rinsed out mixing bowl combine the softened butter with the sugar until it becomes light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat again.

 Next add the flour mixture in three increments beating to combine it on a slow/medium speed after each addition. Once all the flour has been added the dough should be stiff but still pliable. Form the dough into balls using about 1 Tbsp of dough each time. Flatten each ball into a circle that is about 2 1/2 - 3 inches in diameter.

 On top of each flattened ball place a heaping Tsp of the coconut cream cheese mixture. Round the sides of the dough up around the coconut filling to form the cookie cup.

Spray a mini muffin tin with Pam and place each Chocolate Coconut Cookie Cup in a muffin tin. This seemed to be the only way I could keep the cookies from flattening out as the baked. Bake them for 9 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake them for another 7 minutes. Allow them to cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes and then finish cooling completely on a baking rack.

Enjoy!!

This is linked to www.foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com

Christmas Shortbread Bites

Christmas baking time has begun for our family and here in NJ it was the perfect weekend to do it since we were all stuck inside during the snow storm. I found these Christmas Shortbread Bites on Sarah's Kitchen which was our Secret Recipe Club assignment for the month. They are tiny little festive treats that are quite addicting, I have to admit our batch is almost completely gone. I plan on making them again this week to give out to the neighbors as little presents for the holidays. I don't know about you but I'm impatient and sometimes can't wait for butter to soften to start a batch of cookies. I also don't always have the time to roll the dough into balls or use cookie cutters so these shortbread bites worked out perfectly for me. Not only were they easy and simple to prepare I was able to make them immediately.

Ingredients:

1 Stick I Can't Believe it's Not Butter - Cold & Cubed

1/4 Cup Sugar

1 1/4 Cup Flour

1 Tsp Vanilla

1 Tbsp Green Sprinkles

1 Tbsp Red Sprinkles

Adapted from: http://sarahsbritamericankitchen.blogspot.com/.

Start by preheating your oven to 325 F. In your food processor combine together the flour and sugar. Cube your cold butter or margarine and add it into the bowl of the food processor.

Using the pulse setting combine the mixture together until it begins to crumble and then starts to form the dough. Gently take it out of the food processor and knead it a bit with your hands to from a large ball.

Place the dough down on a lightly floured surface. Make a well on the top and pour your colored sugar sprinkles into the well. Knead the dough again until the sprinkles are spread out evenly throughout the dough.

Make the ball of dough into a flatten rectangle as best you can, mine ended up being more of an oval. Place it on top of a baking sheet with wax paper. Since the dough will be quite warm and soft from all of the handling place it in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Slice the dough into 1/2 pieces, trying to keep them as even as possible. Place the bites on an un-greased baking sheet 1/2 inch apart and bake for 16-18 minutes until slightly golden brown. I was originally going to sprinkle them with a little more sugar before they were baked because I was concerned they wouldn't be sweet enough but I'm happy I didn't because they were perfect ;)

Enjoy!!

Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/

Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies & The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

 We participated in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap for the 2nd year in a row. We sent these delicious cookies out to 3 different fellow food bloggers. Mom and I both were pinning cookies in the weeks leading up to the exchange and it just so happens we both pinned these Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies. I was worried they would be like any other thumbprint cookie but the almond flavoring in the cookie and the glaze really adds a nice touch. On top of that they are easy to make with only a few ingredients most which you have around the house if you are a regular baker anyway.

These are the delicious cookies we received from 3 other Food Bloggers.

From Left to Right: 

White Chocolate Eggnog Cookies from Anna at Anna Dishes

Chocolate Chip, Orange and Pecan Shortbread from Lauren at Have Fork Will Eat

 Oatmeal Craisin White Chocolate Chip from Samantha at Haute Pepper Bites 

Ingredients for the Cookie:
1 Cup Butter - Softened
2/3 Cup Sugar
1/2 Tsp Almond Extract
2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Seedless Raspberry Jam

Ingredients for the Glaze:
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp Almond Extract
2-3 Tsp Water

Yields about 36 cookies

Adapted from: Better Homes & Gardens -  http://www.bhg.com/

Start by beating your softened butter in the stand mixer bowl on a medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and almond extract and continue to mix until well combined. Beat in the flour in two smaller doses. Take the dough out and wrap it in plastic wrap, allow it to chill for around 1 hour in the fridge. If you are in a rush you can always pop it into the freezer for about 20 minutes which is what we did.

While the dough is chilling down, preheat the oven to 350 F. Shape the dough into 1 in balls and place them down on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 in apart. We were worried these tiny cookies would stay that way but they spread out to be a nice sized cookie.

Using your thumb create an indentation in the middle of each ball. Spoon a 1/2 Tsp of jam into each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes until the edges of the cookie are golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool for 1 minutes on the sheet and then the remainder of the time on a wire rack.

When the cookies have cooled a bit you can get the glaze together. Since you will be drizzling you must make sure you have the correct consistency. Too watery it will run all over the place and not set, too thick it will not go on easily. Add more sugar or water to get your desired consistency.

We put the glaze in a plastic zip lock bag and it drizzled over top of the cookies nicely. Allow the glaze to set for about 30 minutes before putting them in a container.

Enjoy!!

&

Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/

Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

I can't believe it is Christmas Eve!! This month has really flown by with all of the preparing for these next two short days of celebrating!! I have been wanting something with chocolate and peppermint all season, to me its a combination of flavors that really sums up the holiday season. I pinned a bunch of different options but couldn't decide which I wanted to make. In the end I picked to do these cookies basically because they were easy and didn't take very long compared with some of the other options I saw. They are super chocolaty with just the right amount of peppermint, soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside. They were exactly what I had been waiting for all month long. If you are still in the baking spirit give them a try, they won't disappoint.

Merry Christmas!!!

We want to take a moment to wish all of our Flavors by Four followers a very Merry Christmas. We hope that you have a great Christmas and take a minute or two out of your celebrating and opening presents to tell your friends and family how much they really mean to you. 

Ingredients:

1 Cup Flour

1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Cup Butter

4 oz  Semi Sweet Chocolate - Chips or Blocks Chopped

1 Package Andes Peppermint Candies - Chopped

1 1/2 Cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Adapted from:: http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com

 In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Whisk them together and set aside. Preheat the oven to 325 F.

 To melt the semi-sweet chocolate and butter together you will need to use a double boiler or make your own version of one. All you need is a heat safe bowl and a small saucepan with simmering water underneath. Over low heat allow the butter and chocolate to melt together slowly mixing constantly. I used both a combination of semi sweet chocolate chips and Baker's Chocolate Cubes that I chopped up, either worked fine since you will be melting it.

Pour the melted chocolate into your stand mixer bowl. Add the eggs, sugar and vanilla, mix on a medium speed until combined. In 3 separate additions add the flour and cocoa mixture, to the melted chocolate mixture on a low speed.

Unwrap all of the peppermint Andes candies and chop them up. I found them at Target but I you can't find these you can use peppermint chips or broken up pieces of peppermint bark. Fold them into the batter gently making sure they are evenly distributed.

On a baking sheet with parchment paper place the cookies about 2 inches a apart. I wanted decent sized cookies so I used an ice cream scoop to portion out the dough. If you want smaller cookies use a Tbsp instead. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cookies begin to crack on top. Cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy!! - Nicole

Linked at: http://www.momstestkitchen.com/, http://www.sweetsav.blogspot.com/, http://www.flourmewithlove.com/, http://thenymelrosefamily.com/, http://www.mandatorymooch.blogspot.com/, http://www.momontimeout.com/, http://mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/, http://www.michellestastycreations.com, http://www.notyourordinaryrecipes.com, http://swtboutique.com/, http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies & Cookies & Crafts for Sandy Hook

Today churches throughout our town will be observing the National Day of Mourning and will be ringing their bells 26 times at 9:30am to remember the 26 people lost last Friday:  

Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Rachel Davino, Olivia Engel, Josephine Gay, Ana M. Marquez-Greene, Dylan Hockley, Dawn Hochsprung, Madeleine F. Hsu, Catherine V. Hubbard, Chase Kowalski, Jesse Lewis, James Mattioli , Grace McDonnell, Anne Marie Murphy, Emilie Parker, - Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos, Avielle Richman, Lauren Rousseau,  Mary Sherlach, Victoria Soto, Benjamin Wheeler, Allison N. Wyatt

The world mourns the loss of these innocent people as we try to comprehend how anyone could ever such a terrible thing. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Newtown community.       

Sam and I made these cookies while she was home last weekend.  They are a family favorite and are made almost every year around this time.  They are adapted from www.hersheys.com

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter softened

1-1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3-1/4 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp milk

1 bag of Hershey's dark chocolate kisses

1 cup sugar for rolling

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Remove wrappers from chocolate kisses.

Beat softened butter and peanut butter in large bowl until blended.  Add 1 cup sugar and brown sugar and beat until fluffy.  

Add eggs, vanilla and milk and beat well.  Stir together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

Shape dough into 1" balls.  Roll in granulated sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Immediately press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie.  Cookie will crack around the edges.  Remove from cookie sheet to a wire rack.  Cool completely.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!! Susan

Linked at: www.sixsistersstuff.com

http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com/, http://www.notyourordinaryrecipes.com/, http://www.thecountrycook.net/, http://swtboutique.com, http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/, http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.ca, http://www.momstestkitchen.com/, http://www.flourmewithlove.com/, http://www.sweetsav.blogspot.com/, http://www.momstestkitchen.com/, http://thenymelrosefamily.com/, http://www.momontimeout.com/, http://www.mandatorymooch.blogspot.com/, http://mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/