12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies-Week 7-Mini-Linzer Torte Cups

Week 7 of Christmas Cookies and do I have a treat for you, I have found a new favorite holiday cookie and it comes from Coleens Recipes. I love her blog and she posts new recipes 5 days a week. I am lucky if I get one on. I have made a few of her recipes and have a dozen more printed out and waiting for me but these are awesome. Everyone knows Linzer cookies, the cookies with the jelly in them, right, but Coleen did a little twist which I absolutely love, she made little linzer torte cups. They were so good, I say were because they are gone already and I am a little bit sad about it, but they will be front and center on my holiday tray this year and for years to come.



Mini Linzer Torte Cups


1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups plus 2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups toasted pecans (ground finely in food processor)
red raspberry jam with seeds


Directions:

Finely grind/chop toasted pecans in your food processor. Please take a few minutes to toast them, it does make a difference. Beat butter and pecans on medium speed, in your mixer, until very soft and light, about 3 minutes.

Beat in confectioners sugar and vanilla until well combined. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and add dry ingredients. Beat about 30 seconds, or until well combined. (dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl)

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place in an UNgreased miniature cupcake pan. Find something in your kitchen that is the same diameter as the cupcake hole, and press gently down on each ball to make an indentation like this:

This is where I had a slight problem, I didn't have anything the same exact size, so I used the end of my rolling pin, so I felt my crust wasn't thin enough, but it turned out ok because the crust is sooooo good, anyway. Place a rounded half teaspoon of raspberry jam in each depression and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. The jam will melt and spread out evenly.


Before:

After:

Keep the baked cookies IN the pan, but on a cooling rack for 10 MINUTES. After 10 minutes, you will be able to VERY gently lift the cookies out of the pan. You can use the tip of a knife to help, but you shouldn'y have to...just lift with a steady, gentle pressure and they will pop out.


I sprinkled them with a bit of powdered sugar and they are so festive and pretty and honestly, the taste is out of this world. If you are going to try any new cookies this Christmas, this should be one of them.

My daughter, Justine, loved them.

The pictures don't do them justice, you really can't seee the jewel tone color of the jam. Trust me, you will impress people with these.

And don't be sad when they are gone, like I was. Just make more, like I will...lol

Please make sure you check out April,Kim,Megan,Barbara and Megan to see what they are offering up .

12 weeks of Christmas Cookies #6-Oatmeal Chocolate Fudge Bars

Ok, we are into Week # 6 of the 12 Cookies of Christmas and this is a new one for me. I found it over at Valerie's blog, Valerie's Attempt at Pondering. This is my second cookie recipe of hers that I have tried and she hasn't let me down yet. Even my sister, Donna, has tried one of her cookies and they looked awesome. You have to take a peek at her blog, there are so many good things on it. Just look at the desserts alone and you will bookmark quite a few, trust me. So, this is a bar cookie and it is easy and fudgy with a bit of a crunch from the oatmeal topping. If there is any drawback at all to this cookie it would be that when left out, the chocolate gets soft and they get a bit messy. I kept mine in the fridge and they were so good. I am not a big chocolate fan, but my husband, who is, loved them. And it is the holidays, a little bit of mess never hurt anyone, right?




Oatmeal Chocolate Fudge Bars


Dough:

3/4 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup quick cooking oats


Filling:

1 cup semi sweet choc chips
1 (14) oz can sweetened condensed milk



Directions:


Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter,sugar and salt in a mixer.

Add flour and oatmeal, blend until it holds together. Heat milk in saucepan and add chocolate chips.

Use low heat and stir until chips are melted and you have a smooth chocolate cream.

Using a 9x13 pan, press 3/4 of the dough mixture in the greased pan, spreading and patting it to cover the whole surface.

Pour chocolate cream over crust. Crumble last bit of the dough over the chocolate, creating a third spotty layer.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool a long time before cutting or do what I did and refrigerate overnight. Made it much easier to cut.

Here they are. They look good, they taste good and would be a great addition to a holiday tray or great as a hostess gift.

The crust is so good, it is like an oatmeal shortbread with a layer of chocolate fudge on top. As my girl, Ina, would say, How bad could that be?

Take a look at what the other elves have made:

April @ Abbey Sweets
Kim @ My Kentucky Home
Megan @ Megan's Cookin
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes
Megan @ My Baking Adventures

12 Cookies of Christmas Cookie #5 :Sparkling Toffee Butter Cookies

I am telling you right now before you go any further, these are addicting, and rich and buttery and so pretty and festive to look at. So if you are not looking for something like that, please move on to someone else, but if they sound good to you then pull up and read all about these sparkly little gems. I originally found this recipe on Recipe Girl, then my sister Donna made them here. It has come full circle, I have made them numerous times and they are fantastic. So easy to make and they just make you happy just looking at them.




Sparkling Toffee Butter Cookies





1 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup toffee bits, I used milk chocolate toffee bits

sugar





Directions:



Preheat oven to 350.

Put some sugar in a bowl and set aside for later.

Combine butter,1 cup sugar,egg and vanilla in a large bowl.



Beat at medium speed,scraping down the sides often, until creamy. Add flour,baking powder and baking soda. Reduce speed to low. Beat until well mixed. Stir toffee bits in by hand.

Should look something like this:

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll into sugar you have set aside.

Place 2 inches apart on parchmant lined baking sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes. I take mine out at 10 and they are perfect. DO NOT OVERBAKE!!!! Sprinkle with some more sugar while they are still warm. Let cool a minute or two before removing to cooling rack.

See that sparkle. This makes about 36 cookies. Store in airtight container.

I am warning you, these are rich and buttery and oh so good. They will add some shine to any holiday tray.

Happy Cookie Making!!!!




Let's see what the other girls are up to, shall we:

April, Kim, Megan, Barbara and Megan

Christmas Orange and Cinnamon Cookie-Cookie # 4 of 12 weeks of cookies

Ok, this is going to be a short one, just because honestly I'm tired and have been fighting with my 5 year old and it has upset me. If it is like this now, what the hell am I going to do when she is 12???? UGH!! Anyway on to this weeks cookie. This is my fourth cookie of the 12 cookies of Christmas and it is pretty simple but the aroma it gives off is extraordinary. It smells like Christmas Potpurri in your house, like one of those Yankee candles we all buy this time of year...the cinnamon and the orange make this an irresistable cookie. The recipe comes from Canary Girl, I'm not sure how much she still blogs, but it is worth a trip to check out her older posts, they look so good. On to the recipe:

Christmas Cinnamon and Orange Cookies

1 cup sugar

1 cup shortening

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla

zest from 1 orange

1/4 cup orange juice ( from the orange I zested)

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine 1/3 cup of sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.

Line baking sheets with parchmant paper.

Baet 1 cup sugar with the shortening,egg,vanilla and orange zest.

Add Orange juice, flour,salt and baking soda. It will look like this. Can you see the zest?

Shape dough into walnut sized balls.
Roll into reserved cinnamon sugar and press onto prepared cookie sheets with a glass dipped in cinnamon sugar.

Bake 10-15 minutes- until lightly golden.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

I wish you all could smell these. They smell like the holidays and it is something a little different from the regular Cookie tray cookie.

So if you are looking for something new, something a little out of the ordinary, look no further, they are right here. Make them and take deep breaths, and smell the holidays.....

Please check out April, Barbara, Megan,Kim and Megan to see what they have in store for you....

12 Cookies of Christmas- Cookie# 3 Lemon Luscious Snow Cap Cookies

Ok, so I am up to week #3 of the 12 cookies of Christmas, and do I have a good one for you this week. This cookie has some of my favorite things in it, coconut, macadamia nuts and lemon flavor. This recipe comes from Recipezaar. The original can be found here. I follow it completely, no changes for me. I think most of us have heard of chocolate snowcap cookies, but this goes totally the other way, and it produces a chewy cookie loaded with flavor, and it is pretty to look at, as well. How bad can it be when these are the main ingredients?

Lemon Luscious Snowcap Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 tsp lemon extract

1 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest

1 3/4 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup coconut

1 cup macadamia nut pieces

2 large eggs

1/2 cup powdered sugar, to roll cookies in

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream sugar and butter together in mixer.

Add Lemon zest,eggs and lemon extract.

I always use my microplane to zest, it is one of my fave kitchen gadgets. Just thought I would share that random thought. Moving on.

Stir in flour and baking powder.

Add nuts and coconut. It should look like this:

Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar.

Place on parchmant lined cookie sheet.

Did you notice something missing? I ran out of parchmant paper. I hate not having it but life goes on and I sprayed the hell out of my sheets.

Bake for 18 minutes or until the edges are set. I always underbake my cookies, its just personal preference.

Cool a minute or two on the cookie sheets, and remove to wire racks and sprinkle with more powdered sugar over the tops of the cookies, as they continue to cool.

The smell this cookie gives off as it is baking is incredible. It is so simple and quick to put together. The only issue is that the dough is a bit sticky to roll, but it is definately worth the extra effort to have these babies on your holiday tray. They are so pretty to look at and I think they are something a little different. They have great chewy texture . I hope some of you will give them a try.

Please also check out what the other ladies will be offering up today:

http://abbysweets.blogspot.com/

http://www.barbarabakes.com/

http://meganscookin.blogspot.com/

http://mykentuckyhome-kim.blogspot.com/

http://mybakingadventures.com/ ( Megan just lost her dog, so excuse her if she doesn't have something to add this week. It is a hard thing to deal with, the loss of a family pet. Take your time and come back when you are ready, Megan)

These ladies know their cookies....

12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies #2 and a change

I am not a big fan of change. I like my routines and I thrive on them. My kids need their routine, as boring as it may be, it is what keeps me sane and makes my life work. So, that being said, I was all set, I was ready with my xmas cookie tray list. I had thought it through, I added and subtracted and tried to figure out what was best and then I got thrown 2 curveballs. The first one being asked to join The 12 weeks of Christmas Cookies bake along, April over at Abbey Sweets, invited me to join her and other ladies in posting a Christmas cookie every Friday from now until Xmas. I am thrilled. I quickly accepted, and thought to myself, I got this, I am so anal and so prepared, that this will be easy. Then my 2nd curveball struck.

I got a comment on my last post from Valerie, she is at Valerie's attempt at pondering. She was new to me, so I immediately checked out her blog, and I was blown away. It is full of so many things that I cannot wait to try. Please, guys, for me, check it out, you will be so happy you did. The first thing I see when I get there is these. Well, these are mine, but you get the picture. These are Baby Shortbread Bites with Mini Chocolate Chips and Toffee. Are you kidding me?

I made them that night and they are incredible. They are little buttery pieces of heaven with choc chips and toffee added in just for the hell of it. My whole gameplan has now changed and I am posting these as my Week 2 cookie because that's how good they are. You have the option of melting chocolate and dipping half the cookie into it, but I believe they stand up well enough on their own. These will now be on my holiday cookie tray. You have to try them, you will thank me later.

Baby Shortbread Bites with Mini Choc Chips and Toffee


1 Cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cup mini choc chips
3/4 cup heath toffee bits
1 tbsp vegetable shortening, optional
1 cup mini choc chips, optional

Directions:


Preheat oven to 350.


Cream together the butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Mix in the flour until combined, then stir in ( or add with the mixer on the slowest speed) 3/4 cup min choc chips and the 3/4 cup Heath bits. It should look like this.


And like this. You can definately try the dough, there are no eggs. Yes, you will try it. I did!!!

Shape spoonfuls of dough into small balls(Donna, behave), about one inch wide. I used my hands, but I'm sure you can use a very small cookie scoop. Place 2 inches apart on parchmant lined cookie sheet. Press down lightly to give each cookie a slightly flat surface to rest on.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, until fairly firm to the touch. Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the pan, shortbread can be delicate and is very brittle. If you choose to, you can melt the remaining 1 cup of mini choc chipsand shortening in a double boiler, stirring frequently until smooth. Dip one end of each cookie into the chocolate, then place them on wax paper until set. Store in air tight container at room temperature and try, just try to control yourself. These are amazing cookies.

Makes 4 dozen Baby Shortbread Bites, love the name.

As shortbread normally does, these taste better as the days go on. They taste better today than yesterday.

I guess sometimes change is good. lol