Recipes

Simple Turtle Cookie Cups

Simple Turtle Cookie Cups

Couverts3 dozen cookies
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 pouch 17.5 oz double chocolate chunk cookie mix
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 egg
  • 36 round milk chocolate–covered chewy caramels unwrapped
  • 36 pecan halves

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 375°F.
  • Place miniature paper baking cup in each of 36 mini muffin cups.
  • In large bowl, stir together cookie mix, oil, water and egg until soft dough forms.
  • Shape dough into 36 (1¼-inch) balls; place in muffin cups.
  • Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until edges are set.
  • Immediately press caramel into center of each cookie cup.
  • Cool 2 minutes.
  • Top with pecan halves.
  • Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
  • Remove from pans with narrow spatula.

Notes & Wine Advice

Festive Touch

Bake these cookie cups in holiday-themed mini paper baking cups.

Nutrition values

Calories: 110 kcal
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Course; Coockies / Biscuit

Giant Gingerbread House Cookie

Giant Gingerbread House Cookie

Couverts12 servings
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 pouch 17.5 oz gingerbread cookie mix
  • ½ cup butter softened
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 egg
  • 1 container 1 lb vanilla creamy ready-to-spread frosting
  • Assorted candies gumdrops, peppermints, candy canes, red cinnamon candies, candy sprinkles, if desired

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 350°F.
  • Line 15x10x1-inch pan with cooking parchment paper.
  • Make cookie mix as directed on pouch, using butter, water and egg.
  • Roll dough in pan to about ¼ inch thick.
  • Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are set and golden brown.
  • Cool 5 minutes.
  • Use pizza cutter to cut gingerbread house shape from cookie.
  • Cool completely.
  • Use frosting and candies to decorate gingerbread house as desired.
  • Use any excess cookie pieces as decoration.
  • Cut into pieces to serve.

Notes & Wine Advice

Gingerbread House Decorating Ideas

Decorating a gingerbread house can be as unique as you are! Here are some great ideas for decorating your house. You can purchase your favorites or snoop around your cupboards and find foods that would work.

 

ROOF

  • Bite-size frosted mini wheat cereal
  • Chocolate flat candy bars
  • Colorful flat candies
  • Crackers
  • Fruit slices candy
  • Gumdrop halves or slices
  • Pretzel sticks or rods
  • Small cookies, such as vanilla wafers

 

DOOR

  • Candy bar
  • Graham cracker
  • Oval-shaped flat cookies (cut off one end, for bottom of door)
  • Sugar wafers

 

CHIMNEY

  • Candy sticks or straight candy canes
  • Chocolate chips
  • Chocolate rocks
  • Jelly beans (especially tan, brown, black and speckled)
  • Sugar ice-cream cone, cut lengthwise in half

 

WREATH

  • Green holly and red ball decors, arranged in a circle
  • Gumdrops
  • Peppermint candy
  • Round or flower-shaped cookie with hole in center
  • Small or tiny round candies arranged in a circle

 

OTHER DECORATIONS

  • Candy canes
  • Frosted animal crackers

Nutrition values

Calories: 380 kcal
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Course; Coockies / Biscuit

Cinnamon Cardinal Cookies

Cinnamon Cardinal Cookies

Couverts4 dozen cookies
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy; stir in vanilla.
  • In small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and cinnamon.
  • On low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture alternately with whipping cream.
  • Divide dough in half; wrap in plastic wrap.
  • Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
  • Heat oven to 350°F.
  • Lightly grease 2 large cookie sheets with shortening or cooking spray.
  • On lightly floured surface, roll one portion of dough until about ⅛ inch thick.
  • Cut with 3-inch floured cardinal-shaped cookie cutter.
  • On cookie sheets, place cutouts 2 inches apart.
  • Repeat with second portion of dough.
  • Place chocolate chip on each bird for eye.
  • Sprinkle top of back, crown, tail and wing of each bird with red sugar crystals; neck and eye with black sugar crystals; and beak with yellow sugar crystals.
  • Leave bottom breast of bird without sugar.
  • Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until light brown and set.
  • Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Notes & Wine Advice

Kitchen Secrets

If you don’t have a cardinal-shaped cookie cutter, trace the outline of a cardinal from a coloring book or bird book onto waxed paper; or find one online, print it and cut it out. Place the pattern on the dough, and use a small paring knife to cut around it.

Nutrition values

Calories: 50 kcal
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Course; Coockies / Biscuit

Eggnog Spritz Cookies

Eggnog Spritz Cookies

Couverts4 dozen cookies
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

COOKIES

ICING

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 375°F.
  • In large bowl, stir together cookie mix, butter, egg, flour, 1 teaspoon rum extract and the nutmeg until soft dough forms.
  • Fit cookie press with desired template.
  • Fill cookie press with dough; press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheets.
  • Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until set.
  • Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
  • Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
  • In small bowl, stir powdered sugar, milk and ¼ teaspoon rum extract until icing is smooth and thin enough to drizzle.
  • Drizzle over cookies.
  • Sprinkle with colored sugars.
  • Let stand until set.

Notes & Wine Advice

Make-Ahead Magic

Baked, cooled cookies can be tightly wrapped and stored in the freezer up to 6 months.

Nutrition values

Calories: 70 kcal
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Course; Coockies / Biscuit

Peppermint Meringues

Peppermint Meringues

Couverts5
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 175°F.
  • Line 2 large cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper.
  • In large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form.
  • Beat in peppermint extract and salt.
  • Gradually add sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high speed until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved.
  • Spoon half of meringue into medium bowl; add food color.
  • Beat until well blended.
  • In large decorating bag fitted with #827 star tip, place spoonfuls of white and red meringue side by side, alternating colors and working up from tip of bag.
  • Do not mix colors together.
  • Onto cookie sheets, pipe meringue into 1-inch mounds.
  • Bake 3 hours or until meringues are dry to the touch.
  • Turn oven off; leave meringues in oven with door closed 1 hour.
  • Finish cooling at room temperature, about 45 minutes.
  • Remove meringues from parchment paper.
  • Store tightly covered at room temperature.

Nutrition values

Calories: 10 kcal
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Course; Coockies / Biscuit

Almond Angel Cookies

Almond Angel Cookies

Couverts4 dozen
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
  • Add granulated sugar; beat until creamy.
  • Stir in milk, vanilla, almond extract and salt.
  • Stir in flour until well mixed.
  • Measure ½ cup of dough into small resealable food-storage plastic bag; refrigerate.
  • Divide remaining dough in half; roll each into 6-inch log.
  • Put the decorating sugars in separate shallow dishes.
  • Roll 1 log in yellow sugar; roll other log in blue sugar.
  • Wrap logs separately in plastic wrap or waxed paper.
  • Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
  • Heat oven to 350°F.
  • For each cookie, place 2 pretzels with flat sides touching on ungreased large cookie sheets; place 3 inches apart.
  • Unwrap logs; cut into 48 (¼-inch) slices.
  • (If dough cracks, let stand at room temperature a few minutes.
  • ) Fold in opposite sides at top of each slice to make triangular-shaped body; place each slice on top of 2 pretzels so double loops of pretzels form angel wings at each side.
  • Press lightly into pretzels.
  • Using reserved dough from plastic bag, roll ½ teaspoon dough into ball; place at top for head.
  • Press 2 sliced almonds into dough to make songbook.
  • Bake 11 to 14 minutes or until edges are firm and just begin to brown.
  • Cool 2 to 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
  • Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
  • Pipe yellow icing onto cookies to make eyes and hair.
  • Pipe pink icing to draw mouths.
  • Let stand until set.

Notes & Wine Advice

Festive Touch

Use this recipe for the project at a kids’ holiday party or even a gift exchange. You could bake the cookies up to 3 days in advance and store them in loosely covered containers to leave the decorating for the party. It’s fun to create together!

Nutrition values

Calories: 110 kcal
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Course; Coockies / Biscuit / Nuts

Peppermint Swirls

Peppermint Swirls

Couverts4 dozen
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 350°F.
  • In large bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon until well blended.
  • Stir in flour.
  • Divide dough in half.
  • Stir peppermint extract and food color into one half of dough.
  • Divide red dough and plain dough in half.
  • On generously floured surface, shape each piece of dough into 12-inch-long rope.
  • Place 2 ropes, 1 red and 1 plain, side-by-side; twist ropes together.
  • Repeat with remaining dough.
  • Cut twisted ropes into ½-inch pieces; shape each into ball.
  • On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls 1 inch apart.
  • In small bowl, place granulated sugar.
  • Dip bottom of glass in granulated sugar, and flatten each ball to about ¼ inch thick.
  • Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until set.
  • Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Notes & Wine Advice

Make-Ahead Magic

You can make and freeze these cookies up to 12 months ahead! Place baked, cooled cookies in a freezer-storage container. Cover and freeze up to 12 months. For softer cookies, thaw covered in container at room temperature 1 to 2 hours. For crisper cookies, remove from container to thaw.

Nutrition values

Calories: 60 kcal
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Course; Candy

Christmas Wreath Sugar Cookies

Christmas Wreath Sugar Cookies

2½ dozen cookies
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In large bowl, beat butter, sour cream and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy.
  • Add egg, lime peel, 1 tablespoon lime juice and the vanilla; beat until smooth.
  • On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda and salt until dough forms.
  • Gather dough into ball; divide in half.
  • Shape each half into a disk; wrap in plastic wrap.
  • Refrigerate 1 hour.
  • Heat oven to 375°F.
  • Place pastry cloth on work surface; sprinkle with flour.
  • With floured cloth-covered rolling pin, roll 1 disk of dough until ⅛ inch thick.
  • Cut with floured 3-inch fluted cutter.
  • With 1-inch scalloped or fluted canapé cutter, cut out center of each circle.
  • On ungreased cookie sheet, place wreath cutouts 1 inch apart.
  • Cut each small cutout in half; brush backs of small cutouts with water and place on wreaths for bows.
  • Repeat with second disk of dough.
  • Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until edges start to brown.
  • Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack; cool completely.
  • In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of the lime juice with whisk.
  • Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until glaze is thin.
  • Working with a few cookies at a time, brush glaze over cookies and immediately decorate with sugars or sprinkles.
  • Let stand until set.
  • Store in layers with waxed paper between.

Notes & Wine Advice

Kitchen Secrets

Silicone brushes work very well for brushing the glaze onto the cookies. They can be purchased in most kitchen stores or kitchen sections of department stores.

Nutrition values

Calories: 110 kcal
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Course; Coockies / Biscuit

Sparkling Lemon Snowflakes

Sparkling Lemon Snowflakes

Couverts6 dozen
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

COOKIES

GLAZE

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 350°F.
  • In large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
  • Add lemon peel and egg; beat until well blended.
  • On low speed, beat in flour and salt until well blended.
  • On floured surface, roll dough until ⅛ inch thick.
  • Cut with lightly floured 2½- to 3-inch snowflake-shaped cookie cutter.
  • On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts 2 inches apart.
  • Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies just begin to brown.
  • Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
  • Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
  • In small bowl, mix powdered sugar, lemon juice and water.
  • Using small metal spatula, spread glaze over tops of cookies; sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
  • Let glaze dry before storing in airtight container.

Notes & Wine Advice

Kitchen Secrets

If you don’t have a snowflake-shaped cookie cutter, you can use either a star-shaped or scalloped-edge cutter, and then cut small triangles and pieces out of the center to form snowflakes.

Nutrition values

Calories: 60 kcal
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Course; Coockies / Biscuit

Butter Cookies with Lemon Royal Icing

Butter Cookies with Lemon Royal Icing

Couverts32 cookies
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

COOKIES

LEMON ROYAL ICING

DECORATIONS, IF DESIRED

Instructions

  • In large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy.
  • On low speed, beat in egg, lemon peel and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
  • Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until well blended.
  • Divide dough into 4 equal parts; flatten each part into ½-inch-thick round.
  • Wrap each in waxed paper or plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes.
  • Heat oven to 350°F.
  • Remove 1 round of dough at a time from refrigerator.
  • Between sheets of floured waxed paper or plastic wrap, roll dough until ¼ to ⅜ inch thick.
  • Cut with 3-inch cookie cutters in various shapes.
  • On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts 1 inch apart.
  • Bake 10 to 12 minutes or just until edges are golden.
  • Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
  • To make cookies for hanging, use toothpick or end of plastic straw to carefully poke a hole in the top of each cookie while cookies are still hot.
  • Cool 10 to 15 minutes before frosting.
  • In medium bowl, stir together powdered sugar and meringue powder.
  • Stir in 5 teaspoons lemon juice and enough of the 4 to 5 tablespoons water to make a thin icing.
  • Transfer ½ cup of the icing to small bowl; set aside.
  • Using a flexible pastry brush, paint cookies to the edges with icing.
  • Place on cooling rack to dry completely, about 30 minutes.
  • Beat reserved icing with electric mixer on high speed 5 to 7 minutes or until peaks form.
  • Spoon into decorating bag or resealable bag with one corner cut off; pipe designs onto glazed cookies.
  • Before icing dries, sprinkle with decorations, and tap off excess.
  • Dry thoroughly on cooling rack.
  • Thread cookies with narrow ribbon for hanging.

Notes & Wine Advice

Make-Ahead Magic

These cookies store well. Once frostings are set (including the decorations), place cookies between layers of cooking parchment or waxed paper, plastic wrap or foil, and freeze up to 2 months.

Nutrition values

Calories: 140 kcal
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Course; Coockies / Biscuit