a little burst of sunshine

Being from San Diego, I prefer to have a green Christmas and these cookies totally remind me of being home. They are crazy delicious and the citrus makes for such a nice, sunny contrast to the rest of the season's snowy sweets. They are also a great throw back to old time Christmas presents- fruit! And the best part- you chose between orange or lemon- both equally yummy and cheap ingredients! ENJOY!

Sunshine Cookies
2.5 cups unsifted all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1tsp vanilla
1/2 tbsp grated orange or lemon zest
2 cups white chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375
In a small bowl, combine flour, b. soda, salt. Set aside.
In large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually add dry ingredients and combine. Stir in zest and chips.
Drop rounded tbsp on to UNGREASED cookie sheet, preferably covered with parchment for easiest clean up. Bake about 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown around edges. Allow cookies to cool on sheet for 3-5 minutes before moving to cooling rack. Cook completely. EAT or store in airtight container for up to 5 days.

Andes Cookies

These delicious little cookies don't look like much from the outside, but inside there is a little treasure waiting.

1 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

 3/4 c. butter, softened

2 lg. eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 TBS. water

3 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

6 oz. Andes Mints

Preheat oven to 375^

Mix together sugar, butter, vanilla, and water. Add eggs. Beat well.

In a separate bowl mix together dry ing. and add to the dough.

Chill dough overnight.

Wrap dough around a mint until covered. (Shape will be more rectangular)

Place 2" apart on greased cookie sheet.

Bake 7-9 min. or until golden brown.

Sprinkle with crushed peppermint right after removing from the oven. Cool and enjoy. 

sweet ideas

candy ornaments from marthastewart.com, whipped cream candy cane cake from Sunset Magazine, and holiday cookie gift tins from Eleni's NYC (for those of you who would rather not bake!).

i wonder if that cake tastes as good as it looks...

Making Christmas, Baking Christmas

Mmmm, Christmas Cookies. I'm invited to a Christmas Cookie Swap tonight so I made these classic Outrageous Chocolate Cookies from Martha Stewart and added my own little Holidazzle to make them extra special. The cookies themselves are soft and chewy and the double chocolate flavor is rich and naughty. Topping them with peppermint glaze and candy canes makes them oh so nice for Christmas.

Outrageous Chocolate Cookies with Peppermint Holidazzle

Makes 2 dozen cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 Minutes

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
¾ cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks (or chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring between each, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a mixer beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy, this will take a few minutes. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.

3. Drop heaping teaspoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula transfer to racks to cool completely. Do not bake the cookies to a crisp; they are meant to be soft and chewy. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days. Batter Consistency: don’t worry if the cookie batter seems thin. It should look more like brownie batter than cookie dough.

Add Some Holidazzle!

For the glaze:
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
2 drops peppermint extract
3 teaspoons water
About 3 or 4 crushed candy canes, reserve for topping

In a small bowl mix together the sugar, mint extract and water until smooth. Transfer mixture to a medium zip-top plastic bag and snip off the tip of one corner. Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Let cookies stand until set, about 10 minutes.

The Best Sugar Cookies

I have been on the hunt for the best sugar cookie recipe. My criteria was soft, sweet, buttery and super delicious. My bishops wife created this recipe and they are melt in your mouth soft yumminess. Hope you enjoy decorating cookies for the holidays!

SUGAR COOKIES

2 C butter, softened
2 C sugar
6 eggs
7 C flour
2 tsp baking soda
4 tsp cream of tarter
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 tsp almond extract (I am not a big fan of almond extract, I did half of this and it was perfect for me)

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Mix in the flavorings. Add the flour, baking soda and cream of tarter and mix well. Roll out dough about 1/4 inch thick (the cookie diva told us the biggest problem people have with sugar cookies is they roll it too thin and cook them too long) Cut out and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes depending on your oven. We only did ours for 8-9. Cool completely and decorate!

FROSTING

8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 16 oz package confectioners' sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese and butter in mixer until fluffy. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix well. Add a small amount of cream or milk if needed to make consistency better (but with food coloring you shouldn't need to add milk). This makes about 7 dozen cookies. Enjoy!

candy cane cookies

1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring OR 3/4 teaspoon peppermint flavoring
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy
1/2 cup white sugar

Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix butter sugar, egg, and flavorings thoroughly. Add flour and salt, Mix well. Shape dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap; chill for at least 2 hours or until easy to handle. Roll into 4 inch strips; place on baking sheet. Curve top down to form handle or cane. Bake 9 minutes. While still warm, remove from pan and sprinkle with candy and sugar mixture.

Dough may be divided in half and colored with 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring if desired. Roll each color into strips, place side by side, press together lightly and twist like a rope.