It's Friday! And in our house, the Friday before Christmas is cookie baking day! We're making 5 or 6 different kinds of cookies, though several of them use the same dough. I'm going to post the recipes we're using below. Feel free to add your own! Bit loves to bake and try new things.
As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group is for us to check in at to let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, or other such things that could keep us off DKos. It's also so we can find other Kossacks nearby for in-person checks when other methods of communication fail - a buddy system. Members come here to check in. If you're not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, etc.), we and your buddy are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care!
IAN is a great group to join, and a good place to learn to write diaries. Drop one of us a PM to be added to the Itzl Alert Network anytime! We all share the publishing duties, and we welcome everyone who reads IAN to write diaries for the group! Every member is an editor, so anyone can take a turn when they have something to say, photos and music to share, a cause to promote or news!
Ok, we do have a diary schedule. But, when you are ready to write that diary, either post in thread or send FloridaSNMOM a Kosmail with the date. If you need someone to fill in, ditto. FloridaSNMOM is here on and off through the day usually from around 9:30 or 10 am eastern to around 11 pm eastern.
Monday:
BadKitties
Tuesday:
bigjacbigjacbigjac
Wednesday:
Caedy
Thursday:
weck
Friday:
FloridaSNMOM
Saturday:
broths
Sunday:
loggersbrat
Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp hot water
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with nuts.
Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
Bake for about 10 minutes or until edges are nicely browned.
We're also going to make peanut butter chip cookies using this recipe (Draco can't have chocolate) and possibly peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies as well, depending if we have enough chips.
The next recipe is one from my childhood. We made these cookies every year. We've continued that tradition in our house with our kids. I always make them a bit thicker than recommended because I prefer them chewy rather than crisp. Plus they're easier for kids to work if they're a bit thicker.
Christmas Cut Outs
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
Cream shortening well, add sugar and eggs blend together well.
Sift baking powder, flour and salt together.
Add to shortening mix, alternating with milk.
Stir in vanilla and chill overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll out to 1/16" thickness. Cut into Christmas designs with cookie cutters or butter knife.
Brush with egg whites, decorate with colored sugar sprinkles.
Bake for 10-12 minutes
Makes 100 2" cookies
Thumb Print Cookies
1 package sugar cookie mix
2 TBL flour
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 large egg
1 tsp Vanilla
2 egg whites (beaten foamy)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
3/4 cup preserves
Heat oven to 350 degrees
Combine cookie mix, flour, butter, egg and vanilla until soft dough forms.
Use level measuring tsp of dough to make 3/4" balls.
Dip into egg whites and roll in pecans.
Place on cookie sheet and indent with thumb
Bake 10 minutes, fix indentations as needed and fill with 1/2 tsp preserves
Bake 2 minutes or until lightly brown.
Cool completely.
This is a new recipe, and we're actually going to make these on Thursday when we make the dough for the cut outs. I'm really trying not to over do things and make myself too exhausted to move all weekend, especially as my mom and step-father are coming to visit and exchange gifts on Saturday.
The oatmeal cookies we're making this year is a jarred cookie mix someone gave us as a gift earlier in the year. So it's not our normal oatmeal cookie recipe.
Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies
1 jar Butterscotch Oatmeal cookie mix
10 TBL butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, pour brown sugar from top of jar. Add butter to brown sugar and cream at high speed until lightened in texture. Add vanilla and egg and beat at high speed for 1-2 minutes. Add remaining contents of jar and beat at low speed until well combined. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Completed Thumbdrops: