Paint Brush Cookies (Approx 5 Dozen)

As long as I can remember, my family has had the tradition of making these cookies. They are kind of like sugar cookies, but are more interactive as you have to roll out the dough, use a variety of cookie cutters, and paint whatever accents you want using egg yolk paint.

I usually get my dad to assist with painting and getting the cookies off the cookie sheet but he has been a little cranky lately. Needless to say, because of my lack of expertise on moving the cookies from the cookie sheet to the wire cooling rack, I have a few headless snowmen.

1+1/2 cups of sifted confectionery sugar
2 sticks of butter, softened
1 egg (large)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2+1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Mix confectionery sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Then stir in flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar (about 1/2 cup at a time). Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

2. Heat oven to 375º. Divide dough into halves. Roll each half 3/16 of an inch on lightly floured rolling sheet/board. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters.

3. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet (maybe spray some PAM/vegetable/canola oil). Prepare Egg Yolk Paint and paint designs on cookies with small paintbrushes.

EGG YOLK PAINT:

Mix 1 egg yolk (exclude the egg white) and 1/4 teaspoon of water. Divide mixture among 3-4 small custard cups. Tint each cup with different amounts of food coloring. (Red, Yellow, and Green only needed about 2 drops, blue definitely needed 3-4). If paint thickens while standing, stir in a few drops of water.

It is crucially important to match the paint brush's handle color to that of the egg yolk paint. Otherwise, if you work with others or are just very tired, you will mess them up very quickly and end up with some muddy paint colors.

4. Bake until edges are light brown, about 6-7 minutes. I still use the double rack oven, I just alternate between timing it for 3 minutes, then 4 minutes).

Spicy Christmas Stars (Approx 7 Dozen)

The story goes like this: I was visiting my Great Aunt Rose's house one Christmas and I ate one of these cookies and immediately insisted on making my own batch. I found the ingredients to be intriguing as the recipe even calls for regular black pepper. I asked my mom later today as I spent about a half an hour rolling out cookies in the shape of a star what she did when she made them. Quite frankly, she said, " I have never made them and I never will. I don't have the patience for it."

2 sticks of butter (softened)
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of sugar
1+1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
1+1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
2 large eggs
3 cups of flour

2 cups of Confectionery sugar
Red sugar crystals

1. Measure all ingredients (except Confectionery sugar and Red sugar crystals) with mixer at low speed. Beat until well blended.

Helpful Hint: Mix everything else together and save the flour for last. Also, only add 1/2 cup of flour at a time, or you'll have more flour on you and the floor than actually in the cookie mix.

2. Divide dough into thirds. (This does not have to perfect). Shape each into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze 1 hour until the dough is firm enough to be handled.

1 hour might be enough for the Arctic or those at high elevations in the mountain regions, but honestly I think it should be in the freezer for at least 3-4 hours. Let it wait till tomorrow too if you'd like.

3. Preheat oven to 375º. Take out one ball of freezer dough at a time. Roll it out to 1/8" thick and use a floured cookie cutter in the shape of a star.

Helpful Hint: What I noticed while initially rolling it was that it would break off and crumble at thicker areas at first. Toss these pieces aside and come back for them when you are re-rolling a section to make more cookies. Each ball of dough (and remember there are 3 of them) makes about 24 cookies.

4. Place cookies about 1/2 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 minutes total (I like to have a double rack in the oven; 4 min on the bottom and 4 on the top).

Don't you dare put your cookies away as soon as they cool! You must convey to the viewer that they are spicy by also putting a glaze with red sugar on it.

5. In a bowl, put about 1+1/2 cup of confectionery sugar in a bowl. Now add let's say 5-6 teaspoons of water. Mix it together. You want a consistency that isn't too thick but definitely not too watery. It's a delicate balance. Good luck.

Use a brush to glaze each cookie and after every 10 or so stop to sprinkle some red sugar on them before the glaze sets.

Peanut Blossoms (Approx 4 Dozen)

These cookies you have likely seen before. Many people make them as they are popular with both children and adults. Young children are most often seen pilfering the Hershey kisses only off of the large cookie trays at holiday parties.

3/4 cup peanut butter (natural has a better taste but makes the cookies more crumbly)
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar (dark works fine too; the contrast between the kiss and the cookie is just lessened)
1 egg (large)
2 tablespoons of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1+1/2 cups unsifted all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Sugar (about 2-3 tablespoons in a bowl)
50 unwrapped Hershey Kisses

1. Unwrap all the Hershey Kisses and put them in a bowl. They don't tell you this in the recipe I used, but it really should be the first step.
2. Blend peanut butter and shortening in large mixer. Add 1/3 cup sugar and the brown sugar; cream until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl (just for dry ingredients) and then add to the creamed mixture about a third at a time. (If you throw all the dry ingredients in at once they are more likely to burst out of the mixer as soon as you turn it on).

3. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll completely around in the bowl with the loose sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet (you can fit about 16 on one sheet). Bake at 375º for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. As soon as you take them out of the oven, immediately place an unwrapped Hershey kiss in the center of each cookie, pressing down lightly so that the cookie cracks around the edge. (Now if you used natural peanut butter, the cookie will already become cracked during the baking process; it will also be fairly fragile until it cools). After stabilizing kisses, remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a wire rack.

It took me about 50 minutes to make this from start to finish. The majority of the time was a tie between removing the Hershey kiss wrappers and forming the cookies.

Mint Swirls (Approx 50 cookies)

This recipe is particularly enticing to any of you whom are fans of the mint chocolate combination. It is also somewhat time consuming as there are 4 parts to this recipe. Do yourself a favor and make it your first batch of the day or you might run out of patience with it.

3/4 cup of butter (That's a stick and a half)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg (large)
1/4 teaspoon mint extract
2-3 drops of green food coloring
2+1/4 cups of all purpose flour
4 finely crushed Oreos
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate pieces (optional)
1 teaspoon shortening (optional)

PART I:

1. In your handy Kitchen Aid mixer, beat butter on medium-high for 30 seconds. Add sugar and baking powder until combined.

2. Beat in egg, mint, extract, and food coloring. Next, beat in as much of the flour as you can.

Helpful Hint: Beat in flour 1/2 cup at a time; always start on lowest setting (or you will have flour on the floor, the table, yourself and whatever else is in an 8 inch radius).

Use a wooden spoon to stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Helpful Hint: I like to put the halves in separate sections of wax paper rather than halving them in the mixing bowl.

PART II:

3. Between 2 sheets of wax paper, roll one portion of dough a time into an 8x7in rectangle. No cutting corners here! Make it as neat an accurate as possible! Sprinkle half of the crushed sandwich cookies evenly over dough to within 1/4in of the edges.




4. Starting from a short side, roll up dough into a spiral, removing bottom sheet of wax paper as you roll. Wrap the entire spiral in wax paper or plastic wrap and chill four at least 4 hours. (I usually let it sit overnight).

Helpful Hint: This is not going to be flawless. Try to smooth out the edges as you go along. Don't apply too much pressure or it will tear apart.

PART III (This is by far the easiest part):


5. Cut rolls into 1/4 in slices. Place slices about 2 in apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375º for 8-9 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute, then transfer cookies to wire rack.

Do not be alarmed if some oreo cookie stuffing falls out. This is bound to happen.

Helpful Hint: When you bake cookies, make sure there are two racks in your oven. Instead of waiting 8 minutes for you cookies to cook on one level, start them on the bottom rack and move to the top after 4 minutes. This will allow a more even cooking and let you cook more at once.

PART IV (optional but recommended):

6. In a heavy saucepan microwave cook and stir chocolate pieces and shortening over low heat.

Actually, just don't bother using a saucepan. This year I attempted to do this with a sauce pan and my chocolate never became smooth and actually started burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan!

Next, get out a saucepan that is larger than the bowl you put in the microwave. Put a little water in it and keep it between warm and low on your stove top. Then put the bowl with the chocolate/shortening mix inside the saucepan. This prevents the chocolate from sticking and burning to the pan and allows it to reach consistency at its own pace.

Helpful Hint: Drizzle with the wrist. Don't attempt to coat the entire top of the cookie in chocolate. It takes away from the look of the final product.

Christmas Cookie Marathon: An Introduction

I just finished decorating the Christmas tree. This year we got a string of LED lights to conserve energy. My dad is an electrical engineer and happens to explain with pride how much more energy efficient it is as well as the different temperature levels of each color every time someone mentions the new lights. Other new ideas included Dogbert as a fourth wise man and a frog tree topper.


While the tree is an attempt to make the house look festive, I am about to embark on my real Christmas agenda. Christmas cookies. I have always made cookies from scratch; even the 7 dozen+ Italian cookie recipes. The next couple of entries will be dedicated to:

• The trials and tribulations of making large batches of cookies in a short amount of time
• How to get your other family members to participate
• Complete recipes with a photo
  
• Warnings and/or Helpful Hints
  

Well I've got 10 days before Christmas to create at least 7 different batches of Christmas cookies. Let the games begin!