Marie's Molasses Cookies

Here's another recipe for molasses cookies; as part of my quest to find the perfect one. A guy at work brought these in and I asked for the recipe since they were a little different than usual. They are good, but they are not as good as those wonderful ones from Murray's Ice Cream in Westport. Someday i will figure the recipe out though....

Marie's Molasses Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup vegetable shortening, melted ad cooled

1 large egg

1/4 cup unsulfered molasses

3/4 cups old fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, spices and salt. Add melted, cooled shortening, egg and molasses; mix well. Stir in oats.

Drop dough by tablespoons onto an ungreased baking sheet. Flatten with bottom of a glass that has been dipped in sugar. Bake 8 to 10 minutes.

Yield: 2 dozen

Pumpkin Doodles

I thought I had a picture of these cookies, but it seems to have disappeared as fast as the cookies did. This recipe was in the KC Star Magazine a few weeks back and seemed like the perfect cookie for the season. Snickerdoodles are my all time favorite cookies and these pumpkin based ones are just as good as the originals. They went as fast at work as the did at home, so I assume everyone else liked them too.

Pumpkin Doodles

Beat 8 ounces softened, unsalted butter on medium speed. Add 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and 1/2 cup canned pumpkin. Beat until fluffy. Add 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Mix well. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1 large egg.Beat until well mixed. Add 3 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour in 2 increments, beating until just incorporated. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Remove half of dough and roll in 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll in sugar mixture, coating all sides. Place on cookie sheet covered in parchment paper 2 inches apart. Bake 12 to 14 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

Chai Shortbread

This good cookie recipe comes from my friend, Alicia. She sent it to me a while ago and I finally got around to trying them out. The cookies are very good and are wonderful with coffee and vanilla ice cream. This is a simple recipe.

Chai Shortbread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup powdered sugar
10 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 Tbsp. ice water

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients, stirring well with whisk. Place sugar and butter in a medium bowl; beat with mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed until just combined (dough will be crumbly). Sprinkle with ice water, toss with fork. Divide dough in half; shape into 2 (6 inch long) logs. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour or until very firm.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Unwrap dough. Carefully cut each log into 18 slices with a serrated knife. Place circles 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on pans for 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Frosted Devil's Food Cookies

I came across this cookie recipe in the Sunday paper coupon section and thought I would give it a go. I felt the cookies were just okay, but Dan took them to work and everyone there loved them. They seemed a little on the gummy side to me. The ones that I made sandwiches with tasted the best. I probably would not make them again unless I was in a pinch for time. The recipe calls for Reduced Sugar Chocolate Fudge Frosting, but I opted for vanilla.

Frosted Devil's Food Cookies

1 (18.25 oz.) box Pillsbury Reduced Sugar Devil's Food Cake Mix

1/3 cup Crisco shortening

1/3 cup cold water

1 large egg

1 (15 oz.) container Pillsbury Reduced Sugar Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray cookie sheets with no-stick cooking spray.

Combine cake mix and shortening in a medium bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until a coarse meal forms. Add water and egg mixing on low, until a smooth dough forms. Shape into 5 dozen 1-inch balls. Spray bottom of a cup with non-stick spray and flatten each cookie into 2-inch round.

Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until center is firm. Cool 1 minute and remove to cooling racks. Spread with frosting. If desired, sprinkle with decorative candy bits.

Snickerdoodles

When I was younger, my sister Beth and I made snickerdoodles all of the time. We both loved them for their flavor and the ease at which they could be made. They are still one of my favorite cookies, but I have not made them since those childhood days. I got out my Joy of Cooking and found a recipe that looked easy and promising. Once I had the batter made up though, I ran into a few problems. The dough was very light and impossible to roll into balls. I decided to refrigerate the dough in order to harden it up some. It took about 30 minutes to get to the correct consistency for rolling. Then as the cookies baked they flattened and spread into each other on the baking sheets. The flavor was good, but a little buttery for my taste

and the cookies were thin and crispy, not what I remembered from the past. I asked my mom about them and she said we used the Betty Crocker version, so next time that is what I will try. Here is the recipe that I used.

Snickerdoodles

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets . Whisk until well blended:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
Beat in a large bowl:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
Add and beat until well combined:
2 large eggs
Stir in the flour mixture. Combine:
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Shape dough into 1 1/4" balls, roll in cinnamon and sugar and arrange 2 3/4" apart on baking sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are light golden brown at the edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Let stand briefly, then remove to wire racks.

Fennel Pistachio Cookies

I have found my new favorite cookie recipe!! This recipe was in an ad for real butter and the cookies are amazing. Even Dan liked them and he's a big fennelphobe. I actually never told him that they had fennel in them, so he'll read it here first. The recipe is simple and other than the nuts, I had all the ingredients at home. Set out a plate of these for the holidays and watch them disappear.

Fennel Pistachio Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp. amaretto
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup pistachio nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl of electric mixer, beat butter at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar; mix well. Add egg; beat well. Add amaretto, lemon zest and fennel seeds; mix to combine.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to butter mixture; beat well. Stir in nuts.
Shape into 1 inch balls, place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly on cookie sheets; remove to wire racks and cool completely. Store in airtight container up to 1 week.

Soft Molasses Cookies

I found the recipe for these incredible cookies in The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. The cookies turn out nice and soft, with some intense spice flavors. If I make these again, I would leave out a 1/4 tsp. of the ginger and a 1/2 tsp. of the cloves, just to see if they make an even better cookie. I ended up making my cookies a little bigger than the recipe called for, so I baked them for about 15 minutes and i rolled my dough in raw sugar as opposed to granulated.

Soft Molasses Cookies

8 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsulfered molasses
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Granulated sugar to coat cookies

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, shortening and sugar. Beat in molasses and eggs.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and spices. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet and blend until smooth. Refrigerate for 1 hour to stiffen the dough.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll the dough into balls about the size of a golf ball, about 2 Tbsp. of dough or 1 ounce. Roll each ball in the sugar to coat. Place cookies 2 inches apart on lightly greased or parchment lined cookies sheets.
Bake for 13 minutes. They will have flattened, but won't brown significantly. They should be soft on top and barely colored.
Cool completely on a wire rack.

Snickerdoodles

When I was young, my older sister and I would make snickerdoodles. All the time! We loved to make them as much as we liked to eat them and they are still one of my favorite cookies. I came across this recipe in the Sept. 'o7 issue of Cooking Light and was curious to try them. While not quite the same cookie as the ones I remember from childhood, these are pretty good. They have 99 calories per cookie, 3.3g of fat, 16.9 carbs and 15mg chol. The perfect stay-home-from-work-snowy-day cookie!

Snickerdoodles

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine 3/4 cup sugar, brown sugar and butter in a medium bowl; beat with mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Add to butter mixture; beat until just combined. Shape in 30 balls.

Combine 1/3 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon in a small shallow bowl. Roll dough in mixture and place 2 inches apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake for 8 minutes or until tops crack. Cool on pans 1 minute, remove to wire racks.

Cake Mix Cookies

This is one of those recipes that are so simple that even I can make it without screwing up. All you need is a box of cake mix, a few refrigerated items and you're pretty much there. You can use any type and any flavor and come out with some pretty tasty cookies. I used a banana cake mix and iced the cookies with Betty Crocker's Whipped Fluffy White Frosting, then sprinkled them with colored sugar.

Cake Mix Cookies

1 box cake mix

1 egg

1/2 cup milk (I used Skim)

1/2 stick butter, softened

Mix ingredients together. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Sour Cream Icing

Here is the recipe for the sourdough cookies. This works well on all types of sugar cookies and gingersnaps.

Sour Cream Icing

1 box powdered sugar
1 stick butter, soft
3 oz. cream cheese, soft
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla and slowly beat in sugar. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add milk if too thick. Add food coloring if desired.

Asunta's Famous Sourdough Cookies

Okay, I don't know who Asunta is, maybe I did at one time, but it escapes my mind now. I first had these incredibly good cookies at my cousin Keri's house ( maybe Asunta was there). Anyway, these are very easy and they taste so good. These are great holiday cookies, because you can color the icing and use sprinkles and such on them and they are perfect to bake with kids.

Asunta's Famous Sourdough Cookies

1 cup butter, soft
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add sour cream, vanilla and eggs. Mix thoroughly; add flour and baking soda. Drop by the teaspoonful on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 -15 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool and frost with cream cheese frosting.

Sourdough Cookies

A couple of years ago I was at my cousin's house in Florida and she served these cookies. They are so freaking good, the kind that you can't eat just one of. Big and soft and such a sweet icing, just the perfect comforting cookie you need every once in a while. I saw the recipe in my file at home and thought that it would be a good one to share.

Sourdough Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
4 cups flour

Mix ingredients, drop by teaspoonfuls on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes.

Cookie Icing

1 box powdered sugar
1 stick butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together and add milk if too thick. Ice cookies. Add food coloring if desired.

Pignoli Cookies

Back in March, I posted a recipe for my favorite cookies, Pignoli. They are those great little Italian cookies covered in pine nuts. At posted a recipe that I found on the net and thought it looked similar to the one my friend Alicia sent me. I just found my original recipe and it is the same. These are so good and easy to make. The hardest thing for me was finding the almond paste. Now it seems to be everywhere, even Target carries it. Here is the recipe again.

Pignoli Cookies

12 ounces almond paste
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup confectioners' sugar
4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups pine nuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with foil; lightly grease foil.
Mix almond paste and granulated sugar in food processor until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and 2 egg whites; process until smooth. Whisk remaining 2 egg whites in small bowl. Place pine nuts on shallow plate. With lightly floured hands roll dough into 1 inch balls. Coat balls in egg whites, shaking off excess, then roll in pine nuts, pressing lightly to stick. Arrange balls on cookie sheets, and flatten slightly to form a 1 1/2 inch round. Bake 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let stand on cookie sheet 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Pignoli

Here is a recipe I found online for the Pignoli cookies. I have one like this and will check to see if they are the same.

Pignoli

12 ounces almond paste
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup confectioners' sugar
4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups pine nuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F . Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Mix almond paste and granulated sugar in food processor until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and 2 egg whites; process until smooth. Whisk remaining 2 egg whites in small bowl. Place pine nuts on shallow plate. With lightly floured hands roll dough into 1 inch balls. Coat balls in egg whites, shaking off excess, then roll in pine nuts, pressing lightly to stick. Arrange balls on cookie sheets, and flatten slightly to form a 1 1/2 inch round. Bake 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let stand on cookie sheet 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

The Best Peanut Butter Cookies

Okay, I'm on a peanut butter kick. These are the best peanut butter cookies. I have used this recipe for over 15 years now. I prefer to use creamy peanut butter when I make them, the crunchy kind can be used, though.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Cream together;
1/2 cp. butter, softened
1/2 cp. peanut butter
1/2 cp. sugar
1/2 cp. brown sugar
1 large egg

Sift together and add to creamed mixture;
1 1/4 cps. all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Mix all together and chill for an hour. Roll dough into walnut size balls. Place 3" apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Flatten with a fork, dipped in flour, in criss-cross manner.
Bake for 10 minutes in preheated 375 oven.
Make 3 Dozen.