2005 Yule Cookies



2003 Candy List

2003 Cookie List   2004 Cookie List
2006 Cookie List   2007 Cookie List   2008 Cookie List
This year most of the recipes are aimed to be more healthful for family members who simply cannot splurge on fat and sugar-filled treats. I have kept three family favorites, the first three listed recipes, as they are small bites and can be spread out among the dozens of recipients.



Peanut Butter Chocolate Balls

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups pecans, crushed chopped
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
16 ounces confectioners' sugar; sifted
12 ounces peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp. shortening

Combine crumbs, coconut, nuts, butter, sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla. Stir well. Shape the mixture into 1-inch balls. Combine chocolate chips and shortening in top of a double boiler; bring water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low; cook until chocolate melts. Dip each peanut butter ball into the chocolate mixture. Place on wax paper to cool. Store in refrigerator.

Makes about 9 dozen.




Chocolate Cherry Cookies

1 1/4 cups butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 TBS vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 (6-oz) jars maraschino cherries, drained and halved
1 (6-oz) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350*F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy; add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Combine dry ingredients; stir into butter mixture. Dough will be stiff! Shape into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Press cherry half into center of each cookie. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool.

In heavy saucepan, over medium heat, melt chips with condensed milk; cook until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Frost each cookie, covering cherry. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Makes 10 dozen cookies.




Eggnog Thumbprints

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon McCormick® Ground Nutmeg
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 slightly beaten egg whites
1 cup finely chopped walnuts

Rum Filling:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon McCormick® Imitation Rum Extract
1 to 2 teaspoons milk

McCormick® Ground Nutmeg

1. Lightly grease a cookie sheet; set aside.

2. In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and nutmeg. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour.

3. If necessary, cover and chill in refrigerator about 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle.

4. Place the egg whites and chopped walnuts in separate small bowls. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in egg whites, then in walnuts to coat. Place balls about 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheet. Make an indent with your thumb in the center of each ball.

5. Bake in a 375°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.

6. Rum Filling: In a small bowl beat butter until softened. Add confectioner's sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in rum extract. Beat in enough milk to make spreading consistency. Pipe or spoon about 1/2 teaspoon Rum Filling into the center of each cooled cookie. Sprinkle with additional nutmeg.

Makes 40 cookies




Coconut Snowflake Cookies

1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup fine unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup oatmeal, coarsely ground in a blender
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup rice syrup
1/4 cup barley malt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp orange extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine flour, coconut, ground oatmeal, soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. Blend oil, rice syrup and barley malt together in a small bowl. Add egg, vanilla and orange extract. Combine liquid ingredients with flour mixture. Batter will be stiff. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Press cookies with a fork to about 1/2 inch thickness. Bake for 12–14 minutes or until bottoms are golden.

makes about 2 dozen

SOURCE: Whole Foods Market




Filled Strudel Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
1 cup plain yogurt
2 (1 gram) packets Stevia
1 1/2 cups raspberry allfruit
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 egg, beaten

Sift together flour, baking powder, and stevia. Cut in the margarine until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add yogurt and egg; mix together to form a firm dough. If dough is too sticky, add a little more flour. Refrigerate dough overnight. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide dough into three pieces. On a clean, floured surface, roll out each piece of dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Spread with the allfruit, then sprinkle with the nuts and raisins. Roll the dough up tightly like a jelly roll. Brush each roll with beaten egg, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Rolls should be golden brown. While they are still hot, cut on a diagonal into 1 inch thick slices, and let cool.




Gingerbread People

2 cups rye flour
1 cup oat flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup safflower oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup barley malt
1/4 cup water

Ingredient Option: use rice syrup instead of barley malt for a milder flavor.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Mix the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Mix liquid ingredients in a separate bowl and then add the dry ingredients. Mix well and form dough into 4 balls. Chill dough for at least 1 hour. Roll dough on a floured surface to about 1/3" thickness. Cut dough with cookie cutter and place the cookies on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes until firm but not browned. If desired, brush diluted sweetener on cookies after 8 minutes baking time and then return to oven. Cookies will crisp as they cool. Store in an airtight container.

makes about 3 dozen

SOURCE: Whole Foods Market




Sour Cream Linzer Cookies

1/2 cup butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sucanat
1/3 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup raspberry preserves

In a large mixing bowl , cream together butter and sucanat with an an electric mixer. Gradually add egg and vanilla while mixing. Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir in by hand. Finally, stir in sour cream and ground almonds. Divide dough in half and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). On a well floured surface, roll out each half of the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out cookies using a 2 inch round cookie cutter. Using a 3/4 inch star or heart shaped cookie cutter, cut the center from half of all the rounds. Place cookies 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in preheated oven for 6 to 8 minutes. Remove cookies from cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack.

To assemble: Stir the spreadable fruit until fruit so it is smooth. Spoon 1/2 teaspoonful of fruit onto each of the cookies without the holes. Set a cookie with a hole on top of the fruit layer. Enjoy!




Sugar Free Spice Cookie

1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup raisins
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons stevia
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet. In a small saucepan, bring the 1 1/4 cup of water, raisins, shortening, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a boil. Remove from heat, beat in eggs, one at a time. Dissolve salt, soda, and stevia into the remaining 2 tablespoons of water; add alternately to the egg mixture, with the flour and baking powder. Drop cookies by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool on wire racks.




Sugarless Health Cookies

1 cup raisins
1/2 cup dates, pitted and chopped
1 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon stevia
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats

In a small pan mix together raisins, dates, and water. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes, then cool. In a medium bowl, stir together oil, eggs, vanilla, stevia, flour, baking soda, and oats. Add the boiled mixture to this, stir, and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Drop cookies from a teaspoon onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven.




Thumb Print Cookies

1 cup almonds, coarsely ground
1 cup rolled oats, coarsely ground
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup safflower oil
1/2 cup maple syrup or rice syrup
pinch of salt (optional)
water
fruit juice sweetened jam

Ingredient Option: substitute pecans for the almonds.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Process almonds and rolled oats in a blender or food processor to a coarse grind. Add rest of ingredients, adding enough water to make a moist dough. Form walnut-sized balls and place on an oiled cookie sheet. Press your thumb gently in the center and fill with jam. Bake 15–20 minutes until golden brown.

SOURCE: Whole Foods Market




Whole Wheat Maple Snickerdoodles

2 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup butter
2/3 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons raw sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix first four dry ingredients together in a small bowl. In a different, larger bowl, cream butter thoroughly. Slowly add maple syrup to butter, mixing thoroughly. Mix in eggs, one at a time to butter mixture. Add flour gradually and mix together.

Cover and refrigerate dough for at least one hour or until dough is firm enough to handle. Form dough into 1 inch balls; roll in a mixture of the 2 TBS sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Place on very lightly greased cookie sheet (or parchment); flatten cookies slightly with bottom of a drinking glass. Bake in a 375* oven for about 8 minutes or until light golden. Cool on wire racks. Yields about 5 dozen. Courtesy of Kaeleen Foote




Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup sucanat
1 fresh large egg
3/4 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp lowfat milk
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon


Sprinkle:
2 Tbsp sucanat
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 F.
1. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add egg, vanilla, and milk and mix for one minute until smooth. Scrape sides of the bowl.
3. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients gradually to the creamed mixture; mix on low speed for one minute until well blended. Scrape sides of the bowl.
4. Portion dough by rounded teaspoons onto lightly greased cookie sheets.
5. Combine 2 Tbsp sucanat and 1 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle over cookies.
6. Bake for 10-13 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.




Sugar Free Rugelach

1 cup margarine
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup apricot spreadable fruit

Cream together the margarine and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer. Blend in the vanilla. Mix in the flour. Chill the dough.

To make the Filling: Mix together the chopped raisins, chopped walnuts, and cinnamon. If you have a food processor, place the whole walnuts and raisins into the bowl, sprinkle with the cinnamon, and chop them together by processing in short pulses. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Roll out each portion into a 10 - 12 inch circle 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured board or between two sheets of waxed paper. Spread a light layer of preserves (approximately 2 tablespoons) onto each dough circle. Sprinkle each circle with approximately 1/4 cup of the chopped nut-raisin-cinnamon mixture. Cut each circle into 16 wedges using a pastry cutter or a pizza cutter. Roll each wedge from base to point. Place point down on a lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 15-17 minutes at 375 degrees F (or until golden). Remove to racks to cool.

Makes 32 servings



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