2017 Christmas Cookie Swap

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Kaneohegirlinaz

Wannabe TV Chef
Joined
Aug 2, 2014
Messages
8,248
Location
Central/Northern AZ, gateway to The Grand Canyon
Here we go!

It's that time of year again, time to make a boat load of baked goods to give as gifts, swap with friends and neighbors and make your co-workers green with envy.

Since I haven't had my real kitchen for a few years, I'm hyped!

A few years ago, I bought this cookie pan

cookie pan.jpg

I'm so looking forward to making some more of these cookies to take to our new neighbors!

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What kind of cookies will you be making this season?
 
SO is the cookie maker in our house. Every year she makes some or all of the following: anise, egg nog, pecan cookie balls, snickerdoodles, sugar cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies and pizzelle.

When I get in the mood for cookie making, I make oatmeal raisin with nuts, chocolate walnut chip, pecan or lemon shortbreads.
 
The secret to my cookie baking "skill" is to start making Spritz cookies, only wreath shaped because they taste best. The wreaths come out odd sized and a little misshapen. Dx will take one look at those, and go, Here, let me do that! Voy-ola Perfect cookies.

We do bake some cookies together. Bing Crosby on the stereo. I will make several batches of krumkake on the stove top, and not necessary to share the oven.

Here's Chef June's annual cookie swap. She hasn't been here in a long time but her cookies are still fresh. Good thread for newer and long time members alike.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f43/virtual-holiday-cookie-swap-38537.html
 
Strangely, there's no cookie swaps for me this year, most notable being Food52's Secret Santa swap, which is not being advertised yet. That's a shame, I participated last year and it was so much fun. Hopefully I'll get to join one soon (hint, hint).

I tested at least ten recipes for last year swaps and, as basic as it sounds, my favorite was Joy the Baker's Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/joys-brown-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies-with-pecans-recipe
Just can't beat a good chocolate chip cookie! And the brown butter just sends it over the top. It wouldn't be Christmas without this cookie.

My second favorite was Dorie Greenspan's famous World Peace Cookies.
Everyday Dorie » World Peace Cookies, the Newest Version from Dorie’s Cookies: Sneak Peek

It's a super-rich drop cookie and it's so good!

Those are the only two I *must* make for Christmas, but I might try a few more, I'm eyeing an Oreo-Cherry Cookie ball. And Stella Park's homemade oreos are making me drool.

As for gingerbread, I think I'll make gingerbread-house cakes this year. I'm actually really excited about it. I have the perfect recipe for gingerbread cake and I'm buying the molds tonight.
https://www.worldmarket.com/product/gingerbread+village+silicone+baking+mold.do?sortby=ourPicks
 
I have put the Elders on notice that I will not be baking cookies this year. They don't need the sugar and I don't eat sweets. Yup, I get the Scrooge award this year. Bah-humbug. No cookies = no gifts.
 
I sent the oldest GD a note to tell her to look up the oreo cherry cookie ball. I have a feeling that will be showing up in their house in the next week or so.
 
One of our new neighbors shared with me
Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.
She had brought over a dozen or so of those
cutties and DH said that he liked them
better than my recipe :ermm:
It says to bake for 10 minutes...
it didn't seem done in the center,
so I cooked them for an additional
4 minutes.
WRONG!
Very crisp and hard, dang it!
I'll try it again and FOLLOW
the directions this time :rolleyes:
 
Christmas cookies are NOT made the rest of the year. We have rosettes, krumkakar, spritz, sandbakkler (sp), peppernuts, pfeffernusse, and Alice cookies. We also have pecan bon-bons and chocolate kiss cookies. We do not have chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, or everyday cookies. I guess I better get baking.
 
My problem is I have to hide the cookies from my Dad. He has a sugar addiction. My life has come full circle. I am living in my parents' basement. Not the same house, but I could be 18 again (I wish). I have an egress window with a cover. Perfect place to hide cookie tins. My Mom and I laughed ourselves silly. Gotta love my cookie tester. There are times she is not there, but today she's been with me.
 
Christmas cookies are NOT made the rest of the year. We have rosettes, krumkakar, spritz, sandbakkler (sp), peppernuts, pfeffernusse, and Alice cookies. We also have pecan bon-bons and chocolate kiss cookies. We do not have chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, or everyday cookies. I guess I better get baking.

That's interesting, is that why they always ask not to bring chocolate chip cookies to cookie swaps? I always thought this was an odd rule, since a good chocolate chip cookie is my favorite dessert in the world.

Honestly, I'm not crazy about traditional Christmas cookies. I know, I'm crazy. :wacko:
Those traditional Italian cookies everyone makes at Christmas are just ok to me. And they are a lot of work, maybe I'm making them wrong?

And I'm not a huge spritz cookie person either. I finally bought a spritz gun because everyone was raving about them last year but I haven't used it yet.

I do love Pfeffernusse and Gingerbread cookies though. Yummy and even better because I only eat them this time of year.
 
I make my childhood favorite spritz (I found a great deal on a 1974 Wear-Ever Super Shooter last year which allowed me to bring these cookies into my lineup; every other brand I tried ended up at Goodwill due to poor performance), kolacky, cut-out cookies, and yes, chocolate chip (though I agree these aren't really holiday cookies). Some years I make gingerbread, but I don't have time this year. I have been known to throw in some almond balls, too, which my mother always made for xmas.
 
Made secret kiss cookies yesterday. I have tried searching for our gal from Sweden's recipe for goto/Goran cookies now that I have an iron, but can't find her post? Steve K? Taxlafy?
 
If krumkakar are Christmas cookies, made a bat h today. Eggs weighed 200 grams, ditto for flour and sugar. Butter was 125 gr, whipped cream, before being whipped was 250 gr. Didn't weigh brandy, vanilla extract, lemon zest or cardamon. Made 7 doz. Used my favorite soup spoon and mastered rolling 2 at a time on the Elders' electric 2 at a time krumkakar iron. Still took over two hours. Tomorrow, Goro!
 
One of our new neighbors shared with me
Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.
She had brought over a dozen or so of those
cutties and DH said that he liked them
better than my recipe :ermm:
It says to bake for 10 minutes...
it didn't seem done in the center,
so I cooked them for an additional
4 minutes.
WRONG!
Very crisp and hard, dang it!
I'll try it again and FOLLOW
the directions this time :rolleyes:

I did that the first time I made oatmeal cookies. DH said they were like Clay Pigeons they use for target practice. LOL
 
Haaa...surprise surprise, even I actually have a contribution here.

This recipe was given to me many years ago by my SIL who also hated to bake, and I've made them many times because even I can't mess them up. They're really delicious and sometimes I even make them other times of the year.

Bunnie's Noel Bars

2 Tbs butter
1/3 C flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 C packed brown sugar
1 C chopped pecans
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Powdered sugar

In a 9x9 pan, melt the butter. In a bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. With a mixing spoon, stir in the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and nuts. Mix well. Carefully spoon the batter over the melted butter in the pan. Do not stir.
Bake at 350F for 20-25 min. Sift powdered sugar over the top, and turn out onto a board while still warm. Dust on more powdered sugar and cut into bars or squares.
 
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Traditionally, we have 7 cookies on the dessert table. Almost done. The Goro dough is chilling. I converted the recipe to baker's percentage and scaled it down. We'll see how that turns out.
 
Yes I been gone a while due to dead computer and No the problem isnt solved, this is a Frankenstein machine, more grave robbing then anything else. My mum didnt send me Gorån this year.

This year I am only making gingerbread and soft saffron buns and that is it.
 
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