SOFT GINGERBREAD COOKIES - more healthy

This recipe uses many more healthy ingredients, like almond butter, applesauce, and whole wheat flour.

(From AcoupleCooks.com) 

Yield: approximately 2 doz.

In medium bowl, vigorously whisk to combine:

     1 egg

     ½ cup brown sugar

     ¼ cup molasses

     ¼ cup almond butter

     2 Tbs butter, melted

     2 Tbsp applesauce

Add and combine until well blended:

     2 tsp ground ginger

     1 tsp cinnamon

     2 tsp allspice

     ¼ tsp kosher salt

     ½ tsp baking soda

     1 ¼ cup all purpose flour

     ½ cup whole wheat flour

Turn out onto plastic wrap, form into a rough ball, and cover with wrap. Chill at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350^OF.

Flour flat surface and rolling pin, then roll out dough to 1/4” thickness.

Cut out gingerbread men (or stars, trees, snowmen, etc.)

Place cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle with turbinado (raw) sugar

Bake about 8 minutes, until puffed and slightly firmed. Let rest on pan about 2-3 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Store covered at room temperature for several days, or freeze for several months.

BLACK CAT COOKIES

Found this on Pinterest:  Holiday Cottage http://www.holidaycottagepage.com/  

My notes are in red.

1. Combine in large bowl and beat at medium speed until well mixed:

          2 cups sugar

         1 cup butter, softened

2. Add 3 eggs, one egg at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Add 1 Tablespoon vanilla; beat until well mixed.

 

4. Combine in medium bowl:

         3 cups all-purpose flour

         ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa

         ½ tsp. baking powder

         ½ tsp. baking soda

         ½ tsp. Salt

5. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix on low speed. Increase speed and beat until well mixed.

6. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a ball; flatten to ½ inch thick. Wrap each half in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate until firm (at least 2 hours.)

7. Heat oven to 350^OF. Roll out first pack of dough on lightly floured surface to ¼ inch thickness. Cut with 2-inch round cookie cutter (biscuit cutter works well.) Place onto ungreased cookie sheet or parchment covered cookie sheet.

8. Using fingers, pinch up ears at top of each circle. Place 2 pieces of candy corn onto cookie for eyes, and one red cinnamon candy for nose (heart-shaped cinnamon candies turned upside down work well. Press tines of fork on each side below eyes to make whiskers.

9. Bake 7-9 minutes or until cookies are set. Let cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to cooling rack.

SOUR CREAM SUGAR COOKIES

My daughter, Heather, gave me this recipe.  She got it from a friend.  It is the best sour cream sugar cookie I have ever tried.

Yield: 2 to 5 dozen, depending on how thick and how big. This recipe makes a soft cookie.

Decorating is not my forte.  You can probably do much better! :)

Combine and set aside:

     6 cups flour     

     1 Tbsp. baking powder                                

     1 tsp. baking soda                  

     1 tsp. Salt

In mixer bowl combine:

     1 cup sour cream

     2 cups sugar

Add and mix well:

     1 cup shortening

     4 eggs

     1 tsp. vanilla

       

 Slowly add dry ingredients and mix well.

Chill about 15 minutes (can be longer, even overnight.)

Preheat oven to 350^o.

Shape into balls, or roll to about 1/4" to 1/2” thick and cut into shapes.

    

Bake until barely light brown on the bottom, about 

5-9 minutes. They may seem underdone, but they aren’t.

Remove from oven and transfer cookies to cooling rack.

Frost with Butter Cream frosting (see recipe in DESSERTS/SWEETS.)

PUMPKIN COOKIES WITH CARAMEL FROSTING

I found this recipe at  http://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/ but I have tweaked it just a bit.  Yield: 24 cookies (approximately 3”)

     

Cookies 

With an electric mixer, beat together:
     1 cup sugar
     1/2 cup oil

Add and blend well:
     1 tsp. milk
     1 large egg
     1 cup canned 

        pumpkin puree
     1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients:
     2 cups flour
     1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
     1/2 tsp salt
     2 tsp baking powder
     1 tsp baking soda

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until incorporated. 

Drop batter by spoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375^o F for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack with wide spatula.  Allow to cool before frosting. 

 OPTION:  Use 1 cup whole wheat flour and one cup white flour.  Still delicious and a little more healthy.

Caramel Frosting

In a medium saucepan combine:

     3 Tbsp butter

     1/4 cup heavy cream

     1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

     Pinch of salt
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil

Remove from the heat and stir in:
     1 tsp. Vanilla
     1 cup powdered sugar

Let the frosting cool to room temperature and then stir in (works best with a whisk):
     1 cup powdered sugar (more or less)

Beat on high with mixer until frosting is spreading consistency.
Spread on cooled cookies.

NOTE: The first two steps of the frosting can be made ahead and set aside. If you are doing it just the day before, it does not need to be refrigerated. Be sure to cover tightly. Just before frosting, add the remaining powdered sugar to room temperature frosting mix and beat on high as instructed.

GHOST COOKIES

Found in a local newspaper in Michigan, Ghost Cookies have been a family favorite for more than 35 years.  The original recipe came with a pattern for cutting the cookies.  I made a pattern out of poster paper, and it was tedious to cut each one with a knife.  Soon my husband delighted me with two cutters made out of tuna fish cans cut with tin snips.  Nowadays, tuna cans have a one-piece bottom.  It might work to use a taller can, cut the top half off about one or two inches down, then trim the edge so it sits flat on the counter. (See picture at the end of this post.)

 Ghost Cookies

In large saucepan, bring to low boil on medium-high heat (stir frequently):

        1 cup shortening

        2 cups Grandma’s Molasses

Let cool to room temperature. This can be done the day before.

Mix together then add to molasses mixture:

        5 cups flour

        1 tsp. baking soda

        1 tsp. grated orange peel spice or rind of 1 orange finely grated

        1/2 tsp. salt

        2 tsp. cinnamon

        1 tsp. ground cloves

        1 tsp. allspice

Chill 2 hours.

Roll out on floured surface to about 1/8” thickness.

Cut into ghost shapes using commercial ghost cookie cutters or make one from a #303 can cut with tin snips and shaped into ghost shape (oval at top; straight at bottom end - see picture below.) For smaller cookies, use a smaller can.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375^o F for 8-9 minutes. Do not over bake. If edges are brown, they are too done.

Remove to rack and cool.

Frost with white Butter Cream Frosting.

Place two chocolate chips for eyes.

YIELD:  5 dozen 3 1/2" cookies

NOTE: For a softer cookie, roll out thicker (about 1/4".)

 Ghost cookie cutter made from tuna can

BLONDIES

My daughter, Jennifer, sent this to me.  It came from the Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book.

A saucepan and a spoon are all you need to mix up these butterscotch bars.

2 cups packed brown sugar

2/3 cup butter

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 6-ounce package (1 cup) semisweet chocolate pieces

1 cup chopped nuts (our favorite is pecans, but walnuts are good too)

1. Grease a 9x13x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat brown sugar and butter over medium heat until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Cool slightly. Using a wooden spoon, stir in 3 eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Spread batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with chocolate and nuts.

2. Bake in a 350 F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Cool slightly in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars while warm; cool completely in pan.

OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

My sister, Nola, gave me this recipe many years ago, and it is my favorite oatmeal cookie.  The granola option is something I came up with.

Cookies with granola

Mix together:

          11/2 cups flour

          1 tsp. salt

          1 tsp. soda

Cream together:

          1 cup shortening

          1 cup brown sugar

Add and beat well: 

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

Blend in sifted dry ingredients

Mix in:

3 cups oats

1 1/4 cups raisins

1 cup nuts (optional)

Shape in to single layer in gallon-size Ziploc bag.  Place on a flat pan to hold bag, and refrigerate a minimum of 2 hours or freeze.*                    

Remove bag from refrigerator an then pre-heat oven to 350^o.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 350^o for about 7-10 minutes, until light brown.

OPTION: Replace the oats with granola (a kind that has oats in it.)    

*Refrigerating the dough is important for a crisper cookie. If you want soft cookies, skip this step and scoop dollops of batter onto cookie sheet. 

SWEETHEART SUGAR COOKIES

My grandson, Logan, loves sugar cookies, but my daughter, Jennifer could never find a sugar cookie recipe that she liked.  One day her son came home from kindergarten with this recipe.  He said, "Mom, we made these at school today.  Try them, they are good."  She tried them and ended her search for a sugar cookie recipe that she liked.

Place in bowl and beat until creamy:

       1 cup sugar

       3/4 cup butter

       2 eggs

       1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir in:

       2 1/2 cups flour (a little more may be needed is dough is too soft)

       1 teaspoon baking powder

       1 teaspoon salt

Cover the bowl and put in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350^o F.

Roll out dough on floured surface. Cut the dough into hearts or whatever you like.

Bake the cookies on a greased cookie sheet for 7-9 minutes.

Cool on rack.

Frost with Poured Cookie Icing or Buttercream icing from this blog.

HEATHER'S SUGAR COOKIES

This recipe came from my daughter, Heather and is a thick, softer cookie.

Mix together with fork until mixture looks like cornmeal and small peas:

           1 c shortening

           4 cups flour

Mix and add to above:

         1/2 cup milk

         2 eggs

         1 1/2 cups sugar

         1 1/2 tsp. Soda

         1/2 tsp. Almond extract

Roll out to about 1/4” thickness and cut into shapes.

Bake at 350^oF on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes.

Frost and decorate (see butter cream frosting.)

SUGAR COOKIES

I have had this recipe for decades and don't remember where I got it.

This cookie is thin and crisp.

Thoroughly cream:

         2/3 c shortening

           3/4 c sugar

           1/2 t grated orange peel

           1/2 t vanilla

Add and beat until light and fluffy:

1 egg

Stir in   1 T milk

Sift together and add to creamed mixture:

          2 c flour

            1/2 t baking powder

            1/4 t salt

Divide dough in half and chill one hour.

Roll 1/8” thick on lightly floured board or counter top.

Cut into desired shapes and bake on greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375^oF for 6-8 minutes.

YIELD: 2 doz.

Frost and decorate (see Buttercream Frosting.)

For excellent press cookies, use less flour.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Yield: 5 dozen small or 2 1/2 dozen large cookies.  This recipe makes a crisp cookie.

Combine and set aside:

        2 1/4 cups flour

        1 tsp. Baking soda

        1 tsp. Salt

In mixer bowl combine and beat together:

        1 cup CRISCO shortening

        3/4 cup brown sugar

         3/4 granulated sugar

        2 tsp. vanilla

Add: 2 eggs

Add flour mixture.

Stir in 2 cups Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate chips

Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet using a teaspoon (or 1 1/4" scoop) for small cookies, or a tablespoon (or 1 5/8" scoop) for large cookies.

Bake at 375^o for 9-11 minutes.

Remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheet about one minute before transferring cookies to cooling rack.

OPTION:  Replace 1 cup flour with 1 cup oatmeal flour.     

Place oats in blender or food processor and turn on high long enough to turn oats into flour. Store leftover flour in refrigerator.