Cookie swap!

[InLimbo]

The holidays are approaching and I thought it might be fun to have a cookie swap, right here on this board! Ok, we can't actually send eachother cookies but we can actually swap our recipes I don't know if many of you have been to a cookie swap but they are so much fun. But we can have fun here on this board too, we can all enjoy making each other's cookies from family recipes that are traditions in our own families during the holidays.
I own a baking business where we make homemade delights to order and this one is my favorites and has been in my family for many generations. We have always made these around the holidays and we have customers who order these all year long. BTW, don't limit yourself to cookies, it can be bars or whatever is your family tradition

Homemade Mini Pecan Tarts:

Dough:

3 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup shortening
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg - well beaten
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons of water

Mix flour and shortening together to form small pea size dough. add salt, sugar, egg and vinegar. Add water (make sure water is ice cold) and form into a ball. Knead a little. Pull off just enough dough to make a small ball and place in the mini muffin pan cups and shape to form a cup. This amount of dough will make 24 tarts.

Pecan Tarts:

3/4 cups of firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 tsp. pure vanilla
2/3 cups chopped pecans
1 large egg

Stir together the egg with the sugar, butter and vanilla. Stir in the pecans.
Pour around 1/2 tsp. of filling (or to top of cups) in each mini cup. Bake @ 325for 30 to 35 mins. or until dough is lightly browned.

These mini tarts are so delicious and I hope you and your family enjoy them as much as my family does! If you have any problems or questions about making them, please just let me know

[jane taylor]

What a wonderful idea, InLimbo! I will dig around in my recipe box and share, too. I absolutely LOVE to bake.

I used to make pecan tassies (similar recipe for filling, but with cream cheese in the dough) for Christmas open houses where I worked. Everyone loved them!

[lrprn]

What a wonderful idea, InLimbo! My sisters and I do a cookie/candy exchange every year together on a Saturday before Christmas. It's so much fun!

Here's one of my favorite cookie recipes that my family asks for every year -

Sugar Cookies (cut into shapes and decorated)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Mix powdered sugar, margarine, egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix in flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough into halves. Roll each half 1/4" thick on lightly floured cloth-covered board. Cut into shapes with holiday cookie cutters or 2" round cutter. Place shapes on lightly greased sheet keeping shape. Bake until edges are light brown, 6-8 minutes depending on your oven. Cool on racks or newspapers, then decorate with colored frosting, colored icing, colored sugars, sprinkles, dried fruit bits....whatever strikes your fancy. Makes about 3 dozen holiday shapes or 5 dozen 2" cookies.

These are an especially big hit with young ones in the house who love to decorate these with all kinds of frosting, icing, and sprinkles. Enjoy!

[InLimbo]

What a wonderful idea, InLimbo! My sisters and I do a cookie/candy exchange every year together on a Saturday before Christmas. It's so much fun!

Here's one of my favorite cookie recipes that my family asks for every year -

Sugar Cookies (cut into shapes and decorated)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Mix powdered sugar, margarine, egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix in flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough into halves. Roll each half 1/4" thick on lightly floured cloth-covered board. Cut into shapes with holiday cookie cutters or 2" round cutter. Place shapes on lightly greased sheet keeping shape. Bake until edges are light brown, 6-8 minutes depending on your oven. Cool on racks or newspapers, then decorate with colored frosting, colored icing, colored sugars, sprinkles, dried fruit bits....whatever strikes your fancy. Makes about 3 dozen holiday shapes or 5 dozen 2" cookies.

These are an especially big hit with young ones in the house who love to decorate these with all kinds of frosting, icing, and sprinkles. Enjoy!

These sound delicious Irprn, I can't wait to try them! My baking starts right after Thanksgiving, I already have an order for a business I bake for every year for 300 dozen tarts, 300 doz. peanut butter cookies and 30 banana nut breads, I'm gonna be a zomie by the end of that order

[InLimbo]

These sound delicious Irprn, I can't wait to try them! My baking starts right after Thanksgiving, I already have an order for a business I bake for every year for 300 dozen tarts, 300 doz. peanut butter cookies and 30 banana nut breads, I'm gonna be a zomie by the end of that order

That's 30 doz. not 300! I don't think I could survive making 300 doz.

[lrprn]

That's 30 doz. not 300! I don't think I could survive making 300 doz.

IL, I don't know how you are going to survive making 30 dozen!! Wow! That is one heck of a lot of baking - how do you do it?! With everything homemade, it all must taste so good!

[InLimbo]

IL, I don't know how you are going to survive making 30 dozen!! Wow! That is one heck of a lot of baking - how do you do it?! With everything homemade, it all must taste so good!

Well, I don't get alot of sleep during the holidays lol. Around Thanksgiving and Chrsitmas, I have other orders (I've had 8 cakes to do in one night among other orders) that need to be gotten to the customers the day before the holiday and that my friend is called an all nighter! My mom helps me so that is the ONLY way I can get through the 30 doz., all the other orders and keep my sanity
Baking is exhausting, especially with my daytime job I have and it makes it harder to fill the orders, but there's just something about baking for someone and hearing how they enjoyed it with their family that makes it all worth the effort, plus you gotta love to bake. Yes, homemade is so delicious, there is just nothing to compare it to in the stores.

[miss puff]

cookies???? Count me in!!!

[CAB_44]

Molasses Crinkles~
My sons favorite!! These are SOO good just out of the oven...on a cold day with hot spiced cider!!
1 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C butter softened
1/4 C shortening
1/4 C molasses
1 egg
2 C all purpose flour
2 tspn. baking soda
1 tspn. ground cinnamon
1 tspn. ground ginger
1/2 tspn.ground cloves
1/4 tspn. salt
granulated sugar
Mix brown sugar, butter, shortening, molasses and egg in a medium bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except granulated sugar. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour but no longer than 24 hours.
Heat oven to 375* Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls; roll in granulated sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-11 minutes or just until set. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet.
3 dozen cookies...
note: try not to make these on a rainy day...or very humid...they don't bake up as well! At least not here in Oklahoma!!

[InLimbo]

Cab, those sound absolutely delicious! Can't wait to try them

[lrprn]

I'm definitely trying these this year, CAB44 - what a good recipe! Thanks!

[miss puff]

Has anyone ever heard of "snowball" cookies?
My grandma used to make them and I loved them and my mom doesn't even remember them . Someone said it kind of sounded like a russian tea cake but I don't think I have ever heard of them. Anyone?

[InLimbo]

Miss Puff, I have heard of them but I don't personally make them. If no-one else can provide a recipe, I'm sure I can find one for you.

[Kam]

Oh man, I remember one Christmas where I made chocolate eclairs, strawberry cream puffs, chocolate truffles, five cheese cakes, three pumpkin pies, a gingerbread house, banana bread, zucchini bread AND a couple dozen of cookies! I barely had enough energy to prepare the meal for Christmas!

[Kam]

Title: Russian Tea Cakes (Snowballs)
Categories: Cookies, Tried
Yield: 4 dozen

1 c Soft butter
1/2 c Sifted confectioners' sugar
1 t Vanilla
2 1/4 c Sifted All-purpose flour
1/4 t Salt
3/4 c Nuts, finely chopped
Extra sifted confectioner's
Sugar for covering cookies

Mix the butter, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla, thoroughly
together. Sift and stir in the flour, and salt. Then mix in nuts.

Chill dough. Roll into 1 inch balls. place on ungreased baking sheet
(cookies do not spread). Bake until set, but not brown. While still
warm, roll in confectioner's sugar. Cool. Roll in sugar again.

Temperature: 400F (mod hot oven). Time: Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Amount:
About 4 dozen, 1 1/2 inch cookies.

NOTE: When rolling dough into balls, use a light touch, and do not
handle very long. The dough will get hard, and become almost
rock-like after baking if you over-handle.