Christmas Cookie Baking

My all-time favorite family tradition is cooking baking with my mom’s side of the family the Friday after Thanksgiving. While others are out fighting crowds in shopping malls, we women (me, when I am home, my grandma, my mom, my two aunts, my sister-in-law, my mom’s cousin and my cousin’s wife) are pumping out hundreds of dozens of Christmas cookies in a day. We have been doing this for almost 2 decades now and have gone through a lot of cookie recipes. Today I am going to share with you a few of the recipes that have stood the test of time and are some favorites for our family.

Peanut Blossoms
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter chips
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup finely shopped nuts (optional)
granulated sugar
1 bag (9 ounces) Hershey’s Chocolate Kisses

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In saucepan over low heat, place butter and peanut butter chips; heat; stirring constantly, until melted.
3. Pour mixture into large mixer bowl; add brown sugar, eggs and vanilla, beating until well-blended.
4. Stir in flour, baking soda and nuts, blending well.
5. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar, place on ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately place unwrapped chocolate piece on top of each cookie, pressing down so cookie cracks around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to cool.

Cowboy Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable shortening
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup sifted flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 6 ounce bag of chocolate chips (almost 3 cups)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
1. Cream both sugars, shortening and eggs.
2. Mix in remaining ingredients.
3. Bake 13 minutes at 350 degrees

Chocolate Amaretto Balls
Ingredients
3 (6 ounces) packages chocolate morsels
1 (14 ounces) can sweetened condensed milk
3 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Finely chopped almonds (nuts)

Directions
1. In heavy saucepan over low heat, melt morsels with condensed milk.
2. Remove from heat. Stir in amaretto and almond extract.
3. Chill two hours. Shape into ¾ inch balls. Roll in nuts. Chill until firm.
4. Store at room temperature in tightly covered container.

Peanut Butter Temptations
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
10 ounces of mini peanut butter cups.
mini muffin cups

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cream butter, peanut butter and both sugars.
3. Beat in egg and vanilla.
4. Blend in flour and baking soda.
5. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place in ungreased 1½ inch muffin tins with mini muffin cups.
6. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes or until slightly browned.
7. Immediately after removing from oven, press a mini peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie, until only the top of the peanut butter cup shows. Let cool in pan.

Those are just a few of the selections.  Here is a plate with some of the final products.  If you see something there you would like the recipe for, let me know in the comments and I will send you the recipe.

Enjoy,

Team Dinners Overseas

Today I thought I would throw a couple recipes at you while I share about cooking for my husband’s teammates when we are overseas.  Something we really enjoy doing is having his teammates over a couple of times a season for a big meal.  And we try to make it a meal of food that their culture normally wouldn’t cook.  So we are often steered towards a Thanksgiving-type meal.

Today I thought I would share a couple of recipes that I use when I cook those big meals that otherwise don’t usually make the dinner rotation.

Meal Plan:

Turkey
We usually buy the largest turkey we can fit into our oven. One thing that has helped cook more turkey in the oven is to have the butcher remove the legs, so they don’t prevent us from getting the turkey in the oven because it is too wide. The legs can then be put somewhere else on the roasting pan. Then I slather it with olive oil and cook it breast side down in an oven bag (if I remember to pack them). We rarely have much turkey left over!

Mashed Potatoes
I use Pioneer Woman’s Mashed Potatoes recipe not only because it is SO good, but because I can make them a day or so before. I usually make two large pans of these and they are gone in about 20 minutes!

Stuffing
Again, I go with Pioneer Woman’s Thanksgiving Stuffing recipe. I use this cornbread recipe and go with whatever local bread looks the best. Joe is not big into stuffing, but he likes this one. And it is the best leftover stuffing I have ever had.

Macaroni and Cheese
It is back to Pioneer Woman once again for her Macaroni and Cheese. Last year in Italy, the Italians really liked this because it was very different from any pasta they make in Italy.

Baked Pineapple
This is a very easy recipe I got from my cousin’s wife.

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
cinnamon
1 can pineapple crushed

Directions
1. Beat 3 eggs.
2. Mix in butter, cornstarch and sugar. Stir in can of pineapple.
3. Pour into 9×9 pan and sprinkle top with cinnamon.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Other Veggies
I will usually steam up some green beans and corn as well, but no one is usually that interested in eating veggies at these meals!

Carrot Cake
The last two teams Joe has played on have been in Italy and the Italians have gone nuts over carrot cake. I use this recipe from Tasty Kitchen and his teammates can finish off two pans easily.

Nutella Cheesecake Brownies
These are always a big hit too. I am thankful Maria introduced me to these a few years ago!

Swedish Apple Pie
One of Joe’s teammates that he has played with the last two years always requests Swedish Apple Pie and I use this recipe from All Recipes.

What are your go-to recipes when you have a big crowd of people over?