Meringue Cookies

I love these simple meringue cookies

you can make for any occasion.

I make them at Christmas,

but they would also look pretty with

pastel sprinkles at Easter.

Meringue Cookies

4 egg whites

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar

pinch of salt

1 cup sugar

sprinkles

Preheat oven to 250-degrees.

Line cookie sheets with

non-stick foil.

In a large mixing bowl,

beat egg whites, cream of tartar,

salt and vanilla on medium.

Beat until mixture forms

soft peaks like this.

Turn mixer to high and

slowly add the sugar.

Beat until the mixture

forms stiff peaks like this:

Drop by heaping teaspoon onto the foiled cookie sheets.

Place about 2 inches apart,

and add sprinkles or colored sugar.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Cool for three minutes before

removing from cookie sheet

and allow to cool.

They will be hard to the touch,

but soft on the inside.

When cooled, these cookies are crispy on the outside

and deliciously chewy on the inside.

Warning: They are addicting!

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

My sister-in-law Mary Jo gifted

us with these delicious pretzels one

Christmas and we've been making them

ever since.

These are fast, easy, fun and

NO BAKING!

I buy melting chocolate at our

local cake decorating supply store,

but you can use regular chocolate chips.

Line a deep bowl with waxed paper

to save on clean-up later.

Fill with white or dark chocolate chips and

microwave on high for one minute.

Stir thoroughly and microwave for

another 15-seconds.

Stir again.

Continue this process at 15-second intervals

until chocolate is smooth like this.

(Do NOT microwave for longer than 15-second intervals!)

I have burned the entire batch by being impatient

and destroyed expensive chocolate.

Set out long strips of waxed paper on your kitchen table.

I buy these braided twists at Sam's club,

but you can use smaller, shaped pretzels, too.

Dip each pretzel halfway into the chocolate

then plop onto the waxed paper.

While still melty,

add your favorite holiday sprinkles.

Your kids will LOVE to help

dip and sprinkle...

even teenagers!

These easy dipped pretzels make

great teacher gifts...just package in

festive bags and tie with a ribbon.

Powdered Nut Balls

These Christmas cookies are

a traditional favorite.

Powdered Nut Balls

1 cup softened butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400-degrees.

Cream butter, vanilla and powdered sugar together

in a large mixing bowl.

In a smaller bowl, whisk

the salt together with the flour

then slowly beat into the butter mixture.

Stir the nuts in with a spoon.

Chill the dough for an hour,

then roll into one inch balls

and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 9-11 minutes.

While cookies are still warm from the oven,

roll in powdered sugar.

Cool on a paper towel...

Then re-roll them in powdered sugar.

I think these cookies look like

little snowballs.

A pretty cookie for the holidays!

Sugar Cookies

This versatile dough can be used to make

a variety of Christmas cookies.

They're also the

BEST Dang Cookies in the World!

I wrote about them and shared the

method on my other blog.

Christmas Sugar Cookies

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter- 1 1/2 sticks

2 large egg yolks

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. almond extract

Chill dough for several hours or overnight.

(see other blog for more details)

Here are some ways to use this

dough to create a variety

of Christmas cookies.

Preheat oven to 325-degrees

Warm some of the chilled dough by

squeezing in your hands.

Roll it into a log about 1 inch in diameter.

Divide the log and roll some in

colored sugar.

Some can be rolled in chopped nuts.

This is my daughter's favorite Christmas cookie.

I make the nut variety just for her.

Cut these logs into cookies.

Bake for 8 minutes.

Do not over-bake.

I like NO color on the bottom.

For another variety,

roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick.

I like to make Christmas cookies small,

so everyone can taste all the different kinds.

I use a square shot glass as

a cookie cutter.

You can place the cookies close

together on the cookie sheet because

as you can see by these done cookies,

they do not rise or spread.

Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Lay out long strips of waxed paper on your

kitchen table or counter.

Stack cooled cookies and gather

your favorite Christmas sprinkles.

I buy white and milk melting chocolate at our

local cake supply store,

but you can use regular chocolate chips, too.

Line a deep, micro-wave safe bowl with waxed paper.

This saves on clean up later.

Add chocolate chips.

Microwave on high for one minute.

It will look a bit melty.

Stir thoroughly.

Place back in the microwave

for 15-seconds.

Stir again.

Do NOT heat for longer than 15 second intervals.

Chocolate burns fast and once it burns,

your entire batch of expensive chocolate in ruined.

(Ugh! I have burned it by being impatient.)

Continue heating at 15-second intervals

until the chocolate is smooth.

It takes 2-4 rounds and will look like this:

Dip the cookies halfway into the melted chocolate.

Lay the dipped cookie onto the waxed paper.

Dip about ten, then add your favorite sprinkles.

The kids LOVE to help with this.

Older kids can help with the dipping, too.

I do both white and milk chocolate.

One dough creates a festive

array of DELICIOUS

Christmas cookies!

Cherry Chip Cookies

This is a holiday spin on the traditional

Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

You can use the semi-sweet chips,

but I prefer the white chocolate chips

for Christmas cookies.

You can also add 1 cup of chopped nuts.

Cherry Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 large eggs

12 oz. pkg of white chocolate chips

16 oz. tub of candied red cherries

Preheat oven to 350-degrees

In a medium sized mixing bowl,

whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In a large mixing bowl,

Cream together the butter, sugar

and brown sugar.

Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

Gradually beat in the flour mixture.

With a spoon,

stir in the white chocolate chips.

These candied cherries are available in your

grocery produce section during the holidays.

Chop half of the cherries in the tub

into fourths.

Cut the rest of the cherries in half and set aside.

This is STICKY!

Stir the chopped cherries into the dough.

Drop rounded tablespoons of

the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet,

and bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.

When they're warm from the oven,

press a half cherry into the center of

each cookie.

These look like Christmas to me,

and are MY favorite cookie

during the holidays!