An Amish Country Christmas
Page 28
Jumbles
These drop cookies are best described as a lot of “stuff ” held together with a little dough. I bake them year-round, but for Christmas I use red and green M&Ms.
1 stick butter or margarine
½ C. sugar
¼ C. packed brown sugar
1 egg
1¼ C. flour
½ tsp. baking soda
2 C. M&Ms (mini baking chips OR regular-size candies)
1 C. raisins
1 C. chopped peanuts
Preheat the oven to 350°. Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper. Cream the butter and sugars until fluffy, then mix in the egg. Add the dry ingredients and then stir in the candies, raisins, and peanuts. Drop by rounded tablespoons, about 2 inches apart. Bake 10–12 minutes, or until firm. Cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack. Makes about 30.
Hidden Treasure Cookies
This has become one of my favorite recipes over the years because I never tire of biting into one of these frosted cookies to discover that hidden chocolate mintiness inside. I triple the ingredients to make about 8 dozen, so I don’t run short. If you tint the frosting bright pink, yellow, or green before pressing them into jimmies or sanding sugar, they’ll really stand out on a cookie tray.
½ C. sugar
¼ C. packed brown sugar
¼ C. shortening (Crisco, for instance)
¼ C. butter or margarine, softened
½ tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 C. flour
½ tsp. baking soda
About 2½ doz. Andes mints, unwrapped
Preheat oven to 350°. Mix the sugars, shortening, butter, vanilla and egg in large bowl. Add the flour and soda. Shape a tablespoon of dough around each mint, covering the corners and pressing together any cracks in the dough. (Be patient! It’s worth it!) Place the cookies about 2” apart on baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Bake 8–9 minutes or until barely golden brown. Cool on wire rack.
Frosting : 1 C. powdered sugar, 1 T. plus 1 or 2 tsp. milk, ¼ tsp. vanilla or almond extract, plus food color, if you want. (You can also use the buttercream recipe included in this section.) Frost the centers of the cookies and press into jimmies, sanding sugar, etc. to decorate them. 1 batch makes about 2 dozen.
Gingersnaps
I love to bite into a cookie and have it bite me back, spice-wise! These soft, chewy molasses cookies are easy to mix ahead and then chill until you have time to bake.
¾C. butter
1 C. sugar
1 egg
¼C. molasses
2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 T. cinnamon
½ tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ginger
extra sugar
Cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg and molasses. Mix in the dry ingredients and spices until well blended, wrap the dough in wax paper, and chill until you’re ready to bake. Preheat the oven to 375°. Roll the dough into 1¼-inch balls and then roll in sugar. Place 2” apart on the cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes for a soft cookie, slightly longer for a crisp cookie. Makes about 3½ dozen.
Kitchen Hint: For a sophisticated presentation, I like to roll one edge of a cooled cookie in melted white chocolate and then quickly roll it in raw sugar or holly-berry jimmies. Let dry on wax paper.
Cream Cheese Macaroons
My mother loved coconut, and these were her favorite cookies. If cream cheese and coconut isn’t enough yumminess for you, add a cup of M&M mini baking chips for variety.
C. butter
1 3-oz. pkg. cream cheese (full fat), softened
¾C. sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. almond extract
2 tsp. Triple Sec, other liqueur, or rum flavoring
1¼. C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
14-oz. pkg. of coconut, divided
Cream the butter, cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, and flavorings. Mix in the flour and baking powder, and then 3 C. of the coconut. Chill dough at least an hour (or, it will keep for a few days in the fridge).
Preheat oven to 325°. Shape dough into 1” balls and roll them in remaining coconut, pressing it in. Bake on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper for 15 minutes, or until barely starting to brown. Cool on the sheet for a minute, and carefully remove to a wire rack.
Kitchen Hint: Use good-quality, moist coconut for this, and use full-fat cream cheese or the cookies won’t hold together right. If you don’t find bags of the mini M&M baking chips in the baking aisle, look for tubes of them at the check-out counter.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
I made the mistake of not baking these one Christmas, and when my niece searched her cookie bucket and found none, Aunt Charlotte heard about it! A soft, yummy cookie beloved by those who can’t have chocolate.
1 C. butter-flavored Crisco
1 C. peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
1 C. sugar
1 C. brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 C. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
extra sugar
18 oz. jar of jelly/jam (see hint)
Preheat the oven to 350°. Cream the Crisco, peanut butter and the sugars, then mix in the eggs and vanilla until well blended. Add the flour and baking soda. Roll dough into 1” balls and then roll in the extra sugar to coat them. Place balls on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, and bake about 7–8 minutes (don’t overbake!). Cool. Match pairs of cookies so they fit, then spread the flat side of one with jelly and press the flat side of the other cookie to form a sandwich. Allow jelly to dry before stacking in a storage container. Freezes well.
Kitchen Hint: I’ve used a lot of red jams/jellies and they each add their own special tartness or sweetness. Red plum is my favorite, but cherry is tasty and so is raspberry. Be aware that with strawberry jam, the chunks make the sandwiches harder to press together.
Brown Sugar Date Drops
Mom used to stir these up, and the aroma of the brown sugar and cooked dates made the house smell divine. A really moist, chewy cookie.
1 C. margarine or butter, softened
2 C. brown sugar
½ C. buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
3½ C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
Filling
2 C. chopped dates
¾ C. sugar
¾ C. water
Preheat the oven to 375°. For the dough, cream the margarine /butter with the sugar, then add the buttermilk and the dry ingredients. Set aside and make the filling: place the dates, sugar and water in a medium pan on the stove and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. To form each cookie, drop 1 T. dough, spread slightly with the back of the spoon, then drop on a tsp. of the filling and top with another tsp. of dough. Bake 10 minutes, or until firm. Cool a minute or so on the pan before transferring to a rack to cool completely. About 4 dozen.
Kitchen Hint: Don’t have buttermilk? Measure 1 T. vinegar or lemon juice into a measuring cup and then pour the milk to the ½ C. mark. Stir and let it sit until it thickens.
Shortbread Jelly Bites
Here’s a versatile shortbread cookie you can fill with any flavor of jelly or jam you prefer. I like this recipe because by baking the jelly filling (rather than adding it after you bake), you make the cookie much easier to freeze, ship, etc. I’ve nicknamed these “jelly eyes” because they’re so perfect and round with shiny centers!
1 C. softened butter (no substitutions)
C. sugar
½ tsp. almond extract
2 C. flour
to ½ C. jelly or seedless jam
Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the extract and gradually add the flour until the dough forms a ball. Wrap the dough in wax paper and chill at least an hour, or up to 3 or 4 days, if that’s more conv
enient.
Preheat oven to 350°. Roll dough into 1” balls. Place balls on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and carefully make an indentation in the centers with the end of a wooden spoon. Fill with jelly, and bake 12–14 minutes or until firm (I don’t let mine get even slightly brown). Cool on a rack.
For a decorative variation, make a glaze of 1 C. powdered sugar, 2–3 tsp. milk, and ½ tsp. almond extract. Tint with paste coloring, if you like. Carefully spoon the glaze into a pastry bag with a small round tip and then zigzag the glaze over the tops of the cooled cookies.
Kitchen Hint: When I’m making the indentations in the dough balls, I “wiggle” the wooden spoon a bit so the top of the indention is wider—but don’t let the dough crack. Then I spoon the jelly into a pastry bag with a large round tip and squeeze it into the holes before baking, to keep the jelly nice and neat.
Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Here’s another great bar that starts with a cake mix—which means the flavor variations on this recipe are endless! The cream cheese filling keeps them moist and chewy.
1 lemon cake mix
2 eggs
C. oil
8 oz. bar of cream cheese, softened
C. sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice or ReaLemon
Colored sugars, jimmies, etc. if desired
Preheat the oven to 350°. Mix the dry cake mix, one of the eggs and the oil until the mixture’s crumbly. Reserve a cup for topping, and firmly pat the rest of the dough into a sprayed 9 x 13” pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile beat the cream cheese, sugar, the remaining egg and the lemon juice until smooth. Spread over the baked layer, and then sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture. Sprinkle with colored sugar or jimmies, if desired, and bake 15 minutes longer. Cool in the pan before cutting.
Kitchen Hint: I have also used a chocolate cake mix and sprinkled on nuts; strawberry cake mix and sprinkled with mini M&Ms; coconut cake mix and sprinkled it with chopped macadamia nuts. The possibilities are only limited by your taste and imagination!
Chocolate Mint Drop Sugar Cookies
Here’s a minty surprise in a firm, sweet cookie. I’m disappointed some years when I can’t find mint chocolate chips, but butterscotch chips (or Hershey Special Dark chips) make a tasty replacement.
1 C. sugar
¾ C. oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2½ C. flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
1 10-oz. bag of mint chocolate chips
Extra sugar
Preheat the oven to 350°. In the mixer bowl, blend the sugar with the oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add in the flour and baking powder, then stir in the chips. Shape rounded spoonfuls into balls and roll in the extra sugar. Place balls on cookie sheets that have been covered with parchment paper and bake 8–10 minutes. Cool for a minute on the pan before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. About 5 dozen.
Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
This recipe comes from Lovina Eicher’s “The Amish Cook” column (now featured on a Facebook page called “The Amish Cook from Oasis Newsfeatures”) and it’s indescribably soft and chocolate and wonderful with a marshmallow surprise beneath the rich cocoa frosting.
1 C. shortening (Crisco, for instance)
2 C. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
4 C. flour
1 tsp. each baking soda and salt
C. cocoa powder
1 C. thick sour milk or buttermilk
36 big marshmallows, cut in half
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside. Beat together the shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Add flour mixture alternately with the sour milk. Drop batter by spoonful onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes. Top each cookie with a marshmallow half and return to oven for 2 minutes to soften. Cool completely.
Frosting
6 T. butter or margarine, melted
¼ C. cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
3½ C. powdered sugar
5–6 T. milk
Combine all ingredients and beat together until smooth. Spread over tops of cooled cookies, covering marshmallows.
Kitchen Hint: To make sour milk, place 1 T. lemon juice or vinegar in measuring cup. Fill with milk to make one cup. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes until thick and lumpy.
Lemon Apricot Sandwiches
Soft, chewy, creamy, fruity . . . this cookie has it all! And because it begins with a cake mix, you can create lots of different flavor combinations.
1 lemon cake mix
½ C. oil
2 eggs
Sugar
Jar of apricot fruit spread or jelly
Buttercream frosting (recipe included earlier)
Preheat the oven to 350° and cover cookie sheets with parchment paper. Mix the cake mix with the oil and eggs until well blended. Roll the dough into 1" balls and then roll the balls in sugar. Place about an inch apart and flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass. Bake about 8 minutes, until just firm, and then cool for a minute on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack.
To make the sandwiches, match up cookies by size and spread the flat side of one with the apricot spread, the flat side of the other with buttercream. Press together. Let set for a while before storing. Freezes well.
Cherry Coconut Drops
Sometimes the simplest cookies can be the best! Here’s a moist, chewy macaroon made with colorful candied cherries and only five ingredients. No mixer needed.
2 7-oz. bags of flaked coconut
4 T. cornstarch
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 C. chopped candied cherries (mix red and green for
the prettiest cookie!)
Preheat the oven to 325° and line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, stir the coconut and cornstarch together, then stir in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, and stir in the cherries last. Drop dough onto the prepared baking sheets by rounded spoonfuls, about an inch apart. Bake for 12–14 minutes, until just starting to brown on the bottom and edges. Cool on the baking sheets for at least a minute before transferring to wire racks. Store/freeze in layers separated by waxed paper. 4 dozen.
Candy and Fudge
Peanut Clusters
A Christmas classic at our house. This is my mom’s recipe.
1 package almond bark
1 12-oz bag of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate (a square, chopped, or a pre-melted pkg.)
24 oz. (or larger!) container of dry roasted peanuts
Coarsely chop the almond bark into chunks and melt in a microwave or crockery pot with the chocolate chips and the unsweetened chocolate, stirring until smooth. Stir in the peanuts. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax-paper-lined cookie sheets, allowing space for the clusters to spread. Cool completely. Devour.
Kitchen Hint: For a variation, use mixed nuts. This is one recipe you don’t want to make “healthier” by using unsalted nuts. The salt cuts the sweetness and makes them irresistible.
Peppermint Bark
This is the easiest candy on the face of the earth, and a refreshing, crunchy addition to a goody tray.
1 package almond bark
1½ pounds of unwrapped peppermint starlight mints OR ¾ lb. each of peppermint and spearmint starlights
Melt the chunked-up almond bark in a microwave or crockery cooker, stirring now and again until smooth. Meanwhile, place the unwrapped candies in a large resealable plastic bag, lay on top of a towel, and pound carefully with a hammer until all the mints are broken into coarse chunks. (Yes, the bag will get little holes in it. Helps to turn the bag over now and again.). Stir the crushed candies into the melted bark. Line a 10 x 17" pan with wax paper, then pour the hot candy into it and quickly spread it into a fairly even layer. Cool completely. Break into serving pieces. Store covered, in a p
lastic or wax-paper-lined container, in a cool, dry place. No need to refrigerate, but you can.
Pistachio Cranberry Bark
This is a close cousin to the peppermint bark, but in a salty-sweet-crunchy league by itself.
1 package almond bark
1 bag dried cranberries
1 C. semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
2 C. shelled, salted pistachios
Chop the bark into chunks and melt in the microwave or a crockery cooker, stirring until smooth. Line a 10 x 17” baking pan with waxed paper. Stir the cranberries and pistachios into the bark and pour the hot mixture onto the wax paper. Sprinkle on the chocolate chips and swirl the chocolate as you spread the candy into an even layer (use a cake spatula). Cool completely, then break into chunks. Store in a plastic- or wax-paper-lined container in a cool, dry place.