Cookie Recipes

Traditions and Recipes #6

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Sometimes you look at a recipe in a book or online and know it’s one you want to try. Other times you get the chance to try something at a get together and have to have the recipe to add to your collection. But there are times when a great recipe finds you out of necessity. Today’s recipe is like that.

My co-workers have always gotten to benefit from my love of baking. I can’t have all those cookies and sweets in my house. So, I bake them and take them to work with me. Then, people started requesting special orders and my baking hobby became a hobby business.

While hosting a shower for her sister, my co-worker Autumn made one such request. Snickerdoodles are a favorite of hers, and she wanted them made to look like sand dollars. I agreed, but I didn’t make Snickerdoodles. I didn’t have a tried and true recipe to use even though Snickerdoodles have always been a popular Christmas cookie.

With no recipe and a deadline looming, I hit the internet. I scoured site after site reading reviews to determine my best option. That’s when I found this recipe. It really is the best. Try it. I think you’ll agree. snickerdoodles

Traditions and Recipes #5

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There are hundreds of great Christmas traditions to choose from. Just the act of gift giving consists of more traditions than a single family could incorporate into their Christmas celebration. Some people let their children make huge lists and attempt to give them everything on it. Others choose the three gift method. One gift they need, one gift they want, and one gift to read or wear. Some open one gift on Christmas Eve, and some families open all their gifts that night. There is also the tradition of secret siblings enjoyed by many families.

Each of these traditions is wonderful. They bring their own special twist to the Christmas season. But the tradition that works for my family may not fit your family. That’s okay. We have to incorporate the things that work without allowing ourselves to feel guilty for leaving the ones that don’t to other families. Our celebrations don’t have to be just like everyone else’s.

It’s with this in mind that I chose today’s recipe. It’s a traditional gingerbread cookie recipe. I used to make it every year, but I found my family didn’t enjoy them. The ones I left for my own family would go stale before they could be eaten. It’s a great recipe, and they always turned out like they were supposed to. My family just didn’t like gingerbread. Maybe yours does.gingerbread

Traditions and Recipes #4

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Where I work food preferences are serious business. No, I do not work in a bakery or restaurant. I work in a doctor’s office. But bring a plate of sweets into the break room, and everyone suddenly turns into top rated food critics!

So far I’ve learned my team leader likes brownies but just the edge pieces. Everyone seems to like chewy chocolate chip cookies that are crispy around the edge. One of our nurse practitioners likes oatmeal raisin cookies, only she doesn’t like the raisins. So, I guess it’s really an oatmeal cookie. One lady in the billing office doesn’t like cake. She prefers pie. And one of the first things I learned was Rice Krispie treats are best when made the traditional way, no chocolate cereal or fun add-ins are wanted.

It’s these individual preferences that have inspired today’s recipe. Last week I shared the first sugar cookie recipe I ever used. Today I’m sharing an alternate recipe. These cookies are for those who like chewy sugar cookies. I’ve never tried to roll them out and cut them. So, I don’t know how or if they will work for that. I usually use a cookie scoop for a nice, round cookie. They can be frosted after cooling or sprinkled with festive colored sugar before they go in the oven.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. And if you don’t, you may prefer the one I posted last week!

cookies

Traditions and Recipes #3

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recipe2From the time I was in fifth grade I was responsible to get dinner started for our family each night. I didn’t mind this task, but I didn’t love it either. It wasn’t until my freshman year in high school that I realized I could love being in the kitchen. And it was a home economics class that awakened that enjoyment in me.

I remember Mrs. Foster. She is still one of my favorite teachers. She taught us to make poppy seed chicken, taco salad, and baked Alaska that year. She impressed on us the importance of knowing how to properly carry out the instructions in each recipe. And she unknowingly introduced me to the recipe that helped start my tradition of Christmas baking.

Sugar cookies are a staple on many Christmas cookie lists. There’s a local bakery that makes a chewy-type sugar cookie with granulated sugar as its base. People love those cookies. But when I was growing up, the original local bakery in our town had their own sugar cookies. Their recipe was for the more cake-type sugar cookie that uses powdered sugar as its base. These  were a favorite with the kids I grew up with, and I was thrilled to learn how to make them in food class that year.

Perfect for cutting into holiday shapes, this recipe is one I use every year. I don’t always get around to decorating them, but that’s okay. The almond extract in the recipe gives the cookies enough flavor without frosting.

Whether frosted or plain, every time I make these cookies I remember when I first fell in love with baking. And that memory is a special gift I’ll keep forever. I hope you enjoy the recipe and come back next Friday for the chewy sugar cookie recipe!Sugar Cookies

Traditions and Recipes #2

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recipe2I started collecting the yearly holiday baking books in the mid to late nineties. I would occasionally buy the regular magazine type, but my favorites have always been the little ones that feel more like paper back books. They don’t take up much room, and they’re sturdy.

At first these were put out by Land O Lands, Pillsbury, and Gold Medal Flour. Then, as cooking magazines gained popularity Taste of Home added to the yearly offerings. I’ve weeded out a few magazines through the years, but only the ones I didn’t use as many recipes from.

Today’s recipe comes from a book I no longer have, but the cookie has remained on my yearly baking list since the first year I made it in the late nineties or early 2000s. I’ve had people request these many times, and one did so even after she got the recipe from me. She said she couldn’t get hers to turn out like mine. I think, maybe, she just didn’t want to put the work into it when someone else could do it!

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I have! Happy Baking!

recipe3