[Anita]

While thinking about organizing a cookie swap with some friends and family (thanks to the idea from MomCook here on the boards) ... I was thinking it'd be cool to do something online along these lines. So, I came up with a Virtual Cookie Swap. Just because we can't physically swap the cookies ... why not virtually swap the recipes?

Pick one of your favorite holiday cookie recipes, grab the recipe and post it here in a reply to this post. (Or many recipes!) If you happen to have a picture of the cookies that'd be even better ... post that too!

For those of you who have difficulty posting pictures.
Simply use this code:

[Anita]

I edited the above post to include information about contact details.

Let me know if you have any more ideas!

Happy Holidays!

Anita
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[Anita]

Attention Non-Members: I have temporarily made it so non-members may reply to this post only. However, if you'd like to start any new posts or post anywhere else on the boards, you will need to register. I do this simply to keep out the spammers

Edited to Add: You may want to also include your email address so I can reach you once the ebook is completed too

Happy Holidays!
Anita
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[Guest]

This recipe is really versatile. You can really make it your own by adding your favorite ingredients! We love to make ours with a bit more peanut butter than the recipe lists, but play around and find what you like the best.

½ cup butter, room temp
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/8 cup vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups peanut butter (use crunchy for extra texture)
1 tsp baking soda
4 ½ cups oatmeal

Add-ins should equal 1 -2 cups total:

chocolate chips
white chocolate chips
butterscotch chips
PB chips
M&M’s
Reese’s Pieces
Nuts (walnuts, peanuts, pecans)
Raisins
Cranberrys (or Craisins)

Preheat oven to 350.
In mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars until blended. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until combined.
Add Peanut Butter and baking soda. Beat until combined.
Slowly add oatmeal. Blend in as much as you can with mixer and fold in the rest by hand along with your choice of Add-ins.
Drop on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes until light brown and just set around edges. Cool on counter. Store in tupperware with slice of bread (not touching cookies) to keep soft and chewy for a few days.

Deanna Gibbons
Kids Read Barefoot
www.KidsReadBarefoot.com[/img]

[wonderfully_made]

I don't have a name for these! These are the cookies that my Great Aunt would send to me at college when she was in her late 80s!

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 10 minutes Serves: 12+
Can be frozen in a cookie tin with cookies wrapped in wax paper

Ingredients:
1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 bag of peanut butter chips

1. Mix cake, eggs and oil.
2. Stir in chips.
3. Roll in balls.
4. Bake 350 degrees for 10 minutes
5. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to a cookie rack.
6. Eat and enjoy!


p.s. I'll post a picture if I can find something that resembles them.
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astokes@itsjustjewelry.com

[Kirstin]

Sultana and chocolate chip oat cookies
Ingredients
115g / 4oz plain flour
2.5ml / ½tsp baking soda
1.5ml / ¼tsp baking powder
115g / 4oz butter
115g / 4oz caster sugar
90g / 3½oz brown sugar
1 egg
2.5ml / ½tsp vanilla essence
2.5ml / ½tsp cinnamon
75g / 3oz rolled oats
100g / 3¾oz chocolate chips (1/2 one bag)
100g / 3¾oz sultanas

Method
1. Put sultanas into a bowl and cover in water. Soak over night or for 5 mins at ‘defrost’ setting of microwave. Drain well.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas 4.
3. Grease two baking trays and line with baking paper.
4. Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder into a large mixing bowl
5. Cream butter, both sugars in another bowl or food processor.
6. Add egg, vanilla essence and cinnamon to butter and sugar.
7. Pour this into the bowl with the flour in it. Combine.
8. Stir in the oats, choc chips and sultanas.
9. Carefully spoon out teaspoon sized lumps of dough onto the baking sheets, spacing them so they can spread.
10. Bake for 15 mins. Check after 12 mins as they can burn easily. They are done when golden brown.
11. Leave on the trays for a couple of minutes (they are very soft when they first come out of the oven). Use a spatula to remove them to a cooling rack.
12. You might need to cook a second batch to use up all the dough.
13. These biscuits store well in an airtight container for a couple of days. I’ve never seen them last that long though!
Yields approximately 40 biscuits, depending on how big you make them.

[Anita]

Awesome! Thanks for getting things started. I'll be posting mine in just a bit

And by the way Amy ... how about Great Aunt ???'s World's Best Devil Cookies? Or something like that, lol! Or gee .. Amy's Favorite Cookies or Amy's Wonderfully Made Cookies or Great Aunt ???'s Wonderfully Made Cookies works too

You can name them whatever your little heart desires!

Happy Holidays!
Anita
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[Andrea Bottcher]

Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies

1/3 cup sugar
1 cup butter
½ tsp. almond extract
beat these three for 1-2 min


Add 2 cups flour—beat 2 minutes. Shape dough into 1” balls—Place dough 2” apart on cookie sheets. With thumb, make indentation fill with ¼ tsp. red raspberry jam. Bake at 350o for 14 minutes.

Let stand 1 minute—In small bowl, mix 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 ½ tsp. almond extract, 2-3 tsp. water—Drizzle over warm cookies.


Enjoy!

Andrea Bottcher
lia sophia advisor
www.liasophia.com/andreabottcher

[Anita]

Delicious Snickerdooles

These are my husband's absolute favorite!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Combine 1 1/2 cups white sugar, butter or margarine, vanilla and eggs. Mix well.

3. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Blend well.

4. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon.

5. Shape dough into 1 inch balls.

6. Roll dough in sugar/cinnamon mixture and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.

These are super-easy to make. Although the dough does get a bit sticky after it's all mixed making it difficult to roll. To make it easier to roll, simply stick the dough in the refrigerator for 15 - 20 minutes.

Anita DeFrank
www.MommysHelperOnline.com

[Buffalo Eyes]

This was a favorite of mine when I was a young girl After my mother died when I was 15, I couldn't find the recipe for them in her things. I thought about those cookies for years, even remembered that they were called Jumbles. Then one day I stumbled upon an old Betty Crocker cookbook from around 1961 and there it was!

Jubilee Jumbles
For cookies:
½ cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cups sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¾ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts, if desired
Browned butter glaze:
½ cup butter, browned and melted until golden
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 4 tablespoons hot water
For cookies:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix shortening, sugars and eggs thoroughly. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Blend flour, baking soda and salt separately; stir into sugar mixture. Mix in nuts if using. If dough is too soft, chill for a bit. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake about 10 minutes or until almost no imprint remains when touched with finger. Cool before glazing.
For browned butter glaze:

Make glaze by blending togther browned butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you get spreading consistency. You may not need all of the water called for.
Spread cooled cookies with browned butter glaze.
Makes 3 to 4 dozen.

Submited by Kim www.native-american-market.com

[Anita]

Awesome Kim! What a great story!! Would you like your last name with your submission?

Happy Holidays!
Anita
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[Anita]

Peanut Butter Blossoms

It's just not Christmas without making these with my mom.

Ingredients

48 Heryshey's Kisses
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup Peanut Butter (Creamy works best.)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate kiss into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.


Anita DeFrank
www.MommysHelperCommunity.com

[Lisa Patton]

Okay, I have so many favorite cookie recipes, but I decided to go with this one first. My kids always love them when I make them.

Spiced Slices

1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup shortening
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds, finely chopped*(opt.)

*the almonds are optional and I usually don't have them, so I don't add them. The cookies turn out great even without them.

Oven 375 degrees

In a mixing bowl beat margarine and shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add about half of the flour, sugars, egg, cinnamon, soda, vanilla, nutmeg, and cloves. Beat till thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining flour. Stir in nuts. Shape into two inch rolls. Wrap; chill 5 to 24 hours. CUt into 1/2 inch slices. Place 1-inch apart on cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven about 8 minutes or till edges are golden. Cool on cookie sheet one minute. Remove; cool on rack.

(Just as a side note: I am very impatient when it comes to cookies as they are my favorite snack! I have made these many times by just mixing up the dough, scooping and putting on cookie sheet like normal cookies instead of the chilling, rolling and cutting..and they come out good anyway.)


Enjoy!

Lisa Patton
http://lpatton.avonrepresentative.com (Avon)
www.lpatton.myctmh.com (Close To My Heart)

[Michele Anderson]

This is a recipe hubby and I made one year. He really liked them, and we had fun making the cutouts and icing. When he was little, his mom would let him mix icing colors for neat creations. He was like a little kid again!

Brown Sugar & Spice Cutout Cookies

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg or ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. Beat brown sugar and butter in large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until creamy. Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; gradually add to sugar mixture. On well floured surface, roll out half of dough at a time to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into shapes with floured cookie cutters. Bake on prepared cookie sheets 12-15 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Decorate festively. Makes about 3 dozen cookies. Enjoy making and eating these!

Michele Anderson
Independent Tupperware Consultant
http://my.tupperware.com/micheleanderson1

[Anita]

Notice how everyone has their own little story to go with their recipe? I think that's why it makes them our favorites I'm going to be including these little "sidenote stories" in the eCookbook too. I think it'll make a sweet touch.

Keep the recipes coming and PLEASE invite others. The more recipes we have the better and I'd love to get this created and out soon for the holidays.

Oh and one more note ... I'm going to start making my posts red like this so they stand out and people who have submitted / are submitting will notice them.

Feel free to post as many recipes as you'd like!!

Happy Holidays!
Anita


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[wonderfully_made]

How about Amy's Favorite Cookies! Whatever we call them, they sure are delicious!
_________________

Sr. Consultant, Just Jewelry
$32 or less, AFFORDABLE is best!
http://www.selljustjewelry.com
http://www.amylovesjewelry.blogspot.com
astokes@itsjustjewelry.com

[Anita]

Amy's Famous Cookies sounds wonderful!

Happy Holidays!
Anita
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[Lil Ben]

Everytime I visit my Aunt, she always baked me this Chocolate Mint Cookie. She said that her friend taught her the recipe that she found on this site: http://www.popularcookierecipes.com/ChocolateMint.html. So here it is.

Ingredients:
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• green mint wafers (or mix peppermint chocolate as directed below)

Directions:
1. In a large saucepan over low heat, cook butter, sugar and water until butter is melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into a large mixer bowl and let stand 10 minutes to cool. Mix at high speed and beat in eggs one at a time. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients. Mix until just blended. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour until dough is easy to handle.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with foil. Roll teaspoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Bake 12-13 minutes and NO longer. Cookies should come out of the oven looking slightly underdone. They will crisp when cool.

3. Immediately after taking the chocolate mint cookies out of the oven, place one mint wafer on top of each cookie. Allow mints to soften; then swirl to cover cookie. Peppermint chocolate can be placed on top of cookies instead of wafers. See note below. Sprinkles can be added at this point if desired.

Making Peppermint Chocolate:
You will need 1 cup white chocolate and peppermint extract to make this. Melt the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl by microwaving for 30 secs and then stirring. Repeat until chocolate is partially melted. Remove from microwave and continue stirring until chocolate is completely melted. At this point add 2-4 drops of peppermint extract and food coloring if desired.

More Power and Happy Holidays!

Ben
http://sportskeeper.onsugar.com/
http://tvstream.tumblr.com/

[Darlene]

Quick Cherry Cookies

1/2 tsp. of soda
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening or butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tablespoons of milk
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup cherries
1/2 cup coconut

Sift flour, soda, and salt into a bowl. Add sugar, shortening or butter, egg, vanilla and milk, blend for 2 minutes, stir in nuts, cherries and coconut.
Grease cookie tray and drop onto tray by spoonfuls.
Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Enjoy!

Darlene Demell
Watkins
http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

[Darlene]

Snow Balls

1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp. vanilla,
dash of salt,
1 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts.

Method:
Mix ingredients in order given, blending well. Roll into small balls.

Make a thin icing of 1 cup icing sugar and 1/4 cup milk. Dip balls into this, then roll in shredded coconut.
Variations may be made by rolling in colored coconut, chopped nuts or chopped cherries.
These snow balls also freeze very well.


Darlene
Watkins
http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell