Here is some extra goodies for us adults Christmas Cocktails

Chocolate Peppermint Cookie:

• 3/4oz Partida Blanco Tequila
• 1oz Peppermint Schnapps
• 3/4oz Godiva Liqueur
• 1-1/2oz cream

Chocolate syrup and candy canes for garnish

Rim martini glass with chocolate syrup and crushed candy canes. Shake ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into martini glass.

Toasted Macaroon:

• 1 oz Coconut Milk
• 1-1/2oz Coconut Rum
• 1/4oz Licor 43
• 1/2oz Partida Blanco Tequila
• 1/2oz Frangelico

Combine ingredients in a shaker and shake with ice. Strain into a glass filled with ice and garnish with toasted coconut shavings on top.

Cherry Bomb

• 1 ounce vodka
• 1 1/2 ounce light creme de cacao
• 3/4 ounce grenadine

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Pour in the ingredients and shake thoroughly. Strain the mixture into a martini glass – optionally over ice.

Candy Cane

• 3/4 ounce SKYY Berry vodka
• 3/4 ounce peppermint schnapps
• 3/4 ounce white creme de cacao
• 1/4 ounce grenadine
• Half ‘n’ half
• Crushed hard peppermint candy.

Mix the vodka, peppermint Schnapps, grenadine and creme de cacao with ice in a cocktail shaker. Be sure to shake it up thoroughly. Rim a cocktail glass with crushed hard peppermint candy and pour the shaken mixture into the glass. Top it off with half ‘n’ half.

Day 7 CAT JOHNSON'S BUTTER COOKIES

CAT JOHNSON'S BUTTER COOKIES

I grew up eating these cookies. It was my grandmother’s recipe and my mother used it for the Christmas cookies we’d make together each year. But it's so versatile, I also remember heart cookies on Valentines Day and chicks on Easter. It’s still my favorite today and I own so many differently-shaped cookie cutters because of it, including the newest additions to my collection–a cowboy boot and a Texas longhorn. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

½ lb Butter
1 Egg
1 Cup Sugar
2 ½ Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Lemon Extract

Preheat 325 degree oven

Cream butter until smooth.

Add sugar, and then egg & extract.

Add flour & baking powder. Mix thoroughly.

Chill dough.
Roll out flat on a floured board.

Cut into shapes.

Bake on ungreased pan 8-10 minutes (or until just beginning to brown).
Can be decorated with sprinkles before baking or iced (or dipped in melted chocolate) after baking.

Cat Johnson
www.catjohnson.net

Day 6 Mari Carr Oatmeal Cookies

Okie dokie. It's a simple one, but it's my kids' favorite.

Oatmeal Cookies (tee hee-you can even pretend they're healthy if you want to)

3/4 cup butter
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (I use Quaker Oats brand)

Use mixer to blend butter until soft, then add half the flour, brown sugar, sugar, egg, baking powder, vanilla, and baking soda. Beat with mixer until combined. Add in rest of the flour. Stir in the oats.
Drop on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
This makes soft oatmeal cookies and they are delicious when eaten straight from the oven!

Mari is fighting the flu and still shared her cookie recipe send her your well wishes!

Follow Mari here 

https://www.facebook.com/mari.carr3

http://maricarr.com/

Day 5 Biscochitos From Jennifer Ashley

Ingredients

• 6 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound lard (a must, no substitutes)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons anise seed
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sweet table wine
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream the lard with sugar and anise seed on medium speed. In a separate bowl. beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add beaten eggs to creamed mixture. Mix together well, adding wine to form a stiff-like dough, add more wine, if necessary.

Refrigerate dough overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove dough from refrigerator and let stand for a while, until dough is soft enough to roll. Divide dough in quarters and roll to about 1/16 to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutter and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until bottom of cookie is golden brown. Meanwhile, mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Drop the baked cookies into sugar and cinnamon mixture and set aside to cool.

Yield: 5 dozen

Follow Jennifer 

http://www.jennifersromances.com/

https://www.facebook.com/JenniferAshleyAllysonJames

Day 4 Mexican Snowball Cookies From Ashlynn Monroe

Mexican  Snowball or Wedding cake Cookies 

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups finely chopped pecans

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup Butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

 Powdered sugar

Heat oven to 325°F. Combine all ingredients except powdered sugar in large mixer bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until well mixed (2 to 3 minutes). 

Shape rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 18 to 25 minutes or until very lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes; roll in powdered sugar while still warm and again when cool.

Follow Ashlynn here 

http://ashlynnmonroe.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ashlynn.monroe

Day 3 Shortbread Cookies From N.J. Walters

Simple, but tasty Shortbread Cookies

Recipe:
1 cup Butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add vanilla and beat well. Work in flour until soft dough is formed. Chill for ten minutes. Roll out dough to 1/4" thickness. Cut into shapes. Bake at 300 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from pan. Ice and eat!
Oops had to fix baking time .

Looks easy enough going to make these this week Yum :0)

http://njwalters.com/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=714113604

Day 2 Dutch Sugar Cookies from Bianca D'Arc

My favorite are Pennsylvania Dutch Sugar Cookies. I took a look on the web and found something very similar to the recipe my Mom used to use - the only thing different is that we used to sprinkle sugar on top before baking and press a single raisin in the middle on the top. The sugar sort of melts and crystallizes on top, but these cookies are very soft and sort of cake-like on the inside. I remember getting them at Penn Supreme on our frequent trips to Amish country as a kid and we used to bake them for Christmas. 

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch salt

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1.      Set the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 375⁰F.

2.      In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir well to mix.

3.      In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and the sugar until combined, then beat in the vanilla.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating smooth after each addition.  Lower the speed and beat in a third of the flour mixture, then half the buttermilk, and another third of the flour mixture.  Scrape the bowl and beater often.  Beat in the remaining buttermilk, then the remaining flour mixture.

4.      Scrape the bowl and beater, then remove the bowl from the mixer, and give the dough one final mixing with the large rubber spatula.

5.      Drop tablespoons of the dough 3 or 4 inches apart onto the prepared pans.

6.      Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until they spread and rise – they should be lightly golden.

7.      Slide the papers off the pans onto racks.

8.      After the cookies have cooled, detach them from the paper and store them between layers of parchment or wax paper in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover.

Follow Bianca here and learn more about her books 

https://www.facebook.com/biancadarc

http://www.biancadarc.com/

https://twitter.com/biancadarc

25 Days (Cookies) of Christmas

Here is a list of cookies from some of my great friends

Day 1

Butter Cookies from Deena Remiel

This is a simple butter cookie that can be used in a cookie press, as a drop cookie or made into a roll and sliced.

What you need:

1 cup butter  

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least one hour. Chill cookie sheets.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Press dough out onto ungreased, chilled cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly golden at the edges. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Thanks Deena!!!!
You can follow Deena and find out about her great Books! :0)
https://www.facebook.com/deena.remiel
http://deenar116.wordpress.com/
http://www.romancenovelcenter.com/deenaremiel

Easy Cream cheese Brownies YUM

1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
4 cups (1 lb) powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 300 and spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray. Mix cake mix, melted butter and one egg to a soft dough. Press into the bottom of the pan. Mix powdered sugar, softened cream cheese and remaining two eggs until smooth, about 1-2 mins. Pour on top of crust. Bake at 300 for 40-50 minutes until top is golden brown.

Read more at http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/chess-squares.html#ixzz2Cur378iF

Read more at http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/chess-squares.html#ixzz2Cur378iF

1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
4 cups (1 lb) powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 300 and spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray. Mix cake mix, melted butter and one egg to a soft dough. Press into the bottom of the pan. Mix powdered sugar, softened cream cheese and remaining two eggs until smooth, about 1-2 mins. Pour on top of crust. Bake at 300 for 40-50 minutes until top is golden brown.


Read more at http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/chess-squares.html#ixzz2Cur378iF

1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
4 cups (1 lb) powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 300 and spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray. Mix cake mix, melted butter and one egg to a soft dough. Press into the bottom of the pan. Mix powdered sugar, softened cream cheese and remaining two eggs until smooth, about 1-2 mins. Pour on top of crust. Bake at 300 for 40-50 minutes until top is golden brown.


Read more at http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/chess-squares.html#ixzz2Cur378iF

Easy no bake pumpkin cheesecake

What You Need

1

pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1cup  canned pumpkin

1/2 cup  sugar

1/2 tsp.  pumpkin pie spice

1 tub  (8 oz.)  Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

1  Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)

Make It

BEAT cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar and pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in 2-1/2 cups of the whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate remaining whipped topping for later use.
SPOON cream cheese mixture into crust.
REFRIGERATE 3 hours or overnight. Serve topped with remaining whipped topping. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

***How to Soften Cream Cheese

Place completely unwrapped package of cream cheese in microwavable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 10 to 15 seconds or until slightly softened

Easy DIY Mushatche necklaces Made by: Shaunda

 Others that I have made

Source: Uploaded by user via Shaunda on Pinterest

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