Day 14 Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze

Ingredients

Cookies:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zested

Glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zested

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cookies:

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container.

Day 13 Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

 1/4 cup light olive oil

 3/4 cup white sugar

 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

 2 eggs

 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

 1/4 teaspoon salt

 1 teaspoon baking powder

 1/2 cup dried cranberries

 1 1/2 cups pistachio nuts

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts by hand.
3. Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12x2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.
4. Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
5. Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry; cool.

Day 12 Happy St. Nicholas Day

Katrina's Pfeffernussen  

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Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar

1 large egg

1/8 cup dark-brown sugar

1/8 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Dash of warm water

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, pepper, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and baking soda. Set aside. Place butter, brown sugars, and honey in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture; beat until just combined. Add a dash of water so the dough is not so crumbly. Add walnuts; stir until combined. Pinch off dough in tablespoon amounts; roll into 1 1/4-inch balls. Arrange balls 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets. (Dough can be frozen at this point, covered tightly with plastic wrap, up to 1 month.) Bake until cookies are golden and firm to the touch with slight cracking, about 15 minutes. Transfer sheets to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Working in batches, cover cookies with confectioners' sugar by rolling or shaking in a bag until well coated. Store in an airtight container.

Day 11 Diane's Choco-Caramel Delights.

Choco-Caramel Delights.

1/2 cup of butter softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg, separated

2 tbl milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa

¼ tsp salt

1 cup finely chopped pecans

½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp shortening

Caramel filling (reciepe to follow)

In a small mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar, egg yolk, milk and vanilla until blended. Stir together flour, cocoa, and salt; blend into butter mixture. Refrigerate for one hour or until firm enough to handle.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Beat egg white slightly. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Dip each ball into egg white; roll in pecans to coat. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheet. Press thumb gently in center of each ball.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare Caramel filling. Remove cookies from oven; carefully press center of each cookie again to make indentation. Immediately spoon caramel filling in center of each cookie. Move cookies from sheet and place on cooling rack to cool.

In a small microwave bowl place chocolate chips and shortening. Microwave on high for 1 minute or until smooth. Place wax paper under cookies ( or place on platter.. it’s what I do) Drizzle chocolate mixture over cookies.
CARAMEL FILLING: in small saucepan, combine 14 unwrapped caramels and 3 tbls of whipping cream. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until caramels are melt and mixture is smooth.

Day 10 Stephanie Tyler Thumbprint Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces), room temperature
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
• 3/4 cup of your favorite jam

• Parchment paper

METHOD

1 Cream the butter and sugar on high speed for about 3 minutes.

2 Separate the eggs. Add the yolks and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. If using nuts place the egg whites in a shallow dish on the side and whisk them until bubbly and frothy (the egg whites will be used to keep the nuts on the cookies).

3 Add the flour and salt. Mix until just combined. Place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 350F.

4 Roll the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. If using nuts, dip the balls into the egg whites then roll them into the nuts until covered. Place the balls on parchment lined cookie sheets.

5 Press down with your thumb to make a small well in the center of the cookie. Do not press too hard or the cookie will fall apart. Fill with 1/2 teaspoon of jam.

6 Bake for 12-15 minutes or until slightly firm. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet to firm up before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Yield: Makes 2 dozen cookies.

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Day 9 NO FLOUR PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

This Recipe comes from my mom I remember growing up eating these cookies 

NO FLOUR PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter ( creamy or chunky )
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

mix all ingredients in bowl till well mixed. roll into 1 in. balls and place on cookie sheet. flatten down with fork or hand. bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown.
you can add a chocolate hershey kiss or chocolate chip in center (optional)

Day 8 From Jess Dee not cookies lol

Hi Shaunda

As promised, here is my recipe.

I'm a God-awful cook, and usually bake cakes and cookies from boxes.

If not, I go for as simple as humanly possible, and this recipe, for Cheese Muffins, doesn't get any more simple!

(It's great for those unexpected visitors. You can whip up a batch in twenty minutes, baking time included.)

Cheese Muffins:

Ingredients:

2 heaped cups of flour

2 cups of milk

4 teaspoons baking powder

Salt, pepper, paprika (or any other herbs/spices of your choice) to taste.

Method:

Toss all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together with a fork

Bake in a very well greased/oiled muffin pan for 15 mins at 160 C (Believe me, these suckers will stick to the pan if you don't grease it well.)

Serve hot, with a dash of butter inside.

Enjoy.

Makes about 12 muffins.

Jess

Jess Dee

Dee-liciously Sexy Romance

www.jessdee.com

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