Sugar Cookie Rollouts

This is the best recipe for sugar cookies I have found.  It is the one my grandma, aunt and mom all use when they bake rollouts.  Here are some photos. I have a ton of different cookie cutters, so I make these cookies throughout the year.  Not only is the dough just wonderful to eat by itself, but they almond and vanilla flavors shine once baked.  Plus, you can use whatever frosting you like best or even better make your own.  When I am being lazy I used store bought cream cheese flavored as it compliments the almond flavor well.

Sugar Cookie Rollouts

1  1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 egg

2  1/2 cups flour

1/2  teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar (sometimes I omit this if I don't have any)

granulated sugar

Beat powdered sugar and butter until creamed.  Stir in vanilla, almond and egg.  Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar (if using).  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (until firm).  (Sometimes I leave it overnight.)

Heat oven to 375 F.  Roll half the dough at a time.  You want it about 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured counter.  Cut into shapes.  Place about 2 inches apart on a ungreased cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with sugar or wait until baked and cooled to frost.  Bake for 7-8 minutes or until just turning light brown.  Remove from the cookie sheet to a wire rack until cooled.

Krumkake (crumb cake)

My grandma on my dad's side was 100% Swedish.  It was because of her cooking traditional Swedish goods for Christmas which inspired my Scandinavian brunch this year.  So when having brunch there must be a couple of sweets.  While these are not very filling, nor too sweet, they are a part of my Scandinavian Christmas memories.  Each year my grandma would make tons of these to give to us to share for Christmas.  The good part is that it make a lot!  I think there were 4-5 dozen for this recipe.  They also cook up really quick so in an afternoon you can make a batch which will last a while.  So if you want to add a little Scandinavia to your Christmas, I think this is a delightful way to do it.  The irons have traditional designs on them which add to the atmosphere of Christmas.  Enjoy!

This recipe came from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas, a Minnesotan cookbook author.  While there are not many photos which many people always desire, I have never had a problem following her directions.  Everything I have made has come out beautifully.  If you are going to attempt Scandinavian cooking, I recommend having a look at her books.

Krumkake
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups flour
water to thin if needed

In a medium sized bowl, cream sugar and butter.  Beat in the eggs until the mixture is light yellow colored.  Beat in milk and flour until smooth.  Let the mixture stand for at least 30 minutes.  Heat krumkake iron.  (I have an electric one from my grandma so it gets hot quick.)  Spray iron with nonstick cooking spray.  Add about 1 tablespoon batter to each side of the iron and close.  Cook for about 30 seconds.  Roll off of iron with a wooden stick.  (My iron came with two cone shaped wood sticks to make the cone shaped krumkake in the photos.)  If they are too dark cook for 5 seconds less each time.  In a very hot iron, mine cooked for just 20 seconds.

Vanilla Kiperl (Vanilla Butter Crescents)

I love simple cookies.  I used to like them with chocolate and other flavors, but my favorite kind right now are simple vanilla cookies.  Vanilla kiperl are German cookies, usually made at Christmastime, but are simple to make.  They are sweetened with a bit of vanilla and sugar and then dusted in powdered sugar when they are warm.  The sweetness comes through just right.  This is a mixture from a couple of recipes.  You can also make them with ground almonds instead of hazelnuts.  

Vanilla Butter Crescents

1/2 cup whole hazelnuts, toasted and peeled

1 cup flour

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 egg yolk

pinch of salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Your hazelnuts should already be toasted.  Place in a food processor with 2 -3 tablespoons of flour to grind to a fine meal.   In another bowl whisk the rest of the flour with 1/4 cup powdered sugar.  Add the flour mixture to the hazelnut mixture and pulse again.  Add the butter and egg yolk and pulse until the dough begins to come together.  Remove and place in a ball and put in the refrigerator for about half an hour.  Preheat over to 325F.  Line the sheets with parchment.  Form the dough into a ball and then roll into crescents.  Bake for about 9 minutes or until just beginning to brown.  Remove and transfer to wire racks to cool.  Dust with additional powdered sugar when warm and again after cooling.

Peanut Butter Kisses

As you probably can imagine, this recipe gets it's name from the lovely combination of a peanut butter cookie topped with a Hersey Kiss.  These are also a simple cookie to put together.  I think the longest most laborious part of these cookies are unwrapping the Hershey kisses to place on the top.  Of course you could also just pipe some chocolate on top, but I like the way the chocolate kiss just melts slightly as they are baking.  These beautiful little cookies are just a nice Christmas twist on your typical peanut butter cookie.

Before baking...sugar coated and a Hershey kiss on top.

 Fresh from the oven.

 This recipe makes enough cookies for one bag of Hershey kisses.

Peanut Butter Kisses

1 cup butter

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 bag Hershey Kisses, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Cream together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and white sugar.  Mix until light and fluffy.  Once creamed add in the eggs, one at a time, vanilla and mix until incorporated.  Finally, mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes.  Remove dough from refrigerator and roll into balls and dip into sugar.  Place them on a cold cookie sheet.  Please a Hershey Kiss in the middle of each cookie and bake for about 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand 1-2 minutes to cool before moving to a cookie rack to cool completely.

Seven Layer Bars

There are many variations in 7 layer bars, but this is the one my family has been making for as long as I can remember.  There are seven sweet layers piled on top of each other and then baked into caramel bar goodness.  Again this is a relatively simple bar to assemble and bake.  I think the challenge comes into play when trying to wrench the bars out of the pan since the caramel has successfully secured the bars to the edges.  These bars also freeze well, so you can enjoy them for weeks to come if you already have too many sweets in the house for the Christmas season.  You can also vary the ingredients if desired by changing up the nut to a walnut, peanut, hazelnut or almond.  The chips you can change for a peanut butter, cinnamon, or white chocolate chip.  Really, the possibilities for other combinations are endless.  However, in the spirit of Christmas past, this is how my family has made these bars, and to bring back sweet memories this is how I made them again this year.

Seven Layer Bars

1/4 pound butter

1 1/4 cups honey graham crackers, crushed

1 cup coconut, flaked

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup chopped pecans

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Melt the butter in a 9x12 inch pan.  Once melted remove and coat the bottom of the pan.  Pour the graham crackers in making sure to cover the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle the coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and pecans over the crust.  Finally, drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the entire mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes or until everything has come together and the sweetened condensed milk is starting to look caramel colored.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely before cutting and removing the bars.

Christmas is coming....and so are Christmas cookies and bars

Since Christmas is just around the corner, I thought I would take some time this year to bake up some Christmas cookies.  So in my pursuits of Christmas cookie and bar baking, I am going to have a Christmas cookie week of posts.  I will include cookies and bars I have been baking up for years.  These recipes are ones my grandma's, my mom and my aunt would bake and they are the ones I still turn to to remember Christmas past.  Since we don't have family nearby to share our Christmas cookies with, this year I am delivering them to coworkers and students to eat themselves into a lovely sugar coma.  So stay tuned, I am preparing the recipes and photos and soon I will post a bunch!