351/365 Cookie time!

I made little plates of cookies for my coworkers this year. Here is the collection of recipes I used for this years cookies.

The Candy Cane Blossoms came from Hershey's site.

Candy Cane Blossoms

48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Candy Cane Mint Candies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons milk

Red or green sugar crystals, granulated sugar or powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Remove wrappers from candies.

2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternately with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in red sugar, granulated sugar, powdered sugar or a combination of any of the sugars. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cookie is set. Remove from oven; cool 2 to 3 minutes. Press a candy piece into center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

The Muddy Buddy recipe can be found here.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Have a bowl of ice water ready. When reshaping the thumbprint after the cookie has caked for ten minutes, dip your finger in the ice water for several seconds and dry before reshaping: this will help your finger cool.

¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon table salt

½ cup whole blanched almonds, finely ground

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

½ cup jam or preserves

Preheat oven to 325. Have ready two parchment-lined baking sheets. In an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and ½ cup sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolk and vanilla; beat well. Whisk together flour and salt, and add to mixture, beating on low until combined.

Combine almonds with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Form dough into 1-inch balls, and dip in egg white, then in almond/sugar mixture. Make a deep indentation in the center of each ball with your finger or bottom of a thick wooden spoon. Transfer to prepared baking street.

Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, and press down the centers again. Rotate sheets, and back until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes more. Remove from oven, and place on a wire rack to cool slightly. Fill centers with about 1 teaspoon of jam.

Triple Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Makes 3 1/2 dozen

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon instant coffee powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into chunks

4 ounces white chocolate, cut into chunks

1 cup dried cherries

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, coffee powder, and vanilla until blended. At low speed, beat in flour mixture just until combined. Stir in semisweet chocolate, white chocolate, and dried cherries.

3. Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes per batch, until tops are just firm. Cool on cookie sheets 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool completely.