Molasses Sugar Cookies

Hello blogosphere friends and thanks for stopping by!

Okay, it's officially December 1, 2014...a new day so it doesn't appear that I have typed up three posts in the same day after not posting a darn thing in over a year. I found the recipe from our first cookie exchange back in 2011. They are "molasses sugar cookies" and if you like soft, chewy sugar cookies coupled with the spice of a ginger snap then you'll love this cookie! It comes from an old Taste of Home Best Loved Cookies and Bars magazine I often drag out this time of year. One year I spruced these up with a cinnamon red hot smashed right into the center of the cookie just before baking but they taste and look just fine following the recipe as written. So this is a snapshot of the picture as it appeared in the magazine, but mine turned out just as pretty...Honest!

Molasses Sugar Cookies

Yields: 4 dozen cookies

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon each ground ginger and ground cloves
*additional sugar

In a large mixing bowl combine the sugar, oil and molasses. Add egg , mix well. In a separate bowel combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves. Add to sugar mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or until easy to handle.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls (I love my small cookie scoop for this part); roll in additional sugar. Place 3 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-9 minutes or until tops are cracked and edges are set. Cool 2-3 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Enjoy!

Until next time...
Eastlyn

Red velvet white chocolate chip cookies

Welcome and/or welcome back!

I guess I'll call this a "countdown to Christmas" theme. I'm trying to keep the posts short and sweet and maybe get around to blogging more often than once a year. I'm searching for a cookie recipe for a cookie exchange I do every year with a couple of my girlfriends. I think this year will be our "4th annual" get together. If I were an organized person, this is the point where I'd list the cookies I've made for the previous years and include the recipes or links to the recipes and photos. Alas, I am not that organized and my memory is not that great to remember that far back. I can tell you what last year's cookie was...Pistachio Cherry Meltaways. They turned out absolutely amazeballs! I made them for the cookie exchange and for my own holiday gatherings I liked them so much.
Here's the link for that recipe, complete with photos that I may or may not have on my computer somewhere : )...

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2013/11/pistachio-cherry-meltaways.html

This is a cookie from Betty Crocker I've tried for this year's cookie swap: Red velvet white chocolate chip cookies. They turned out great and they look perfect for a Christmas table. If you decide to make them, follow the tip of removing them from the oven after 8 minutes even if they don't look done! The first batch I made turned hard because I thought they weren't done and left them in the oven for 2 additional minutes. Check it out...

http://www.bettycrocker.com/menus-holidays-parties/mhplibrary/holidays/red-velvet-white-chocolate-chip-cookies

If you have a tried and true recipe you'd like to share, please leave a comment or a link.

Thanks!

Until next time,
Eastlyn

Fool proof shortbread cookies

Greetings fellow bloggers!

It's been a year since my last post, so I figure it's past time. With the holidays coming up I have lots of "cookie baking" engagements to fulfill. I am always searching for yummy but not too labor intensive cookie recipes that look and taste great. One of my nursing instructors gave me a marvelous shortbread recipe but I don't know where my copy is. Here is the "replica by memory," if you will, of that recipe...simple and sweet.

Fool-proof shortbread cookies (Yields 3 dozen cookies)

2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla (or flavor of your choice)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat softened butter and sugar together until fluffy; add egg yolk only. Mix well. Add vanilla. Mix in flour until well-incorporated.

Drop by rounded spoonful (or cookie scoop) onto ungreased baking sheet. Gently flatten with a glass dipped in sugar.

Beat the egg white with a fork until frothy. Brush on flattened cookies and sprinkle with chopped pecans (or sprinkles or colored sugar for the holidays).

Bake in 350 degree oven for 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 3-5 minutes on pan and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Enjoy!!

Until next time,
Eastlyn