Ugly Sweater Cookies!

Elle and her friends made ugly sweater cookies at her recent birthday party!

Soft Molasses Spice Cookies

Soft Molasses Spice Cookies

These chewy molasses cookies with all of the right spices are perfect for the winter season. They are reminiscent of ginger snaps, but soft and chewy with the hint of vanilla and molasses. Don't cut back on the amount of sugar called for in the recipe, and don't overcook them or they will come out hard and crunchy. This recipe is from the Cook's Illustrated The Best Recipe cookbook.

Preparation time: 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling cookies
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsulphered molasses

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice together in a bowl and set aside.
2. Use an electric mixer and beat the butter for 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes with mixer set at medium speed. Add egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.
3. Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
4. Place remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Working with 2 Tbsp of dough each time, roll dough into 1 3/4 inch balls. Roll balls in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart.
5. Bake until the outer edges of the cookies begin to set and centers are soft and puffy, about 11 to 13 minutes [I only leave them in for 10 minutes, and without convection... that will mess up the cooking time]. Cool cookies on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks .

Note: Do not overcook. The centers of the cookies should be somewhat soft and spongy when you take them out of the oven, otherwise they will end up hard and dry.

Optional Glaze
When cookies have cooled, lay out over a sheet of wax paper. Sift 1 1/4 cups of confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) and then whisk with 2 Tbsp of milk until smooth. Dip spoon into glaze and dribble over cookies.

Yield: Makes 18 large cookies.

Great Sugar Cookie Recipe...for Christmas Cookies

I bought a three pack of Christmas cookie cutters last year at Wal-Mart and on the box was a recipe called "Traditional Sugar Cookies" It didn't seem that traditional to Steph or I but we whipped up a batch to decorate with Jack having fairly low expectations. The cookies turned out to be really good and easy to make so we plan to keep making them. The cookies are lighter and moister than many I've had.



Here's the recipe:

2 Cups Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 Cup Butter (cow-style)
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Sour Cream (clearly this is the secret ingredient)

Combine the flour, salt, baking soda and nutmeg. Cream the butter and sugar. Blend in the sour cream and then the dry ingredients. Chill for 1 to 2 hours. Roll out the dough 'til it is ~1/2" thick on a sugar and floured smooth surface. Cut with cookie cutter and place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for ~8-10 minutes.