Day 17- Cinnabun or cookie?

Cinnabun Cookies

Ingredients:
VANILLA COOKIE DOUGH

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
MIDDLE:

1 large egg white

1 Tablespoon water

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
ICING:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Prepare dough: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, butter, salt and vanilla. Add the flour, stirring until the dough comes together. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.
2. Roll the dough: Transfer chilled dough to a lightly floured piece of parchment or waxed paper. Roll it into a 9x12-inch rectangle. In a small bowl, whisk together egg white and water until foamy. Brush onto rolled out dough. In another small bowl, whisk together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle it evenly over the dough. Starting with a long edge, carefully roll the dough into a log, sealing the edge (if dough sticks to parchment, gently use a metal spatula to guide it off of the paper). Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment, and freeze until firm.
3. Bake the cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two cookie sheets. Remove the dough from the freezer and unwrap it. Using a sharp knife, gently cut it into 1/2-inch slices. Transfer them to the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, until they're a light golden brown. Remove them from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.
4. Ice the cookies: Sift or strain the powdered sugar into a medium-sized bowl to remove any lumps. Whisk the cream into the sugar to make a smooth icing. Drizzle or spread icing onto cookies (or serve alongside in a bowl for dipping).

Makes about 2 dz.

These cookies were actually not that easy to make......because the dough ended up being really dry and flaky :( it was very hard to roll into a log and then was falling apart when I was cutting it, even though I did chill it! Oh well.....they were super yummy and tasted like cinnabuns, I probably would try something different next time though.

Day 16- A cookie with a surprise inside :-)

Who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter? And together..........yummmmm!

Magic in the Middles

Ingredients:
DOUGH:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus extra for dipping)

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg
FILLING:

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
2. Prepare dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another medium bowl, beat together sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, beating to combine, then stir in dry ingredients, blending well.
3. Prepare filling: In a small bowl, stir together peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth. With floured hands, roll the filling into 26 one-inch balls.
4. Shape cookies: Break off about 1 Tablespoon of the dough, make an indentation in the center with your finger, and press one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation. Bring the dough up and over the filling, pressing it closed; roll the cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
5. Dip the top of each cookie in granulated sugar and place on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Grease the bottom of a drinking glass and use it to flatten each cookie to about 1/2-inch-thick.
6. Bake cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, until they're set. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack.

And voila! It's like a peanut butter cup in cookie form!

Day 15- Peppermint Crinkles

Remember chocolate crinkles? Well these are just like them, except with mint in them and a hershey kiss on top! They are so minty, if you eat them after dinner, it's like having an after dinner mint :-) Here's the recipe!

Chocolate mint kiss crinkles

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 lg. eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoon green colored sugar (optional)

bag of mint truffle flavored Hershey's Kisses

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, and eggs until well mixed. Whisk in extracts.
3. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients just until combined. Chill dough for at least 2 hours

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

5. Grease cookie sheets(or use stones like I do :-) Roll dough into 1/2 Tablespoon balls. Roll balls into mixture of powdered sugar/green sugar. Place on cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until cookies crackle and dough doesn't look raw.

6. While cookies are baking, unwrap the kisses and make some room in your refrigerator or freezer for the cookie sheets. When the cookies come out of the oven, immediately place a kiss in the center of each cookie and press lightly. The kisses will start to melt, so it's best if you are able to place the cookie sheet (with the kiss cookies still on it) directly into the freezer or refrigerator until the kisses can cool off and set up.

Makes about 5dz. yummy cookies!

Now get bakin' :-)

Day 14- Icing makes every cookie better :-)

Frosted Ginger Cookies

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
FROSTING:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch salt

Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in molasses and vanilla; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture.
Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325° for 12-15 minutes or until cookies spring back when touched lightly (do not overbake). Remove to wire racks.

For frosting, in a large saucepan, bring the brown sugar, milk and butter to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute. Remove from the heat (mixture will look curdled at first). Cool for 3 minutes. Add confectioners' sugar, vanilla and salt; mix well. Frost warm cookies.

Makes about 6 dz.(although I don't think it made quite this many :-)

I think these are one of my favorite cookies this year and even better when you drink them with milk!! :-)

Day 7-13- Cookie baking

So I haven't been as faithful as promised, to my every day christmas posting! But I'm going to try my best the next several days and post some recipes from my cookie baking:-)

So the other day I had a free day off of work and I baked christmas cookies!!! I love baking and I was soo excited to do this:-) Usually my mom, sisters and I bake together, but this year we did not, so I took it upon myself to bake!

Now before you think I'm weird that I baked christmas cookies all by myself, let me assure you that I LOVE to bake and give cookies away this time of year, and to me it's relaxing! I put on my ipod, got everything ready and starting baking!! And YES I did make 19 DOZEN COOKIES!!!! And NO I don't plan on eating them all myself! I take a tray of cookies to every party I go to and give away to friends and family :-) This is one of my favorite things to do this time of year!!!

So stay tuned for cookie recipes!!! I also plan on making some candy :-) That is if I can stand any more sugar!

Peppermint Bark

White Chocolate/ Raspberry cookies


Mint crinkles

Soft gingerbread cookies

Day 6- A christmas tree of yarn

1- You will need:
foam cones of different sizes
2 yarns, one fuzzy and one normal(christmas colors)
pins
embellishments



2-Take both yarns and pin both ends(one from each yarn) to the top of the cone, arrange and pin the top as needed. Start wrapping the yarn all the way down to the bottom of the cone and then if you want it to be more yarn-wrapped, wrap again up to the top(so that's its wrapped twice) Cut and pin in place.

3- Embellish as you want. I took fake berries and hot-glued in place and also put a cute little metal star on top that I borrowed from my mom :-) I used ribbon on the other one.

And then you're done! A very fun, easy project :-)

1st tree

2nd Tree

My christmas tree shelf!

so if you think all I ever get done is making crafts.........you're right.....haha! Well not really, my mom, sisters and I get together once a year and make christmas crafts, half of my collection has come from this! The advantages to having sisters :-) We had so much fun and we all made something different! I didn't get pictures of everything, but here are some...

My sister's twine-wrapped trees.


My mom's assortment of yarn and scrapbook paper trees.

Day 5- Making a fabric wreath

1- You will need:
a foam wreath
different christmas patterned fabric
a rotary cutter
a pencil with a sharpened point
a mat to cut on



2- using the rotary cutter, cut strips of fabric 2" wide. Then cut the strips into 2" (ish) squares. I just eyeballed it :-) I used 5 different, coordinating fabrics. I didn't really count them, but you'll need alot of each, you may just have to keep cutting as you go, until you are satisfied with how it looks!




3- Now the fun part, take the pencil through the middle of a fabric square and just poke it through into the foam until it sticks! It really does work, however if you want your wreath to last for years and years, it may be better to dot the end of each fabric square with hot glue to make it more durable. Did I feel like spending 10 hrs. doing that????? NO I DID NOT :-0 So far only a couple fell out and I promptly put them back in:-)



4- Just keep poking the squares in until all of the foam is covered(or until you like it). You can then embellish with ribbon if you desire :-)

......and tada!

a fun, shabby ruffled wreath you will get! Now go hang on a wall or something!