Holiday Spritz Cookies
From tasteofhome.com
Prep: 15 min + chilling
Bake: 10 min per batch
Yield: 60 servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-1/4 cups cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Food coloring, optional
- Holiday sprinkles and colored sugars
Directions
- In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture just until combined. Stir in food coloring if desired. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Fill cookie press and form into desired shapes on ungreased baking sheets. Decorate with sprinkles and colored sugars.
- Bake at 400° for 8 minutes or until edges just begin to brown. Cool on wire racks. Yield: about 5 dozen.
Originally published as Holiday Spritz Cookies in Country Woman Christmas , p31
Posted on Tuesday, December 25th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
from bettycrocker.com
Prep Time: 25 min
Total Time: 45 min
Servings: 36
Ingredients:
1 pouch (1lb, 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
½ C butter or margarine, softened
¼ to ½ tsp mint extract
6-8 drops green food coloring
1 egg
1 C crème de menthe baking chips
1 C semisweet chocolate chunks
- Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, extract, food color and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in creme de menthe baking chips and chocolate chunks.
- Using small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Serve warm or cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature.
Tips: -Drizzle cookies with melted chocolate -for even baking, make sure cookies are the same shape and size
Posted on Monday, December 24th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Candy Cane Cookies
Submitted by Mary Lovgren, Realty | original recipe by Tammy Schenk from Taste of Home Dec-Jan 2010
Prep: 25 min.
Bake: 10 min./Batch + Cooling
Yield: 3 Dozen
1 cup butter, softened—1 cup confectioners’ sugar—1 egg—1-1/2 tsp. almond extract—2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour—1 tsp. salt – Red food coloring—1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy canes—1/2 cup sugar
-in a small bowl, cream butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extract.
-Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
-Divide dough in half; add 6-7 drops of food coloring to one half. Shape tablespoonfuls of each color of dough into 4-in. ropes. Place ropes side by side; lightly press ends together and twist.
-Place on ungreased baking sheets; curve to form canes. Bake at 375* for 9-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
-Combine crushed candy canes and sugar; immediately sprinkle over cookies. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool. ENJOYJ
Posted on Sunday, December 23rd, 2012 at 9:15 am
Toffee Squares
Submitted by Natalie Martin, Recreation | original recipe by Barbara Grunes & Virginia Van Vynckt from Very Merry Cookie Party
Yield: Makes 48 squares
Crust:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
Topping:
7 to 8 ounces milk chocolate, broken into pieces, or 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
½ cup chopped almonds, toasted
½ cup toffee bits
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment.
2. Prepare the crust. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk, vanilla, and salt. On low speed, gradually beat in the flour just until mixed. The dough will be stiff. Pat the dough evenly over the bottom of the baking pan.
3. Bake in the center of the oven until pale gold on top, about 20 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and scatter the chocolate pieces evenly over the crust. Return the pan to the oven for 1 minute. Remove the pan again and, using a knife, spread the chocolate evenly over the crust. Sprinkle evenly with the almonds and toffee bits.
5. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Using a sharp knife, cut into small squares, then carefully remove from the pan with a small offset spatula or an icing spatula.
Cookie Exchange Tip:
Dress them up a little by weaving lengths of gold metallic ribbon through the stacked cookies.
Posted on Saturday, December 22nd, 2012 at 9:15 am
Paula Deen’s Gooey Cookies
Submitted by Jeff Hickey, General Manager
1 tsp vanilla
1-18 oz Moist cake mix
1-8 oz cream cheese
1 egg
1 stick butter or margarine (room temp)
-In a bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese. Beat in egg. Beat in vanilla. Add cake mix, mix well.
-Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours
-Roll batter into Tbsp sized balls and roll in powdered sugar
-place on ungreased cookie sheet, bake at 350 for 10 minutes
-sprinkle with more powdered sugar
Posted on Friday, December 21st, 2012 at 9:15 am
Date-Nut Pinwheels
Submitted by Bonita Willis
1 C shortening – ½ C oleo, ½ cup crisco
1 C white sugar
1 C brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
-Cream well
Add:
4 C flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp soda
Mix well and divide into two portions
Filling:
1 Lb dates (I use the chopped sugar ones)
½ C water
-cook and cool
Add ½ C nuts
Make two rolls – spread ½ mixture on each roll and roll up. Refrigerate overnight then freeze rolls. Slice and bake at 400 about ten minutes.
Posted on Thursday, December 20th, 2012 at 9:15 am
White-Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies
Submitted by Randy Koehler, Administration
Yield: 60 cookies
Prep 40 mins Bake 325°F 10 mins per batch Stand 30 mins
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and finely chopped
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup cold butter
- 12 ounces white chocolate baking squares with cocoa butter, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 drops red food coloring (optional)
- 2 teaspoons shortening
- White nonpareils and/or red edible glitter (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spread cherries on paper towels to drain well.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in drained cherries and 4 ounces (2/3 cup) of the chopped chocolate. Stir in almond extract and, if desired, food coloring. Knead mixture until it forms a smooth ball.
3. Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using the bottom of a drinking glass dipped in sugar, flatten balls to 1-1/2-inch rounds.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until centers are set. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool.
5. In a small saucepan, combine remaining 8 ounces white chocolate and the shortening. Cook and stir over low heat until melted. Dip half of each cookie into chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. If desired, roll dipped edge in nonpareils and/or edible glitter. Place cookies on waxed paper until chocolate is set. Makes about 60.
6. Layer cookies between waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Posted on Wednesday, December 19th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Chocolate Turtle Cookies
Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Holiday Cookies 2010 Special Issue
1 Cup All purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
¼ tsp salt
8 Tbsp (1stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, separated plus 1 egg white
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ¼ Cups finely chopped pecans
14 soft caramel candies
3 Tbsp heavy cream
- Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk egg whites in bowl until frothy. Place pecans in another bowl. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, then roll in pecans. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using 1/2-teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball. Bake until set, about 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.
- Microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Once cookies are removed from oven, gently re-press existing indentations. Fill each with 1/2 teaspoon caramel mixture. Cool 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Try not to devour them all at once.
Posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Peanut Blossoms
Submitted by Kristi Althaus, Administration
1 ¾ C flour ½ C peanut butter
1 tsp soda 1 egg
½ tsp salt 2 Tbsp milk
½ C sugar 1 tsp vanilla
½ C brown sugar 48 candy kisses
½ C shortening
Combine all ingredients, except candy. Shape dough into balls. Roll balls in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes. Top each cookie immediately with a candy kiss. Press firmly so cookie cracks around edge.
Posted on Monday, December 17th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Cake Mix Cookies
Submitted by Deb Arellano, Public Safety | from allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
1 (18.25 oz) package chocolate cake mix
1 egg
¾ C vegetable oil
¼ C packed light brown sugar
2 C butterscotch chips
Directions
Combine all ingredients in the order given – Do not use mixer. Drop by teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 for about 7 minutes. Do not let them get brown around the edges! Cool on cookie sheet at least 10 minutes, or they may break
Posted on Sunday, December 16th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cookies
Submitted by Chris Myers, Administration | www.bhg.com
Ingredients
1 ½ C flour ½ C unsweetened cocoa powder
½ C butter, softened 1 C sugar
¼ tsp salt ¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda 1 egg
1 ½ tsp vanilla 48 undrained maraschino cherries (~ one 10 oz jar)
1 C semi-sweetened chocolate pieces
½ C sweetened condensed milk
Directions
In a mixing bowl, combine flour and cocoa; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with electric mixer on med-high for about 30 seconds, or until softened. Add sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda. Beat until well combined. Add egg and vanilla. Beat well. Gradually beat in the flour mixture.
Shape dough into 1” balls; place on ungreased baking sheet. Press down center of each dough ball with thumb. Drain cherries, reserving juice. Place a cherry in the center of each cookie. In a small saucepan, combine the chocolate and milk; heat until chocolate is melted. Stir in 4 teaspoons of reserved cherry juice.
Spoon about 1 tsp of frosting over each cherry on unbaked cookie, spreading to cover cherry. (frosting may be thinned with additional cherry juice if necessary)
Bake at 350 about 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack; cool. Cover and store at room temp up to 2 days. Makes 48 cookies.
Posted on Saturday, December 15th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Submitted by Nicci Glenn, Administration
1 C unsalted butter 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 C sugar 1 ½ C flour
¾ C brown sugar ½ tsp salt
2 eggs 1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon ½ tsp nutmeg
3 C rolled oats 1 cup dried cranberries
Optional: 1 cup white chocolate chips or vanilla almond bark
Preheat Oven to 350
Cream butter and sugars until fluffy
Add eggs and vanilla
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl; add butter mixture until well blended; add cranberries
Drop by teaspoon onto parchment paper lined baking sheet
Bake 10-12 minutes
*optional: add white chocolate chips at the same time as cranberries, or drizzle melted vanilla almond bark on cookies once cooled
Posted on Friday, December 14th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Tony the Tiger Cookies
Submitted by Dorothy Carr, ESAC
Ingredients
3 cups Frosted Flakes
2 cups sifted flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 6oz. package of chocolate chips (melted)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Crush Frosted Flakes to 1-1/2 cups
Sift flour, salt and soda together
Beat butter or margarine, sugar, eggs and vanilla together
Add dry ingredients
Fold in cereal and swirl (do not mix) in chocolate
Drop by teaspoons onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake in the oven for approximately 12 minutes. Yields 5 dozen cookies
Posted on Thursday, December 13th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Homemade Oreos!
From mykitchenaddiction.com | Submitted by Nicci Glenn, Administration
Now, these cookies may sound a little intimidating, but trust me, it’s not that bad….and the results are YUMMO! I made them one night on a whim, and still had time to enjoy a few after they cooled and the dishes were done! Plus, this beats the price of buying Oreos at the grocery store. To see the original blog post with pictures, visit http://www.mykitchenaddiction.com/2012/02/homemade-oreos/
For the cookies (makes about 3 dozen):
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup dutch process cocoa powder ( I used regular Hershey’s Cocoa Powder, and they turned out great…I’ve tried shopping for the Dutch Process cocoa powder around here to no avail!)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons half and half
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 3 – 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, whisked to remove any lumps
Begin by preparing the cookies. Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until well incorporated.
Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture, beating on the lowest speed. Continue to mix on the lowest setting until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
Divide the dough in half, and shape into two discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
When the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. Set aside.
Taking only one portion of dough out of the refrigerator at a time, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough to 1/8 – 1/4-inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter (approximately 2 inches in diameter) to cut out cookies and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet. (I didn’t have a cookie cutter this size, so I used a champagne glass, worked like a charm!)
Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cookies are cooled, prepare the filling. Combine the softened butter, half and half, vanilla, and salt and beat until combined. The mixture may be a bit lumpy, but will come together. Add the powdered sugar gradually, approximately 1/2 cup at a time, until the filling comes together. It will be slightly stiffer than a cupcake frosting.
Transfer the filling to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. (A tip from Nicci: Don’t have pastry or piping bags? Use a ziploc baggie, and cut of one corner) Pipe the filling onto half of the cookies, and top with the remaining cookies to form cookie sandwiches.
Posted on Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Ranger Cookies
Submitted by Janette Welch, Administration
½ C margarine
½ C sugar
½ C brown sugar
-cream until light and fluffy
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
-add to cream mixture
1 C flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
-Add to mixture
1 cup rice krispies
1 cup instant oatmeal (quick oats)
-add to mixture
Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.
Posted on Tuesday, December 11th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Sugar Cookies
Submitted by Sue McGraw, ESAC
1 C butter or margarine
2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
-beat together until light and fluffy. Mix in 1 C sour cream.
In a separate bowl, sift together:
5 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
Combine sugar mixture and flour mixture; refrigerate overnight.
Roll out to ¾” thick. Cut out desired shapes using cookie cutters.
Bake 8-10 min at 350. Frost cooled cookies as desired.
Posted on Monday, December 10th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Crescents
Submitted by Joanne Grant, Administration
Ingredients
| Walnuts | 1 Cup (16 Tbs) | |
| Flour | 2 Cup (16 Tbs) | |
| Powdered sugar | 1⁄2 Cup (16 Tbs) | |
| Vanilla extract | 2 Teaspoon | |
| Butter stick | 1 |
Directions
In a food processor, grind the walnuts until they form a crumbly paste.
In a large bowl (or a stand mixer if you have one), combine the ground walnuts and the other ingredients. With the paddle attachment, or with your fingers, blend until a smooth dough comes together.
Form the dough into a ball, then shape it into a disc and put it into the fridge for 30 min to rest.
Preheat the oven to 350° F/190° C.
Cut the dough into ½” strips, roll them into a rough log shape and then cut those into ½” slices.
Roll the small slices and then curl them to make a crescent shape.
Place them on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper and bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to brown.
Let them cool and dust with powdered sugar to serve. Enjoy.
Posted on Sunday, December 9th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Melting Snowmen Oreo Cookie Balls
Submitted by Donna Unrath, Administration | from oreos.com
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Ready In: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 15
Ingredients
24 Winter Oreo Cookies, divided
3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
9 ounces white chocolate, melted
Assorted colored decorating gels
Directions
- Crush 9 cookies finely; mix with cream cheese until blended. Shape into 15 balls
- Place remaining cookies on waxed paper-covered rimmed baking sheet. Dip balls in chocolate, place on cookies. Tap cookies on baking sheet several times to allow excess chocolate to pool onto tops of cookies. Decorate with gels to resemble snowmen
- Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
Posted on Saturday, December 8th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Bird Nest Cookies
Submitted by Dorothy Carr, ESAC
½ cup Butter or Margarine (or combination of two)
¼ cup packed Brown Sugar
1 Egg separated
½ tsp. Vanilla
1 cup Flour
¼ tsp Salt
¾ cup finely chopped Nuts
Tinted Confectioner Sugar Icing (or colored icing of choice)
Peanut M&M’s
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix Butter (margarine or combination of two) with the sugar, egg yolk and vanilla.
Blend flour and salt together
Stir flour into the wet ingredients
When well-mixed roll the dough into balls (1 tsp. per ball)
Beat the egg white slightly with a fork
Dip the balls into the egg white and roll each ball in the nuts coating the outside
Place the rolled dough balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet
Press your thumb gently into the middle of each dough ball
Bake the cookies approximately 10-12 minutes or until set
Let the cookies cool
When cookies are cool, fill the thumbprints with icing and place one M&M peanut candy on top. Yields 3 dozen cookies.
Posted on Friday, December 7th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Thumbprint Cookies
From cooks.com | Submitted by Lori Erbes, Realty
½ C shortening or butter ¼ C brown sugar
1 egg, separated ½ Tbsp vanilla
1 C flour ¾ finely chopped nuts
Jelly or tinted powdered sugar icing
Mix shortening, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla thoroughly. Add flour and salt; mix well. Form dough into balls and roll in egg white and then in nuts. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, then press thumb gently in center.
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Fill thumbprints with jelly or icing when cool.
Posted on Thursday, December 6th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Chewy Skor Toffee Bits Cookies
From Food.com | Submitted by Amy Ackert, Administration
2 ¼ C flour 1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt ½ C butter, softened
¾ C granulated sugar ¾ C packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract 2 eggs
1 10oz package Skor English Toffee bits
- Heat oven to 350
- Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt
- In a large mixer bowl beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until well blended.
- Add eggs and blend thoroughly
- Gradually add flour mixture, beating well
- Stir in toffee bits
- Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet
- Bake 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned
- Cool slightly, remove from sheets to cooling rack
- Cool completely
Posted on Wednesday, December 5th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Butter Cookies
Submitted by Melissa Fawkes, Administration
1C Butter ¾ C Sugar
1 egg 2 Tbs Milk
1 ½ tsp Vanilla 3 C Sifted Flour
1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt
Red and green sprinkles
- Mix together butter & sugar. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Blend well.
- In separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt
- Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture, mixing well
- Put flour on table, roll out dough ¼” thick using rolling pin on floured surface. Use cookie cutters to cut out dough.
- Place cutouts on ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle w red and green sugar crystals. Bake at 400 for 5-8 minutes
Posted on Tuesday, December 4th, 2012 at 9:15 am
Kolacky
Recipe from Epicurious, November 2010 | Submitted by Natalie Martin, Recreation
My grandmother always had Kolacky (pronounced KO-LOTCH-KEY, by her anyway) in her kitchen when we would come over. When I got older and wanted to make them again for myself, this was the closest recipe I could find. I prefer to use almond filling by Solo, but raspberry jam and apricot jam are two of my other favorites! They stay well in a sealed container and travel well to parties!
I hope your family enjoys these as much as mine has!
Barbara Grunes & Virginia Van Vynckt
Very Merry Cookie Party
| Various Central European countries have their own variations on these popular filled cookies, sometimes spelled kolache or kolace. Some are made with a yeast dough, others with cream cheese or even ice cream. The cream cheese dough is the most popular for the Polish version of these rich cookies.
Yield: Makes 36 cookies
6 ounces (about 3/4 cup) cream cheese, at room temperature
1. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and sugar on medium speed until light, about 2 minutes. On low speed, gradually beat in the flour just until mixed. The dough will be soft and sticky. 2. Divide the dough in half. Pat each half into a thick disk and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm enough to handle, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day. 3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or spray cookie sheets. 4. Dust a pastry cloth or board with flour or confectioners’ sugar. Remove 1 dough disk from the refrigerator and place it on the pastry cloth. Keep the remaining dough disk refrigerated. Roll out the dough into a square or rectangle 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 2 1/2-inch squares. 5. Place 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center of each square. Pull 2 opposite corners of the square into the middle, and pinch the edges together to seal. Place the cookies on the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. 6. Bake in the center of the oven until lightly golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheets for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks. Dust the tops with sifted confectioners’ sugar while still warm, then let cool completely. |
Posted on Monday, December 3rd, 2012 at 9:15 am
No Bake Chocolate Peanut-Butter Cookies
Recipe by Helen Ostrosky | Submitted by Rick Farringer, Public Safety
Ingredients:
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 tablespoons cocoa
- 1 stick butter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 3 cups oatmeal
- Waxed paper
Directions:
In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil: sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened.
Posted on Sunday, December 2nd, 2012 at 9:15 am
Dippy Chippy Squares
Submitted by Becky Whelchel, Administration
1 stick melted butter
1 cup crushed graham crackers
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
- Preheat oven to 350. Place stick of butter in 9 x 13 pan and put in the oven to melt. Spread crushed graham crackers over melted butter. Layer nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips over graham crackers. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the top. Bake for 30-45 minutes. Cut before completely cooled.
Posted on Saturday, December 1st, 2012 at 9:15 am
25 Days of Christmas Cookies!!!
One of my favorite things about the holidays is sharing recipes, baking and eating cookies!
In the spirit of that, we here at Woodhaven decided we’d share some of our favorite recipes with you! Everyday from December 1 – 25, we’ll post a cookie recipe to our blog for you to try.
So bring out those aprons and prepare to indulge! Share your comments, especially if you try a recipe, and let us know what you think!
Posted on Monday, November 19th, 2012 at 11:15 am
How to Make a Book Pumpkin!
Use an old paperback book to create a fun Fall table decoration! This is not a child’s craft as you have to use a sharp knife to cut through the book pages! The original tutorial came from Stumbling Tongues Blog at stumblingtongues.com ENJOY!
Supplies:
◦old paperback book (mass-market paperbacks are ideal for this project)
◦Sharpie marker & scrap paper (for drawing your pumpkin shape)
◦pen or pencil
◦craft knife
◦scissors (for clean-up trimming, if needed)
◦cutting mat (or several pieces of card stock/cardboard/etc)
◦paper clips (or glue or double-sided tape)
◦piece of hardwood mulch (for stem)
How To:
- Tear the front and back cover off your book. The paper covering on the spine should tear off easily with either the front or back cover. Be sure to keep the binding intact, as this will allow your pages to stay together and “accordion” open nicely.
- Draw a half-pumpkin shape on scrap paper & cut out. This will be your template.
- Trace the half-pumpkin shape onto your book. (You can turn the book upside-down, so when the pumpkin stands open on display, the words aren’t easily readable.)
- Now it’s time to start cutting. I found it easiest to work in small sections. Lift up a small section of pages and place your cutting mat inside.
- Using your craft knife, slowly cut along the inside of your line, making sure your cuts go all the way through to the cutting mat. (Without working in sections like this or using a cutting mat, you can get a frustrating tangle of partially-cut pages underneath. Working in sections helps to keep things clean and consistent!)
- Remove your scraps as you go. Tear the scraps in the middle for easy removal and peel each side off the binding.
- Use your previously cut section(s) as a guide for tracing the pumpkin shape on your next section. If you feel like you’re straying too far from the original pumpkin shape, just use your original template to trace the shape instead.
- Continue working in sections, cutting and tracing your way through the book. Your cuts won’t be uniform every time, and that’s OK. (There’s not many perfectly symmetrical pumpkins in real life either!)
- When you’re finished cutting through the entire book, use scissors to clean up any stray cuts or jagged edges (if needed).
- Go through the book and bend the spine open every few pages, so your pumpkin has a nice, full shape. And then attach the front and back pages together. For easy dis-assembly after the season is over, use a couple discreetly-placed paper clips. Otherwise, you could use glue or double-sided tape to adhere the front and back pages together permanently.
Insert stem, maybe a piece of scrap wood, or make your own out of twisted wire! It can be anything you want!
To see the video tutorial, go to our youtube channel at http://youtu.be/zEot7Scaags
Posted on Thursday, November 15th, 2012 at 11:17 am
Printable Halloweeny Pumpkin Word Search Puzzle
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Happy Halloween, everyone!
Here’s a Halloween word search puzzle kids and adults will enjoy in between all the parties and candy-eating this week! I designed it as virtual trick-or-treat gift, so get out your goody bag!
You can download and print the puzzle right from my Web site. Feel free to make as many copies as you wish! Here’s the link:
Halloween Word Search Puzzle: The Legend of the ‘Punked Out Punkin’!
Chris Dunmire
Woodhaven Camper since 1975
P.S. Not responsible for lost teeth ;}
Posted on Monday, October 29th, 2012 at 9:05 am
Celebrate autumn with a creative harvest of your own!
By Chris Dunmire, Woodhaven Camper since 1975
One of my favorite childhood memories at Woodhaven Lakes is of going to arts and crafts classes at Holcomb Hall in the 1970s (where they now have the Halloween spook house).
Craft classes back then were much different than they are today. Each class usually cost between 10-35 cents and we’d really roll up our sleeves and get creative (and dirty)!
I remember one time when we made sand candles outside. Beth (the teacher) had us go outside and dig holes in the sand around Pool I and position the wick near the top while she carefully melted wax cubes. She poured the wax in our sand holes (whatever shape we dug), and within a few minutes it hardened and we got to go home with our own homemade candle AND an unforgettable creative experience!
Truly, I credit my many summers at Woodhaven doing craftivities with nurturing my love for creative expression in all its forms. As an adult I continue to cherish our collective creative gifts and work with writers and artists at all levels to help them express their creativity, in whatever form that may be. I’ve also facilitated art “playshops” for boys and girls at Womanspace in Rockford, Illinois.
Which reminds me . . . About a month ago I was camping and oak trees on our lot were dropping their acorns on our camper roof and deck. It was fun to listen to . . . drop . . . drop, roll . . . drop . . . for most of the day, anyway (they didn’t turn off at night, unfortunately!).
I was so inspired by the little nuts that I gathered a bunch of them in hopes to create a neat little craft project for them. A mosaic? A squirrel toy? Sculpture? Poetry? I’m still incubating …
Meanwhile, my joy for crafts continues. You can see some of the craft projects I’ve created for Creativity Portal®, a Web site I founded in 2000 in an article I just wrote called “10 Creative Arts & Crafts to Inspire Your Fall Season.” In particular, check out the Fabric Tree Collage project and all of the free printable cards, puzzles, and games in the article that you can download from the Web. I hope to inspire you and others to continue harvesting your own creative gifts, no matter what age you are!
Now, just what should I do with these acorns . . .
Chris Dunmire has been a Woodhaven Lakes camper since 1975 and has spent many squirrely falls picking up acorns in hopes of planting a thousand forests. She can be reached through ChrisDunmire.com.
Posted on Wednesday, October 10th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Have You Ever Heard an Apple Sing?
By: Rich Holke, Section 21 Lot 256
This is a fun and tasty treat that everyone in the family will enjoy. Make a mixture of 1 cup sugar with 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and set aside.
Take a good sturdy stick, metal marshmallow fork or a 1/2″ dowell rod and attach an apple to the end.
Roast over an open fire until the skin is burnt and the apple sings. Trust me, you will know when the apple is singing. Remove the apple from the stick and peel the skin carfully as the apple will be hot.
Roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture, sit back and enjoy!
Posted on Wednesday, July 25th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
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