while i’m trying to get myself into the Christmas mood, i’ll go ahead and post my favorite Christmas cookie recipes.  the first two, peanut butter balls and jen’s butter coookies, are the ones that really taste like Christmas to me.  those are the ones that my mom taught me to make when i was just a little itty bitty.  what are your “true” Christmas cookies?

• Peanut Butter Balls
  • 1 C Peanut Butter
  • 1 C Karo
  • 1 C Sugar
  • 4 C Rice Krispies
    • Mix Karo and Sugar in pot over medium heat. Stir constantly until mixture just starts to boil. Let boil without stirring 1 minute.
    • Remove from heat and immediately add peanut butter. Quickly mix well until creamy.
    • Pour mixture over tray of Rice Krispies. Mix together with hands and roll into small balls. (rubbing shortening on your hands prior to touching the mixture makes the heat less intense and keeps the candied peanut butter from sticking to your hands).
• Jen’s Butter Cookies
  • 2 C Butter
  • 1 C Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 2 t Vanilla (or other flavoring)
  • 4 C Flour
    • Beat together sugar, butter, eggs, and flavoring.  Gradually add in flour and mix thoroughly.
    • Add food coloring if desired and use cookie press fitted with the disk of your choice, press dough 1” apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
    • Bake 8-10 minutes at 400° – 445°.
• Cheese Cake Cookie Bars
  • Crust
    • 2/3 C Butter/Margerine
    • 2/3 C Brown Sugar
    • 2 C Flour
      • Cream butter with brown sugar in small bowl.  Add flour; mix to make a crumb mixture.
      • Reserve 1 C for topping.  Press remainder into bottom of 9”x13” pan.
      • Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned.
  • Filling
    • ½ C Sugar
    • 2 Blocks Cream Cheese (8 oz each)
    • 2 Egg
    • 4 T Milk
    • 1 t Vanilla
    • 2 T Lemon Juice
      • Blend sugar with cream cheese in small mixing bowl until smooth.  Add egg, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla; beat well.  Spread over baked crust.  Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
      • Bake 25 minutes.
      • Cool; cut into 2” squares.  
• Soft-Baked Peanut Butter Cookies
  • ½ C Salted Butter (1 stick), softened
  • ½ C Light Brown Sugar, packed
  • ¼ C Sugar
  • 1 Large Egg
  • ¾ C Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 1 t Vanilla Extract
  • ½ t Baking Soda
  • 1¼ C AP Flour
  • 1½ C M&Ms
    • In a large bowl, using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed. Mix in the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla (in that order). Slowly mix in the baking soda and flour. Do not overmix. Fold in the M&Ms with a wooden spoon. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.
    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop chilled dough by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet or silicone baking mat. I pressed a few M&Ms on top of the dough balls. Press the balls down (only slightly) since they won’t spread much while baking.
    • Bake for 8-9 minutes. Cookies will be soft and may appear undone. They will firm up as they cool. Allow to cool completely on wire rack.
• Rice Krispy Treats
  • 1 bag Marshmallows
  • ¼ C Butter
  • 1 t Vanilla
  • 6 C Rice Krispies
    • Melt butter over medium low heat and stir in vanilla. Add marshmallows until melted. Stir in rice krispies until coated.
    • Press evenly into greased 9″x13″ pan. Let cool before cutting.
• Red Velvet Cookies (recipe stolen from richmond)
  • 1 (8-oz.) Brick cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 Stick butter, at room temperature
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 t Vanilla extract
  • 1 (18-oz.) Box moist Red Velvet cake mix (yellow or chocolate is great too!)
  • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
    • In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls.
    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    • Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner’s sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
    • Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and “gooey.”
    • Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
• Basic Chip Cookies
  • 2¼ C All-purpose Flour
  • 1 t Baking Soda
  • 1 t Salt
  • 1 C Unsalted Butter, softened
  • ¾ C Sugar
  • ¾ C Light Brown Sugar
  • 1 t Vanilla
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 (12 oz) package Baking Chips (i prefer cinnamon chip or peanut butter chip cookies over chocolate chip cookies)
    • Preheat the oven to 375°.
    • Combine flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
    • Beat butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar with an electric mixer on high speed. Add the vanilla, then eggs beating well after each addition.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in chips.  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
    • Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely

• Snickerdoodles
  • 2¾ C Flour
  • ¼ t Salt
  • ½ t Baking Soda
  • 1 t Cream of Tarter
  • ½ C Butter
  • 1½ C Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 t Vanilla
    • Coating
      • 2 T Sugar
      • 2 t Cinnamon
        • Grease cookie sheet.
        • Stir together flour, soda, cream of tarter, and salt.
        • In a separate bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds; add the sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add eggs, and vanilla; beat well.  Add in dry ingredients.
        • Form dough into 1” balls; roll in coating mixture.  Place balls on cookie sheet 2” apart; flatten slightly with bottom of drinking glass.
        • Bake at 400° about 8 minutes or until light golden.
• Peanut Butter Blossoms
  • 1 3/4 C
  • 1/2 C Sugar
  • 1/2 C firmly packed Brown Sugar
  • 1 t Baking Soda
  • 1/2 t Salt
  • 1/2 C Shortening
  • 1/2 C Peanut Butter
  • 2 T Milk
  • 1 t Vanilla
  • 1 Egg
  • Sugar for rolling
  • 48 Candy Kisses
    • Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine ingredients at low speed until stiff dough forms. Shape into 1 inch balls; roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
    • Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
    • Remove from oven and top each cookie with candy kiss, pressing down until cookie cracks.
    • Makes 4 dozen
• Kipfel
  • 1 C Butter
  • 8 oz Cream Cheese
  • 2 C Flour
    • Mix ingredients with fork. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
    • Bring back to room temperature and roll thin.
    • Cut into 4″ squares. Put 1 t desired jam into center of each square. Pinch corners together above.
    • Bake 15 minutes at 375°.