Holiday Baking Eve

So tomorrow I will be making some holiday treats. Usually I make 6 recipes, but my husband has asked that I scale back to only 3 since we're being careful with our money. I don't mean to toot my horn, but the recipes I make are scrumptious! Most of these recipes come from my mom who is a fabulous cook in her own right. She has made cooking and baking easier for me by trying out recipes and determining the best recipes out there and then giving them to me! I have never been stingy with recipes and so I thought I'd share my top favorite holiday treats with you. Get out your pen and paper - these are worth your time & effort!

Surpreme Sugar Cookies (double batch): from my Mom
2 cups REAL butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups powdered sugar
4 eggs
2 cups oil
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp lemon peel
8 1/2 cups flour

Cream butter, granulated sugar, & powdered sugar. Add eggs & oil. Then add all the rest of the ingredients in order. Mix well. Separate into 6 equal amounts and wrap each in foil. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

Roll out cookie dough using POWDERED SUGAR instead of flour. Cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 325 degrees for 10-13 minutes. Let cool completely. Frost with glaze: powdered sugar, milk (not a lot - use teaspoons) & food coloring. I always make pink & green cookies for Christmas and then top them with sprinkles - a great job for children who want to help! These are a family traditional Christmas treat. They are rich, but OH, so good!

Gingerbread Cookies: from my Mom
2/3 cup REAL butter, softened
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
5 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Icing: 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 5 tsp water

Cream butter, shortening, & brown sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add buttermilk, molasses, eggs, & vanilla; beat well. Add rest of ingredients. Divide dough into fourths. Wrap in plastic wrap & chill for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough with a little flour, almost 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters or cut in shapes for Gingerbread houses. Bake 7-9 minutes. Mix icing together and pipe onto cookies or to set up Gingerbread houses. Allow icing to harden. Store in airtight container. We started making Gingerbread houses with this recipe last year - it was fun and so yummy!

Amish Ginger Cookies: I found this one!
3/4 cup REAL butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
Extra granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, beat together butter & 1 cup sugar until cream. Add egg & molasses; beat until combined. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well combined. Roll dough into balls and roll in extra sugar. Place balls on UNGREASED baking sheet. Bake for 5-9 minutes until barely turning brown and the tops of the cookies have cracked. Allow to cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet and then removed and allow to cool completely. I found this recipe while preparing for a presentation in my religion class on the Amish people. I made these and shared them with the class - they were a big hit!
Fantasy Fudge: from my Mom
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 small can evaporated milk
1 bag 12oz chocolate chips
1 7oz marshmallow creme
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup nuts (optional)

Heat sugar, butter, & milk until the candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees F, while stirring constantly. Stir in chocolate chips & creme. Add vanilla & nuts. I like to line a 13 x 9 inch pan with foil and spray it with non-stick spray before pouring the fudge into the pan. Then when the fudge has cooled (hours later...) you can lift out the fudge by lifting the foil out of the pan. Cut into 1 inch squares and then you can put it back into the pan. It's the ONLY way to cut up fudge!

Mini New York Style Cheesecakes: recipe by me, "mini-style" by my Mom

Crust: Vanilla Wafer cookies! (how easy is that?!)
Filling:
4 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs

Blend cream cheese. Add sugar, flour & vanilla until blended. Add sour cream and mix. Blend in eggs. For individual cheesecakes, use muffin tins for making them with cupcake papers in the muffin tin. On the bottom of each muffin tin paper put on vanilla wafer. Then pour cheesecake batter on top, filling about 3/4 full. Bake at 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until done. When cooled, spoon cherry pie filling on top. Keep in refrigerator overnight. Variation: stir in chopped andes mints in the cheesecake batter.

Coconut Pound Cake: from my Mom
1 package (16oz) pound cake mix
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp coconut extract
1 cup coconut, divided
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine cake mix, sour cream, eggs, & extract until well blended. Stir in 3/4 cup coconut. Spoor into greased cups of a g mold pan or muffin tins. Bake 20-25 minutes or until done. Cool in pans for 5 minutes. Invert onto a wife rack with waxed paper underneath. Combine powdered sugar & milk. Drizzle glaze over warm cakes. Sprinkle with remaining coconut. Allow glaze to harden. Store in airtight container.

Now you're set! Make up a grocery list and you're good to go this holiday season!