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Last year, I joined in on a friend’s family holiday tradition of spending an entire day baking cookies. Nearly seven hours later, we had a kitchen full of delicious cookies and some amazing memories of laughter, fun and singing along to Christmas music. It was a tradition I whole-heartedly embraced and look forward to continuing with friends and family for many years to come. Baking cookies for the holidays isn’t a new concept, and it’s one that can be celebrated no matter what your home life is like. If you have kids, they will love mixing ingredients and decorating their own cookies. If you are an all-adult household or even living on your own, baking cookies with friends is just as much fun as when you were a kid. Below are some of my favorite holiday cookies. They also make excellent gifts for neighbors, co-workers and anyone else with a sweet tooth. Recipes courtesy of allrecipes.com. Sugar Cookies The best thing about sugar cookies is that you can use colored icing to decorate them however you wish. Children enjoy being creative and hands-on with this baking delight. For an even better result, use holiday cookie cutters to shape the dough into Christmas trees, snowmen, angels and more. Ingredients: 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cups white sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Method: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Gradually blend the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoons of dough into balls (or shape with cookie cutters), and place onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand on cookie sheet 2 minutes before moving to wire racks to cool. Once cool, decorate as desired. No-Bake Preacher Cookies We call these nobake chocolate and peanut butter cookies preacher cookies in my house. The Southern tale is that when you see the local preacher coming up the drive for a visit, you have enough time to make these cookies and offer a treat to your guest. I just love the taste of chocolate and peanut butter together, and the oatmeal gives it a fantastic texture. Little hands will love mixing these cookies almost as much as their mouths will enjoy eating them. Ingredients: 2 cups white sugar 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 pinch salt 1/2 cup peanut butter 3 cups quick-cooking oats Method: In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, cocoa, milk and butter. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract, salt, peanut butter and oats. Drop rounded spoonfuls onto waxed www.SouthwestOrlandoBulletin.com x November 19 — December 2, 2020 x 9 HOW TO ... Bake Festive Holiday Cookies Make Delicious Memories! by Lauren Salinero Spread holiday cheer and create unforgettable memories by making fabulous holiday cookies. paper. Allow cookies to cool for at least 1 hour. Gingerbread Cookies Nothing says holiday cookies quite like gingerbread, whether you’re using it to build a gingerbread house or just craving its unique taste. This is another one that is great for decorating and best when used with a cookie cutter to make gingerbread men. Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup butter, softened 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup molasses 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Method: Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. Beat butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add molasses, egg and vanilla extract. Mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well-mixed. Press dough into a thick, flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough to 1/4- inch thickness on lightly floured work surface. Cut into gingerbread shapes with cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges of cookies are set and just begin to brow. Cool on baking sheets for 1-2 minutes. Move to wire racks to cool completely. Decorate as desired. Snickerdoodles Snickerdoodles happen to be one of my favorite cookies. They are best when a little firm on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Their cinnamon-sugar flavor is perfect for the holidays. Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup shortening 1 1/2 cups white sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons white sugar 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon Method: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, eggs and vanilla. Blend in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Shape rounded spoonfuls of dough into balls. Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon together. Roll balls of dough in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets to cool. ª
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