Christmas Cookie time!

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My mother loves to make cookies. She often creates a cookie platter with a half-dozen or more DIFFERENT cookies. She spends a day or two making them, then she delivers them to all her neighbors and friends. So Christmas cookies are some of my favorite childhood memories. I listed three of my favorite. One I couldn't find my family recipe for, so I just found one online that looked pretty similar.


Peppermint Pinwheels or Candy Cane Twists is my favorite Christmas Cookie. I thought I'd share it with you! Now, I've stopped using shortening. I replace with either unsalted butter or cocoa nut oil, depending on the recipe. In this one, using butter will make the cookie crunchier. 


Basic Refrigerator dough:

½ c. shortening
½ c. margarine or butter
3 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 egg
2 Tbls. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt

Cream shortening and margarine with sugar. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients together and mix into sugar mixture to make a soft dough.
Divide dough into two portions. In one, mix in ¾ tsp peppermint extract and ½ tsp red food coloring. Roll each portions of dough into a 12 X 11 rectangle, between sheets of wax paper. Remove wax paper from top side of each portion and stack one portion on top of the other with the wax paper on the outside. Remove the wax paper from top and roll together jelly roll style, removing the wax paper from bottom as you roll up. Refrigerate for 4-24 hours. Cut the roll with thread or floss into1/2 inch slices and bake at 375 on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes.

Variations:
Follow as above except instead of rolling into a rectangle, roll each dough into ½ inch ropes. Cut ropes at 6 inches. Twist a red dough and white dough together and bend to make "candy canes." Bake as above.

For those who like chocolate
Use basic recipe above except in one portion, use ¼ c. unsweetened cocoa and make as above for "black and white" pinwheels.
For chocolate lovers:
Make basic dough and add ½ c. unsweetened cocoa. Refrigerate as stated. Roll into balls and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Before cookies cool, indent the top with Hershey's kisses, mini Reeces Peanut Butter cups or your favorite chocolate candy.

Three layer cookies
Mix basic dough and divide into three portions. In first third add 1 oz of melted semi-sweet chocolate block and 2 Tbls. milk. In second portion add 1/3 c. chopped cherries and a few drops of red food coloring. In the third portion add ½ c. chopped pistachios, 2 Tbls. milk, ¼ tsp. rum flavoring and 2 Tbs. milk.


Peanut butter Blossoms

1/2 c of sugar, peanut butter, shortening and brown sugar
1 egg
2 Tbs. Milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp soda
1/2 t. salt
10 min. 375 When cooked, press with a Hershey's kiss (unwrapped)


And Stained Glass cookies

https://preppykitchen.com/window-pane-cookies/


What are your Christmas favorites?

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