A Virtual Cookie Exchange

Getting ready to bake for Christmas and need some tried and true, really yummy cookie recipes?

Or do you have a recipe to share?

Below you’ll find a sampling of cookies my friends and I have baked through the years for Karen’s Annual Cookie Competition Exchange.

If you have any cookie recipes to share, please post on your site and link to it via the comments section. And also be sure to check out the Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom and The Mom Creative cookie exchange for more yummy ideas.

Chocolate Almond Cherry Crisps

Yield: 36 crisps

*** No baking!!

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or ½ cup dark choc chips and ½ cup semisweet)

¾ cup white chocolate chips

1 ½ cups rice krispies or cocoa crispies

¾ cup dried cherries

1/3 cup slivered almonds

½ teaspoon vanilla

1. Cover large baking sheet with waxed paper

2. Place all chips in medium glass bowl and microwave on HIGH 45 seconds. Stir. Microwave an additional 45 seconds or until almost melted. Stir until smooth

3. Add cereal and remaining ingredients, stirring quickly to combine

4. Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet.

5. Chill 1 hour until firm

Chocolate Cherry Thumbprint Cookies

48 Cherry Cordial Hershey Kisses

1 Family Size (13×9-in pan) original supreme brownie mix with Hershey’s Syrup packet

¼ cup cocoa

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon water

1. Beat brownie mix, pouch of syrup, cocoa, eggs, oil and water in medium bowl until well blended.
2. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
3. Heat oven to 350.
4. Scoop dough or roll into 1-inch balls and bake 9-11 minutes or until set.
5. Unwrap Hershey Kisses.
6. Remove from oven and let cool about 1 minute.
7. Place kisses in each cookie.
8. Remove from pan and let cool on wire racks.
9. Enjoy 48 cookies (or share them).

Holiday Orange Balls

1 12 oz. box Vanilla Wafers

1 stick butter

1 c. powdered sugar

1/4 c. undiluted frozen orange juice

1 c. chopped pecans

1 Tablespoon orange liquer (triple sec)

Crush vanilla wafers.

Melt butter–add sugar, nuts and O.J.

Add vanilla wafers.

Form into balls and roll in powdered sugar.

 

Magic in the Middles

(Mint Magic in the Middles variation to follow)

Chocolate Dough

• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus extra for dredging)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg

Peanut butter filling

• 3/4 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth, your choice
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Chocolate Dough

• 6 3/8 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 ounces granulated sugar (plus extra for dredging)
• 3 3/4 ounces brown sugar
• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 3/8 ounces smooth peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg

Peanut butter filling

• 7 1/8 ounces peanut butter, crunchy or smooth, your choice
• 3 ounces confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

2. To make the dough: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

3. In another medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the egg, beating to combine, then

4. stir in the dry ingredients, blending well.

5. To make the filling: In a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter and confectioners sugar until smooth.

6. With floured hands or a teaspoon scoop, roll the filling into 26 one-inch balls.

7. To shape the cookies: Scoop 1 tablespoon of the dough (a lump about the size of a walnut), make an indentation in the center with your finger and place one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation.

8. Bring the cookie dough up and over the filling, pressing the edges together cover the center;

9. roll the cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

10. Roll each rounded cookie in granulated sugar, and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.

11. Grease the bottom of a drinking glass, and use it to flatten each cookie to about 1/2-inch thick.

12. Bake the cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, or until they’re set and you can smell chocolate. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack. For Mint Magic in the Middles:Instead of the peanut butter and sugar filling, use 1/3 of a Peppermint Patty for each cookie.

Happy virtual tasting and baking!