Cookie exchange day 6- Whole Wheat Ginger Snaps

Spicy and chewy Ginger Snaps made with all whole wheat flour. I love ginger snap and this is a nice recipe using whole wheat flour!!

Original Recipe Yield 5 dozen

Ingredients
1 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup molasses
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 cup white sugar for decoration

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar until smooth. Mix in the eggs, and then the molasses. Combine the whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, heaping the measures if you like a lot of spice. Stir the dry ingredients into the molasses mixture just until blended.
Roll the dough into small balls, and dip the top of each ball into the remaining white sugar. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops are cracked. Bake longer for crispy cookies, less time for chewy cookies. Cool on wire racks.

Cookie exchange day 5-peanut brittle

My grandma's favorite holiday treat! Every year she looks forward to my home made peanut brittle. She starts talking about it in late September.

Original Recipe Yield 1 pound

Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
1 cup peanuts
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions
Grease a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, over medium heat, bring to a boil sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peanuts. Set candy thermometer in place, and continue cooking. Stir frequently until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads.
Remove from heat; immediately stir in butter or margarine and baking soda; pour at once onto cookie sheet. With 2 forks, lift and pull peanut mixture into rectangle about 14x12 inches; cool. Snap candy into pieces.

Cookie exchange day 4- cookies in a jar (great gift idea)

Great gifts. Share your love of baking with others. I love this idea. Make a basket (for the basket use an air tight container so they can store the cookies after they bake) with the cookie in a jar, wooden spoon, cookie sheet and recipe card!

Prep Time:25 Min
Ready In:25 Min

Original Recipe Yield 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Layer the ingredients in a 1 quart jar in the order given. Press each layer firmly in place before adding the next layer.
Include a card with the following instructions: Cowboy Cookie Mix in a Jar 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. 2. In a medium bowl, mix together 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Stir in the entire contents of the jar. You may need to use your hands to finish mixing. Shape into walnut sized balls. Place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. 3. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes in the preheated oven. Transfer from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Cookie exchange Day 3- sugar cookie

I LOVE sugar cookies!! You can do so much with them. Shapes, use as a base for fillings, decorate whatever your heart desires!!

Recipe Yield 4 dozen

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

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). 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. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Cookie exchange day 2- PB cups

Another bit size cookie that I love. peanut butter and chocolate are made for each other!!

Recipe Yield 40 cookies

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well.
Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.

Cookie exchange day 1- pecan tassie

Pecan tassies are my favorite bite size cookie. It's a mini pecan pie that you can pop in your mouth.

PECAN TASSIES
Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1613,156171-233196,00.htmlContent Copyright © 2010 Cooks.com - All rights reserved.
Pastry:
3 oz. cream cheese1/4 c. butter1 c. sifted flour
Soften cheese and butter. Add flour. Mixture will be very stiff. Form into ball and store covered in refrigerator for 1 hour. Shape into 24 one-inch (walnut size) balls. Place in tiny ungreased muffin tins. Press against bottom and sides of cup to form small pastry cups.
Filling:
3/4 c. brown sugar1 egg, beaten1 tbsp. butter1 tsp. vanilla3/4 c. pecans, broken updash salt
Beat together egg, sugar, butter, vanilla and salt until smooth. Add pecans. Fill pastries.
Bake at 325°F for 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
Remove from pan by inverting on rack and thumping on bottom of pan. These freeze well.

Cookie Exchange- Blog style

It's almost December and that means a whole lot of baking for my family

I thought it would be fun to do a blog cookie exchange.

with most cookie exchange you bring "x" amount of cookies and you trade with the others to get a bunch of different kinds so you don't have to bake as much & you get a variety and most importantly you may get a flavor you have never had (good time to try things you may not get to).

Idea:

post a recipe everyday for a week

I will start 12/6

my big baking day is 12/13 with my dad and I will share everything we did on the 14th

Your help:

post recipes in the comments

I will post them so everyone can read and enjoy them!!

NOvember

I can't believe that we are in the 2nd week on November!!!!!

November News:

• i went monthly shopping last Friday with no success. I finished at Sam's club, went to Walmart and it hit me my famous dizzy spell. I had only gotten my H&B and started to look at humidifiers and BAM I couldn't see, I was hot, and needed to get out fast. I made the decision to check out.... I have no problem with people that are on a tight budget and I am sure it was due to my spell that I became so annoyed she questioned every price not to be budget wise but to complain!! Any woo, I checked out went outside in the fresh air and started to feel better. It did not last as long as most spells. I feel it was related to my allergies. This year in NY it will be 30 on day and 70 the other.So now I need to find some extra time to finish up
• Bomb dropped that I may end up with 20+ people at Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. It's a family tradition (my dad's family) to come to my house and I love it. I don't find making a big meal is a big deal. This year like ever year we invited my husbands parents (usually they are out of town) to come over. When we saw them 2 weeks a go they mentioned that my husbands sibling's may be in town=+10. I love all of them dearly. I love all my nieces and nephews (we love kids) but I don't know if I have room. It is still in limbo. I just want to know what's going on. I love my family and I can't wait to Thanksgiving!
• 30 day challenge- not so good but not so bad. I work out 5 days a week. I mix it up so I don't get bored. I made a great chart on my calendar to let me see my accomplishments and I actually feel so much better and feel bad on my rest days. I know that my body needs my rest days and it works for my schedule. My rest days are Tuesdays and Saturday. I have lost about 3.5 pounds so far. I have been eating on track but I have cut portions and not eating snacks as much as I have been. Eating only when I am hungry. I am proud of the steps I am taking to gain control.
• out of town- this weekend I am headed to visit my grandma. I am excited, nervous, happy, sad. November 13 will mark ONE year since my grandpa passed away. This has been the toughest year of my life but also the most rewarding year of my life. It sounds crazy but I have made huge changes in my life and I am proud that I took a step back and started to focus on more on me. I know that my grandpa would be so proud of me. I have stepped in to help my family mourn the loss of a great man. I have stepped out of my comfort zone and done things that I didn't think I would. I have my days but they are not about the selfish reason like they were when he first passed. I miss him and I know he is my guardian angel and he is watching over me.
• Christmas shopping- hoping to take grandma to quilting store to shop for my mom's gifts then on the way home from my visit with grandma I will stop at the outlets. Last year i did 80% of my shopping at the outlets. Plan is to have 80% of my shopping done by 11/13! I don't have many to shop for my parents, grandma, husband, nephew and AP (she's almost done).
• Christmas decorations- this year for the first time I am going to start decorating in November for Christmas. I want to have winter decorations up for Thanksgiving. We always travel for Christmas and we are they only ones besides my dad that gets to see my Christmas decorations. I can't wait. I am going to out up my winter garlands, snow mans things that will fit in with Fall & winter.