November 2017 – Christmas Cookies & Holiday Treats

Norwegian Sugar Cookies

Karen Wadsworth

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 3 cups flour (may need to add ¼ cup more to make dough stiff, but not dry)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tarter

Preheat oven to 325°F. Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs until well blended. Add milk, vanilla and almond extract. Mix dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture, blending well after each addition. Chill for 1 hour, or until dough can be handled. Roll dough into 1″ balls, place on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten with a glass dipped in colored baking sugar or finely chopped almonds.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, watching carefully so cookies don’t burn.


Loaded-Up Pretzel Cookies

Jennica Horst, Ephrata

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2½ cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups mini pretzels, broken
  • 1½ cups flaked coconut
  • 1½ cups milk chocolate M&M’s

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually beat in creamed mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Shape 1/4 cupfuls of dough into balls; place 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from sheets to cool. Yields 2 dozen cookies.


Josephine’s Fudge (1950)

Julie Gockley, Ephrata

  • 15 oz. can condensed milk
  • 2½ cups chocolate chips
  • 1 oz. baking chocolate
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Grease an 8”x8” pan. Line with greased foil or parchment paper, leaving a 2” overhang for lifting from pan.

Microwave the first four ingredients as follows: 30 seconds, stir; 30 seconds, stir; 30 seconds, stir; 10 seconds if needed.

Remove and stir until smooth. Add vanilla and nuts. Quickly spoon into prepared pan and decorate with seasonal sprinkles. Chill 3 hours. Using overhang foil, lift fudge onto cutting surface. Cut into desired pieces and store at room temperature.


Lizzie Geyer’s Soft Molasses Cookies (1947)

Julie Gockley, Ephrata

Cookies:

  • 11/3 cups dark brown sugar
  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons lard, softened
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup dark molasses
  • 1¾ teaspoons baking soda
  • 11/8 cup sour cream
  • 41/3 cups flour

Decorations:

  • 1½ cups flaked, sweet coconut
  • green and red sugar
  • 2½ cups of your favorite white frosting

Use mixer to beat sugar, butter and lard. Add eggs and beat till smooth. Add remaining four ingredients and beat until smooth. Drop onto greased sheets by generous teaspoonfuls, 9 to 12 per sheet. Bake at 350°F for 8 to 11 minutes.

Decorate when cool. Frost with your favorite white frosting. Dip top of cookie into bowl of coconut. Lastly, sprinkle with red and green sugar.


No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

Gloria Dougherty, Akron
“This was my mother’s recipe. I have been making them for years.”

  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 1 cup 10X sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1½ cups Rice Krispies cereal
  • 2 cups chocolate wafers
  • 1 tablespoon shortening

Mix all ingredients (except chocolate wafers and shortening) together. Shape into balls. Put balls on no-stick foil. Melt chocolate and shortening in top of double boiler. Dip balls into the melted chocolate using a fork. Melt more chocolate and add shortening as needed. Put in refrigerator to harden.

Recipe can be easily doubled. Chopped nuts can be added to the chocolate balls before the chocolate hardens.


Lemon Whippersnaps

Gloria Dougherty, Akron
“I made these cookies for years. It’s a family favorite.”

  • 1 box lemon cake mix
  • 1 egg
  • 1 container (4 oz.) Cool Whip
  • 10X sugar

Combine cake mix, egg and Cool Whip. Mixture will be sticky. Chill for a few hours.

Spray hands with Pam as needed and roll dough into balls. Roll in 10X sugar. Bake at 350°F for 9½ minutes.

These cookies have more lemon flavor if you freeze them rather than keep at room temperature. Recipe can easily be doubled.


Crispy Pretzel Bars

Gloria Dougherty, Akron

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • ½ cup peanut butter
  • 5 cups Rice Krispies cereal
  • 2 cups pretzel sticks
  • 1 cup plain M&M’s

In large microwave-safe bowl, combine sugar and corn syrup. Microwave on high for 3 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peanut butter till blended. Add cereal, pretzels and M&M’s. Stir until coated.

Press into greased 15”x10”x1” pan. Wait a few hours, then cut into bars.


Double Crunchers

Edith Zimmerman, New Holland

  • 1 cup flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup shortening
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup Corn Flakes, crushed
  • 1 cup oatmeal
  • ½ cup coconut
  • Chocolate Topping:
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • ½ cup 10X sugar
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 3 oz. cream cheese

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Combine shortening, sugar and brown sugar. Beat until light and creamy. Blend in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until mixed together. Add Corn Flakes, oatmeal and coconut until ingredients are combined.

Remove 1/3 of the dough; reserve. Shape remaining 2/3 of dough into balls using level teaspoonfuls. Place on greased cookie sheets. Flatten with bottom of glass dipped in flour. Bake at 350°F for about 8 to 10 minutes. Shape reserved dough into balls using half teaspoonfuls. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes. Cool.

Prepare chocolate filling: Melt chocolate chips, 10X sugar and water over hot water in double boiler. Take off heat and beat in cream cheese with mixer until smooth. Cool. Spread filling over larger cookie and top with smaller cookie. Yield: 3½ dozen.


Lucky Stars Christmas Cookies

Pat Roth, Ephrata

Cookie dough:

  • ¼ cup butter
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 11/3 cup flour
  • 1½ teaspoon baking powder

Nut filling:

  • 1¼ cups walnuts (ground)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1/8 teaspoon vanilla

Combine dough ingredients. Roll out on floured board and cut with star shaped cookie cutter.

Combine nut filling ingredients. Put a teaspoon of filling in center of each star. Bring the five points upright, and pinch sides together so the points stand up. Bake in 400°F oven for 7 to 10 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet.


Holiday Fruit Cookies

Pat Roth, Ephrata

  • ½ cup Crisco
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1¾ cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ cup sour milk or buttermilk
  • ½ cup broken pecans
  • 1 cup candied cherries, cut in half
  • 1 cup dates, cut up

Mix all ingredients well, adding nuts, cherries and dates last. Drop by teaspoonfuls on lightly greased cookie sheet (can use parchment paper). Place a pecan half on each cookie. Bake at 375°F for 10 to 13 minutes. Yield 3½ dozen 2” cookies.


Blushing Rose Punch

Pat Roth, Ephrata

  • 1 pint cranberry juice cocktail
  • 1½ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 bottles (28 oz.) chilled ginger ale
  • 1 quart raspberry sherbet
  • ice ring

Combine cranberry juice, lemon juice and sugar. Blend and chill. To serve, place ice ring in punch bowl. Add ginger ale, then gently stir in the sherbet. Garnish with lemon juice. Yield about 30 punch cup servings.


Holiday Orange Dessert

Pat Roth, Ephrata

  • 2 (6 oz.) packages orange gelatin
  • 1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained (reserve liquid)
  • 2 cups mixed mandarin orange juice and water, heated
  • 1 pint orange sherbet

Drain oranges, reserving juice. Add enough water to juice to make 2 cups. Dissolve gelatin into mixture. Immediately add sherbet and stir until melted. Chill until thickened. Add oranges. Pour into 2 quart ring mold or any dessert dish. Chill until firm.


Vinegar Cookies

Anna Althouse, Denver

  • 8 oz. butter
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons vinegar
  • 1¾ cup flour

Cream together butter and sugar. Add baking soda, vanilla and vinegar. Add flour. Drop on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or until brown. Let cookies cool on baking pan.


Fruit Cocktail Drop Cookies

Anna Althouse, Denver

  • 1 cup shortening
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cloves
  • 15 oz. can fruit cocktail, drained
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1½ cup chopped nuts

In medium bowl, cream shortening, brown sugar and white sugar. Stir in the eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves. Stir into creamed mixture. Carefully fold in raisins, fruit cocktail and nuts. Try not to crush the fruit. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes.


Chocolate Peanut Butter Dreams

Lorraine Martin, Lititz

Cookie:

  • 1½ cups brown sugar
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • ¾ cup butter
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1 egg
  • 3 cups oatmeal
  • 1½ cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

Topping:

  • 1½ cups chocolate chips
  • 1 tablespoon Crisco
  • chopped peanuts

Mix first five ingredients. Slowly add dry ingredients until mixed. Roll in balls and place on cookie sheet. Flatten with tumbler dipped in granulated sugar. Bake at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes. Let on baking sheet one minute after removing from oven to prevent falling apart. Cool.

Melt chocolate chips and Crisco. Top each cookie with one teaspoon melted chocolate. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts.