I like to cut the cookies with the crimped pastry cutter. It gives the cookies a decorative edge.

I make these rather thin because that creates a crisp cookie. The cookie platter needs a variety…crisp/chewy…thick/thin…dark/light…with fruit and nuts or plain…cookies/candy…what to choose, what to choose!?

I prepared all the cookies for baking and left them stacked while I ran out to pick DD up from visiting a friend. No problem as there is no chemical leavening in this recipe. The cookies can be placed close together on the baking sheet for the same reason. They will not spread. The top sheet has the “leftover” cookies…those bits and pieces from the last cutting that I don’t want to recut. These are the cookies that everyone can sample while the rest are frozen for the open house.

The finished cookies get a drizzle of powdered sugar glaze and a dusting of freshly grated nutmeg.

These will be stacked between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container and frozen until the open house.

The recipe is here. Easy and delicious. If nutmeg isn’t a favorite spice, cinnamon could be substituted.

~~Rhonda

Chocolate Creams

1 pound semi-sweet chocolate
1 pound unsweetened chocolate
1 c. heavy whipping cream

To make the cream centers, melt the chocolate. I use the microwave, heating the chocolate for two minutes at 40% power. Stir and reheat for 30 seconds at 40% power, repeating until almost melted. Stir until completely melted. Transfer the melted chocolate to a mixing bowl.

In a small saucepan, over low heat, using a candy thermometer, heat the cream to 130*. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, heat the cream just until little bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan. Add the hot cream to the chocolate. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, whip for 3-5 minutes, or until thickened. Cover and chill 1 hour, or until just set. If they chill too hard to scoop, just set them on the kitchen counter and let them come to room temperature.

Using a melon baller, scoop up the chocolate mixture and roll into 3/4-inch balls. I scoop the entire batch onto the cookie sheet before rolling them into smooth balls. Using plastic/vinyl gloves to roll the balls keeps your hands clean. Place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the dipping chocolate. I use melted choc. chips and 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate to each bag of chips for chocolate covered creams or almond bark for white covered creams.

To dip, using a fork, dip the centers into the dipping chocolate, coating them completely. I tap the fork against the side of the pan with the dipping chocolate to remove as much extra coating as possible. Place the coated centers on a foil-lined baking sheet. Top immediately with chocolate sprinkles, if desired. Refrigerate.

Adapted from 1001 Chocolate Treats by Gregg R. Gillespie, recipe #320, p. 172. His recipe uses 2 pounds of milk chocolate and extra steps in preparation that I don’t find necessary.

I wish I had pictures of all the steps. Next time, I’ll try to get more! ~~Rhonda

Date Balls (Makes about 90 pieces.)

1 pound butter
1 pound dates, diced or chopped
2 c. sugar

Cook over medium heat 10 minutes, stirring constantly. DO NOT BOIL.
I melt the butter first, and start counting the time from when it begins to simmer after I have added the sugar and the dates.

Remove from heat and add:
4 c. Rice Krispies
2 c. pecans, chopped finely
4 tsp. vanilla

Allow to cool, then press into balls. Roll in powdered sugar.

Wearing vinyl gloves keeps my hands clean. This is a messy recipe. But worth it!

These freeze very well, even coated in powdered sugar. They are a staple at our Christmas Open House.

~~Rhonda

I found this recipe (called Sugar Cookies X) at allrecipes.com in November of 2000, and I’ve been making it ever since. They are sugary and crispy delicious.

Preheat oven to 350*F.

In a large bowl, mix till creamy:
2 c. white sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
1 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs

Mix the dry ingredients together and add them to the creamed mixture, stirring to combine well.
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt

Chill the dough an hour.

Form the dough into small balls and roll in sanding sugar.

Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place 15 cookies to a sheet, as they do spread.

Bake at 350*F for 8-10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Makes 9 dozen.

I store them in single layers, in plastic containers, between waxed paper sheets.

That’s all that’s left. Everything else is in the freezer.

~~Rhonda

I found the recipe here and she found it here (where they are rolled in powdered sugar instead of granulated) and that person found it here (where the picture doesn’t look like the same cookie at all).

Honey Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup honey
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar for coating cookies before baking.

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and set aside. In a standing mixer, beat the shortening, peanut butter and honey. Then add the eggs and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and mix well.

Form dough into 1″ balls and roll in sugar. I used a small ice cream scoop to make all the balls the same size, then rolled them in my hands to make them smooth and uniform.

Place on ungreased baking sheets and bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes [8 minutes for mine].

Remove from oven and let cool slightly on cookie sheets. I didn’t let them cool on the cookie sheet for more than 30 seconds or so. I didn’t want them to cook any more than they had. Remove to cooling rack to cool completely. Store tightly covered.

These are right out of the oven. As they cool, they collapse a little.

I tried baking them in the round and also flattened with a glass. I liked the rounds better. Bottom row in the picture below. They were a bit chewier and thicker, too. The top row are the flattened ones.

The recipe made seven dozen cookies. I plan to put a dozen in the freezer to see how well they freeze.

~~Rhonda

PS…the next day and they are just as great today as they were yesterday. They hold their shape perfectly. Not like those Dali timepieces many peanut butter cookies turn in to.

These sugarplums are delicious and easy to make. I double the following recipe for the open house.

Sugarplums

* 3/4 c. raisins
* 3/4 c. chopped dates
* 3/4 c. dried apricots, chopped
* 1 c. walnuts
* 1 c. almonds
* 1/4 c. orange juice

Mix all the ingredients together, except the orange juice.

Using a blender or a food processor, pulse the mixture until you have a coarse meal. I use a blender as I don’t have a food processor. I’m sure this would be easier in a processor where you could chop the whole batch at one time. In the blender, I do about a cup at a time.

The bowl on the left shows the fruits and nuts after grinding them in the blender.

After all the nuts and fruits are ground together, add the orange juice, stirring well. If you let the mixture set for half an hour or so, the dry ingredients will absorb some of the orange juice. Not necessary, but helpful.

Form the mixture into 1-inch balls and roll them in sugar. I usually use sanding sugar for this as it gives the sugarplums a pretty sparkly look, but all I had this year was regular white granulated sugar. Still pretty. And so yummy!

The sugarplums can be placed in candy paper liners, though I never do. Store in the refrigerator. Makes 24-30. I found the recipe in “Family Fun” magazine, December 2002, page 24.

Other dried fruits or nuts could be substituted. I think they would be good with craisins (dried cranberries), dried cherries, and/or figs. And don’t forget dried plums (prunes)! Pecans could be used in place of some of the nuts.

~~Rhonda

I began painting the old book case. I plan to paint the inside with the same yellow we used in the hall and will paint the outside white. Today I began with a coat of Kilz to seal the wood.

I replaced some lights on the Victorian tree. Wanted to get to the glass tree, but didn’t have time.

I ordered fabric for the curtains in the guest room. Laurie calculated all the yardage for me. Thank you, Laurie! I had to order from three different sites to get all the different patterns I wanted, but they should be winging their way here before long.

I made the Sour Cream Sugar Cookie dough. Double batch. That’s a big load for a mixer but my trusty Kitchaid can handle it easily.

This is a very tender dough and needs to chill in the fridge before it can be rolled and cut. Since I made such a large batch, I’ll leave it in the fridge at least 24 hours so it is completely chilled. I covered it with plastic wrap, pushing all the air out. It may be several days before I get around to baking the cookies, but the dough will be fine.

Tomorrow, I hope to put the lights on the “glass tree.” The tree I had used for years was finally too worn out to use again. It took a long time to find a tree I thought would work well for the glass ornament collection. The tree has to have plenty of free space among the branches to display the ornaments. I finally ordered one and it looks like it’s going to be a good choice. Genny and I began “fluffing” it last weekend, Genny finished it while I took DD to music lessons, and now it is ready for lights.

I’ll take more pictures tomorrow. ~~Rhonda

I waited until the chocolate of the peanut butter cup was totally melted…about ten minutes…then gently pressed a Kiss on top.

You can see in this picture that part of the chocolate is shiny and part is still dull. Wait until the entire top is shiny before pressing the Kiss into the top.

If you don’t push the candy in too deeply, you retain the chocolate crimping around the peanut butter cup which looks pretty.

Once the chocolate totally hardens, the cookies are ready for the freezer. Another recipe I can check off my open house list.

~~Rhonda

Use any peanut butter cookie recipe. Spoon small amounts (probably about 2 teaspoonfuls) into small 1 3/4″ muffin tins that have been sprayed with Pam. Don’t over fill. If the dough bakes over the top of the tin, the cookie will be difficult to remove from the muffin tin.

Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350. Nine minutes is just right in my oven. As soon as they are removed from the oven, press a small peanut butter cup into the center. I usually use the Wal-Mart brand that comes in a little bag. There are about 36-37 cups in a bag. This year, there were none when we shopped for them, so we bought the Reese’s brand (which are better tasting, anyway).

You can use store bought refrigerator cookie dough for this recipe, which is what I do. To get it out of the tube easily, cut the wrapping with a knife and, on each end, go all the way down to the opposite side. That makes it easy to slide the dough out of the wrapper without leaving dough stuck to the ends. It’s hard to tell in this picture, but there is no need to slice into the dough. Just cut through the wrapper.

Slice the dough into 12 slices and divide each slice into four pieces. If using more than one roll of dough, store the addition rolls in the refridgerator until needed. If left on the counter at room temperature, the dough gets soft quickly which makes it harder to work with.

You don’t have to roll the dough into balls or smoosh it down or anything else. Just drop it into well greased muffin tins.

After adding the peanut butter cups, leave the cookies in the tins to cool. The dough is soft and fragile while warm. If they are removed immediately, the cookies fall apart.

When cool, I gently slide a small frosting spatula along the edge of the cups to loosen them.

At this point, I freeze the cookies until time to serve. Before the open house, I will thaw them and drizzle them with melted almond bark (vanilla) and decorate with chocolate sprinkles. You could use red and/or green candy melts to drizzle over the tops and decorate with candy sprinkles. Or drizzle with melted chocolate and sprinkle with chopped peanuts…lots of ways to decorate them. Or leave them plain!

Wal-Mart sells mint cups that are similar to the peanut butter cups and I like to use them with sugar cookie dough.

Delicious and very easy to make! ~~Rhonda

I made it again today. It’s packed and ready to be taken down to the freezer to wait for the Christmas open house.

The dough spreads a lot while baking. Last year, I made it into two loaves as the recipe called for, but this year I made three loaves, which worked better.

Also, I didn’t use toffee bars as the recipe called for, but used 1 cup of toffee baking bits and 1 cup of mini chocolate chips instead. And I didn’t have butterscotch extract, so I just left that out.

When they are thawed for the open house, I’ll dip one end of each piece into chocolate.

This recipe makes the house smell wonderful! ~~Rhonda