Tea Cake Cookies

1 cup butter, softened $ 2 cups sugar 3 large eggs $ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour $ 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3. 2. 1. 1. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add fl our to butter mixture, beating well. 2. Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut with a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter. Place on lightly greased baking sheets. Spoon 1/4 tsp. jam on each cookie. Fold opposite sides to center, slightly overlapping edges; press down lightly on centers. 3. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add vanilla extract, beating until blended. Combine flour, soda, and salt; gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended after each addition. Divide dough in half; wrap each portion in plastic wrap, and chill 1 hour. Roll half of dough to 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut out cookies with a 2 1/2inch round cutter, and place 1 inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges begin to brown; let stand on baking sheet 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Repeat procedure with remaining dough.

Lemon Basil Butter Cookies

1 cup fresh lemon-basil leaves* 1 3/4 cups sugar, divided 1 pound butter, softened 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 large egg 6 cups all-purpose flour Garnish: fresh basil sprigs

Process basil and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor until blended. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar, beating well. Add lemon juice and egg, beating until blended. Gradually add flour and basil mixture, beating until blended. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, and place 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Flatten slightly with bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Garnish, if desired. * Plain fresh basil leaves may be substituted for lemon-basil leaves.

Chocolate Peanut Bars

1 cup butter or margarine, softened 1 cup crunchy peanut butter 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar 1 1/2 cups vanilla wafers, crushed (about 45 cookies) 1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels 1/2 cup whipping cream

Beat butter and peanut butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add powdered sugar and vanilla wafer crumbs; beat until blended. Press mixture evenly into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking pan lined with wax paper. Stir together chocolate morsels and whipping cream in a medium saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Spread evenly on top of peanut butter mixture. Chill 1 hour or until firm. Remove from refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature 10 minutes or until slightly softened. Cut into 48 bars.

Gingerbread Cookies

1 cup butter, softened $ 1 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 cup hot water 1 cup molasses 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour $ 1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice Parchment paper Royal Icing Buttermilk Frosting Assorted candies Assorted decorator sugar crystals

Jam Kolache

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened 1 (3-oz.) package cream cheese, softened 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour Strawberry jam (about 1/2 cup)

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1. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with a heavyduty electric stand mixer until fluffy. 2. Stir together baking soda and 1/4 cup hot water until dissolved; stir in molasses. 3. Stir together flour and next 4 ingredients. Add to butter mixture alternately with molasses mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Shape mixture into a ball; cover and chill 1 hour. 4. Preheat oven to 350. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut dough with a 4-inch gingerbread man-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. 5. Bake at 350 for 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets 2 minutes; transfer to wire racks. Cool completely (about 30 minutes). 6. Spoon Royal Icing into a small zip-top plastic freezer bag. Snip 1 corner of bag to make a small hole; pipe faces on cookies, or spread cookies with Buttermilk Frosting. Decorate cookies as desired with candies and sugar crystals. Gingerbread Snowflake Cookies: Prepare recipe as directed, cutting dough with a 1- to 2 1/2-inch snowflakeshaped cutter. Place 2 inches apart on parchment paperlined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 13 to 17 minutes. Cool and decorate as directed. Makes: about 9 dozen. Hands-on time: 1 hr.; Total time: 4 hr., 50 min., including icing and frosting.

Swedish Holiday Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine, softened $ 3/4 cup sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons dark molasses 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 1 tablespoon water 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour $ 2 egg whites, lightly beaten $ Sugar

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Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add 3/4 cup sugar, beating until smooth. Add molasses, cinnamon, and cardamom, beating until blended. Combine 1 tablespoon water and baking powder, stirring until baking powder is dissolved; add to butter mixture. Gradually add flour to butter mixture, beating until blended. Cover; chill 8 hours. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; roll to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with a 2-inch round or other desired shape cutter. Place, 2 inches apart, on lightly greased baking sheets. Brush evenly with egg white, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 5 to 6 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

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Linzer Cookies

1 1/4 cups butter, softened 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind 1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam Powdered sugar

Mississippi Mud Cookies

1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup chopped pecans 1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. miniature marshmallows

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer; gradually add 1 cup powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating just until blended. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Cover and chill 1 hour. Roll each portion to a 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut with a 3-inch starshaped cutter. Cut centers out of half of cookies with a 1 1/2-inch star-shaped cutter. Place all stars on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 325 for 15 minutes; cool on wire racks. Spread solid cookies with jam; sprinkle remaining stars with powdered sugar. Top each solid cookie with a hollow star.

1. Microwave semisweet chocolate morsels in a small microwave-safe glass bowl at HIGH 1 minute or until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. 2. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in vanilla and melted chocolate. 3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to chocolate mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in chopped pecans and 1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels.

4. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Press 3 marshmallows into each portion of dough. 5. Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks.

designs on cookies. Let stand for 30 minutes or until set. Yield: 4-1/2 dozen.

Chocolate Dipped Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1/3 cup baking cocoa 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup chopped almonds 1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips 12 ounces white candy coating disks, melted 12 ounces dark chocolate candy coating disks, melted 2 ounces milk chocolate candy coating disks, melted

Peanut Buttercup Cookies

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 ]
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 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 7-8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan. Chocolate Coconut Bars

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in almonds and chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Divide dough in half. Shape into two 8-in. rolls; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until firm. Unwrap and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool. Dip half of the cookies in white coating; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper. Repeat with remaining cookies in dark chocolate coating. Place milk chocolate coating in a resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in one corner of the bag. Pipe

3 cups finely ground cookies (12 ounces), such as graham crackers or chocolate wafers, or a combination 1/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted 1 cup pecan pieces 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

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Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly splash a 15-by-10-inch rimmed baking sheet evenly with water, then line with parchment paper.

IN THIS STEP:

Buttering and Lining Cake Pans

2. STEP 2
In a large bowl, stir together cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter until combined. Evenly press onto bottom and up sides of prepared baking sheet. Bake, rotating halfway through, until firm, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool, about 20 minutes.

3. STEP 3
Sprinkle cooled crust evenly with pecans and chocolate. Pour condensed milk over the top, spreading to cover completely (do not let it drip over the edges). Sprinkle with coconut.

4. STEP 4
Bake until coconut is toasted, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely. Trim edges, if desired, and cut into equal-size bars.

IN THIS STEP:

How to Toast Nuts