This is a Christmas episode you don’t want to miss! Arlene is joined by her friends Patti and Sue, plus her husband Paul, as they make six different kinds of Christmas cookies.
There is something here for everyone, including raspberry squares “too,” coconut thumbprints, lemon ricotta cookies, linzer cookies, chocolate orange nut bars, and iced cutout cookies!
NOTE: The cutout cookie recipe featured in this post is not exactly the same as the one in the show, but it was another one of Arlene’s favorites.
Raspberry Squares Too
Simple to make and fantastic to eat with a cup of your favorite tea!
Ingredients
- 6 oz raspberry jam
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Let butter soften, then mix all ingredients together except raspberry jam. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of mixture.
- Press pastry mixture into 8-inch square pan then place raspberry jam over it making sure there is 1/2 inch border on all sides. Sprinkle reserved mixture on top.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until light brown. Let cool on wire rack before cutting into bars. Makes 16 squares. Enjoy!
Coconut Thumbprints
Ingredients
- 3 sticks butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp water
- flaked coconut
- raspberry or apricot filling
Instructions
- In a bowl, using a mixer, cream butter, sugar and vanilla well. Add flour and salt and mix until a dough forms. Chill dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Roll chilled dough into 1-inch balls. In a small bowl, mix egg and water together until frothy. Place each ball into egg mixture then roll in coconut. Place thumb into cookie to make an indentation for the filling. Fill with either raspberry or apricot filling.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Makes about 4 dozen cookies. Enjoy!
Lemon Ricotta Cookies
If you like the taste of lemon, you're in for a real treat with this cookie…
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 15 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 3 Tbsp freshly grated lemon zest
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 1/2 cups flour, divided
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
Glaze
- 3/4 stick butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 Tbsp lemon juice
- Decorating sugar, silver dragees (small silver balls), optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, ricotta, lemon extract, zest and juice; blend well. Add 1 cup flour, baking powder and salt; blend to combine. Add remaining flour in two parts, blending until a dough forms.
- Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until very light golden. Cool on pan 2-3 minutes. Remove cookies from pan and cool on wire racks.
- While cookies cool, prepare glaze by creaming together butter and sugar. Continue to mix, gradually adding juice until desired consistency. Decorate cooled cookies adding dragees or decorating sugar if desired, before icing sets. Makes 4 dozen cookies. Enjoy!
Linzer Cookies
This is one of Patty's favorites…
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- jam for filling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, using a mixer, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla, then gradually add flour mixture. Mix until a dough ball forms. Divide dough in half.
- On a floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter, use first half to cut solid cookies. Then roll out second half for the tops (which have a small cutout in the center) and bake in preheated oven for about 9 minutes. Remove from oven and place on wire racks to cool.
- When cool, spread solid bottom cookies with jam and place cutout top cookie on top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. It is best to use a Linzer cookie cutter which is available at cake and candy stores everywhere, but you can also use a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter and for the center cut out use a 1 inch cookie cutter. Makes about 3 dozen. Enjoy!
Orange Chocolate Nut Squares
Ingredients
- 1 roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 12 oz milk chocolate
- 1 jar orange marmalade (12 oz)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place almonds and walnuts on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Remove and chop roughly. Set aside.
- Spray a 14in by 10in cookie sheet with butter flavored Pam. Press cookie dough onto bottom of prepared cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
- Place chocolate over double boiler until melted.
- Remove crust from oven and spread with orange marmalade to cover. Sprinkle with nuts and then drizzle chocolate over nut layer. Let cool. Cut into squares. Makes lots. Enjoy!
Christmas Sugar Cookies
Nothing says Christmas like a cutout cookie like this!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extra
- color sugar, sprinkles, icing, and other decorations
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine flour and salt. Place sugar into a food processor and process until very fine. Add butter pieces and process until mixture is smooth and creamy. Add egg, lemon zest, and vanilla, and process until smooth. Add flour and pulse just until a dough forms.
- Remove dough and cover with plastic wrap. Pat dough into a 1-inch-thick disk. Refrigerate for1-1/2 hours until firm.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. With floured Christmas cookie cutters, cut out as many cookies as you can, keeping cutouts close. Sprinkle cookies with colored sugars or decorations. Transfer cookies to prepared sheets, allowing about 1 inch space between cookies. Gather scraps of dough and repeat process.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned on edges. Remove from cookie sheets and cool completely on wire racks. Makes about 4 to 5 dozen depending on size of cutters you use. Enjoy!
- *Note: These may also be baked plain, cooled, and then decorated with colored icings,sugars, etc.
Transcript
The transcript from this program is not available.
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