Christmas Cookie Recipes

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. It is also the perfect time for baked cookies, and more specifically, for cookies. Here are three recipes for my favorite cookies:

Hershey Kiss Cookie Recipe (45)

Ingredients:
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup peanut butter
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¾ cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Hershey Kisses candy (about 45)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Blend the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
3. Mix in the flour and baking soda.
4. Roll the dough into balls, and try to keep them all around the same size.
5. Put a little white sugar into a bowl, and then dip each ball of dough into the sugar. Shake off any excess sugar.
6. Place cookies on an ungreased baking sheet, and make sure to leave about two inches of space in between each cookie.
7. Bake cookies for eight to ten minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown.
8. After you remove the cookies from the oven, press a Hershey Kiss into the center of each. Make sure to do this while the cookies are still hot.
9. Let cookies cool.

Powdered Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup butter
• 1 teaspoon cream of tarter
• 1 egg
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• ½ cup shortening
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix the shortening, butter, powdered sugar, egg, and vanilla extract in a bowl. Beat until fluffy.
3. Sift the all-purpose flour with the baking soda and cream of tartar. Add it to the mixture, and then stir in pecans.
4. Roll the mixture into small balls, and then place them on ungreased baking sheets.
5. Bake for eight to ten minutes, or until the cookies have a creamy tan color.
6. Remove the cookies from the oven, and then roll them in powdered sugar.

Thumb Print Cookies (2 dozen)

Ingredients:
• ½ cup butter
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup sifted flour
• Jelly
• ¾ cup nuts (any kind)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix together the butter, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla in a bowl.
3. Sift the salt and flour
4. Roll the mixture in the salt and flour into twenty four one-inch balls.
5. Roll the balls into the nuts.
6. Place the balls one inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake for five minutes.
7. Remove cookies from the oven, and gently press your thumb onto the top of each cookie to make a small imprint.
8. Bake the cookies for another eight minutes, and then let cool.
9. Fill the thumb imprint with jelly. If you prefer, you can use fruit instead.