Thursday, December 24, 2009

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 12

Christmas Eve and our last cookie recipe! I'm sure your holiday baking is not over (I'm just getting started on our Christmas Eve snack-a-thon) so hopefully these come in handy!

I loved these cookies that Natalie made - they reminded me of Greek wedding cookies (complete with the choking death-fit that can come from inhaling the powdered sugar) but with a more delicate flavor from the lemon. Really really wonderful!

Lemon Cheesecake Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. lemon zest
2 tbsp. lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Confectioner's sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375. Mix butter and cream cheese until creamy, blend in sugar. Add egg, zest and juice, mix well. Sift together flour and baking powder. Mix into butter on low speed.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on greased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Bake until golden on bottom (about 12 minutes.) Let cool on wire rack and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

TIP: If you don't have a sieve to sprinkle the powdered sugar, my mother used to fill a large spoon with powdered sugar and tap it with another spoon. It made the perfect snowfall of powdered sugar.


And because you are oh-so-lucky, today you get TWO cookie recipes, this one from Tricia! This one would be fun to leave out for Santa tonight. Also if you're totally running out of time, I bet you could use a ready-made cookie (like a Lorna Doone shortbread) and dip them. Yum!

Santa's Skinny Dippers
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. Guittard chocolate chips
1 cups finely chopped pecans

Cream butter, brown sugar, flour and vanilla. Foll and flatten the dough into individual 2x1" ovals. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 325. Cool. Melt chocolate and dip cookies into it. Roll in nuts. Lay and let cool on parchment paper. Enjoy!

1 comment:

Kelsey said...

I think that turquoise plate is my favorite of all your beautiful plates. I love it! I'm finished with one of my gloves and trying to figure out how to start the other one because I can't remember. I need to come up again when things settle down and finish.

Happy Birthday to you and Merry Christmas to you and your family!