Colleen's Sugar Cookies

My mother in law is the cookie queen as far as I'm concerned. From day one of knowing her, she has always had a surplus of homemade cookies in her cookie jar. Her specialties include, oatmeal chocolate chip, gingersnaps, and sugar cookies. My all time favorite, are her sugar cookies. They are soft,chewy, and YUMMY! I love them so much. She shared her recipe with me last Christmas and now I'm going to share it with you. I love this recipe because it is so easy and it doesn't make a huge batch. We still have small family and we can (should) only eat so many cookies. So pull out your pumpkin cookie cutters and whip up some frosting and bake away.

  Colleen's Sugar Cookies

Cream Together:

3/4 C Butter or Margarine *

1 C Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

Then add: 

2 1/2 C Flour

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Salt

Mix until you get a soft dough. It will be a bit sticky. Don't add flour. Cover and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour. Roll out on floured surface and cut into desired shapes. Bake on cookie sheets in oven at 350 for seven minutes or until the edges are slightly brown. Let cool and then frost and decorate. Enjoy!!

*I use 1/2 C butter and 1/4 C shortening and I get more on the fluffy side cookies, Colleen uses tub margarine and gets a little more on the chewy side cookies. I love them both way!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting

This recipe takes me back to braces and frizzy hair.  My very own adolescent years (insert sigh here).  As a young woman I was very involved with my church youth program and one of my first years as a teen I made pumpkin cookies to pass off a "merit badge" of sorts in the Young Women's program.  I decided to bake them, plate them and present them at a "Young Woman in Excellence" event.  Look at me, all "homemaker" at the tender age of 13 (ish).  I even had to give a speech...it had something to do with Julia Child, I didn't even know who that was back then...my mom helped and parents in the audiences laughed.

But as much as I have tried to blot my teen years from my memory, this cookie recipe is one warm spot on my reminiscent heart.  The perfect cookie for fall:

{Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies} 

with Browned Butter Frosting, if you like that sort of thing, which I do

2 ¾ cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 ¼ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

1 ¼ tsp ginger

¾ tsp nutmeg

¾ cup butter

2 ¼ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 ½ cup pumpkin

¾ cup evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, flour and nutmeg in a bowl.  Cream butter and brown sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes.  Add eggs, pumpkin, milk and vanilla.  Mix until combined (about 2 minutes).  Add flour mixture.   

Drop tablespoon scoops (I heap the spoon) of batter onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 8 minutes (if you press the cookie gently and it doesn't spring back up--or stays indented--they aren't done).

For icing: Put 5 Tbsp butter in sauce pan over medium heat.  Cook until golden brown (careful not to burn--as soon as you see a hint of brown turn it off).  Pour butter over 2 cups powdered sugar and add 3 to 5 Tbsp milk.

***if you love the frosting you may double this.  I only frost half of my cookies.  The other half I use for snacks during the week and I feel better about giving my kids cookies for a snack when they are not covered with frosting...look at me so healthy ;)

My Mother's Amazing Marion Berry Butter Cookies

So my mother used a Taste of Home "Swedish Butter Cookie" recipe and altered it into the most amazing cookie recipe ever...seriously, my ultimate favorite.

The dough recipe is from Taste of Home
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, separated
1 Tablespoon half-and-half cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpuse flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (we use walnuts cause they're cheaper)
Additional chopped pecans (walnuts)

And the key ingredient: Marion Berry Jelly

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Beat in egg yold, cream and vanilla.  Combine the flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture.  Stir in finely chopped nuts.  Roll into balls (I keep them small: 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch).
In a small bowl, beat egg white.  Dip balls in egg white, then roll in additional nuts.  Place 2 inch apart on un greased baking sheets.
Using the end of  a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center of each ball.  Pour in a small amount of jelly (I use a baby food spoon...around 1/4 to 1/2 tsp jelly).  Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Carefuly remove to wire racks to cool.

Okay, and to make them super good, my mother drizzles frosting on top...I love them without too.

P.S. the original recipe used Red Jelly and Red Maraschino Cherries (halfed on top)...if you like that sort of thing :)

Lemon, Powder Sugar Cookies

Lemon Powder Sugar Cookies

1 Box Dry Lemon Cake Mix

8 0z Cool Whip

1 Egg

Mix Top three ingredients. It will be stick so oil up your hands if needed. Roll into 2 inch balls and then roll in powder sugar.

Cook at 375 for 13 minutes on a slightly greased pan.

When I tried this in a Higher Elevation. We had to add a little flour to make the cookies not so runny. I think we used like a 1/4 of a cup.

Rolo Cookies

Rolo Cookies
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
48 rolos (one package)
2 tbs. sugar
Directions:
Combine flour, cocoa, and soda and set aside. Beat sugars and butter until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla. Add dry mixture and blend well. Shape cookies into small balls. Press rolo into center of ball and cover with dough (I just sort of form a dough ball around a rolo). Roll cookie in sugar. Bake on un-greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, until tops of cookies are slightly cracked. Cool on racks.
*As you can see this recipe makes about 48 cookies. So if you don't want tons of cookies you could do half of the recipe. But, the girl who gave me this recipe said that the dough balls freeze well and then you can make them whenever you want fresh cookies. I haven't tried that yet.

Homemade Oreo cookies

Homemade OreosCookies
2 Devils food cake mixes
4 eggs
2/3 cup oil
Roll into balls and cook 325 for 15 minutes
(This recipe is also good for white chocolate chip-chocolate cookies)
Icing
8 oz cream cheese
¼ cup butter
2 cups P Sugar
1 t vanilla
(food coloring for holiday season- I have also crushed candy cane and put in frosting)

Also my friend said she makes these with funfetti cake mix and puts the funfetti frosting in the middle. I haven't tried it yet but it sounds AMAZING!!

Sheri Clark’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sheri Clark’s Chocolate Chip Cookies- Best recipe ever!
1 1/3 C Shortening
1C Sugar
1 C B Sugar
2 Eggs
2 t vanilla
1 t soda
1 t salt
3 C flour
½ package of Chocolate chips
(I also LOVE to mix in Hershey’s Kissable chocolate Candies)
(Can also use cookie dough for white chocolate chip-macadamian nut cookies)
Cream Shortening & Sugars. Add Eggs, soda, salt, & vanilla.
Mix in Flour and chocolate chips.
Shape into to small balls and bake on cookie sheet @ 375 for 8 minutes