Aunt Eileens Christmas Butter Cookies Recipes

MRS. B'S CHRISTMAS BELLS

Steps:

• Make the Dough: Beat the brown sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the corn syrup, egg, cream, and lemon zest. Whisk together the flour, instant espresso, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl; gradually add to the butter mixture, and beat at low speed until combined. Shape the dough into a flat disk; wrap with plastic wrap. Chill the dough until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Make the Filling: Stir together the brown sugar, maraschino cherry juice and butter until blended; stir in the pecans.
• Roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut with a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter. Place the dough circles 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
• Place 1/2 teaspoon of the filling in the center of each dough circle. Shape into a cone by folding the edges of the dough to meet over the filling; pinch the edges together. Place 1 cherry half at the opening end of each bell for the clapper.
• Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool on the pans for 5 minutes; remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

CHRISTMAS BUTTER COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. On low speed, beat in egg, lemon peel and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until well blended.
• Divide dough into 4 parts; flatten each part into 1/2-inch-thick round. Wrap each in waxed paper or plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Remove 1 round of dough at a time from refrigerator. Between sheets of floured waxed paper or plastic wrap, roll dough until 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick. Cut with 3-inch cookie cutters in various shapes. On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts 1 inch apart.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or just until edges are golden. Cool on cookie sheets about 1 minute before removing to cooling rack. To make cookies for hanging, using a toothpick or end of plastic straw, carefully poke a hole in the top of each cookie while cookies are still hot. Cool 10 to 15 minutes before frosting.
• In medium bowl, stir together powdered sugar and meringue powder. Stir in 5 teaspoons lemon juice and enough of the 4 to 5 tablespoons water to make a thin icing. Transfer 1/2 cup of the icing into small bowl; set aside. Using a flexible pastry brush, paint cookies to the edges with icing. Place on cooling rack to dry completely, about 30 minutes.
• Beat reserved icing with electric mixer on high speed 5 to 7 minutes or until peaks form. Place in small resealable food-storage plastic bag; cut a very small hole in the bottom of the bag with the plain white icing. Squeeze icing onto glazed cookies. Before icing dries, sprinkle with decorations, and tap off excess. Dry thoroughly on cooling rack. Thread cookies with narrow ribbon for hanging.

BEST BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. , Divide dough into four 1-1/2 cup portions; mix and shape for each variety as follows. Yield: 4 portions (1-1/2 cups each)., To prepare Cutouts: Using one portion dough, divide into two balls; roll each ball directly on an ungreased baking sheet to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured cookie cutter, leaving at least 1 in. between cookies. Remove excess dough and reroll scraps if desired. Decorate with sprinkles, jimmies or colored sugar if desired. Bake at 375° for 6-7 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen., To prepare Peppermint Balls: In a large bowl, combine one portion dough, peppermint candies and peppermint extract. Shape into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with red colored sugar if desired. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen., To prepare Spicy Fruit Balls: In a large bowl, combine one portion dough, currants, fruit and cinnamon. Shape into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute then roll in confectioners' sugar if desired. Cool on wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen., To prepare Chocolate Slices: In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. In a small bowl, mix melted chocolate into one portion cookie dough. Shape into a 1-1/2-in.-thick log; roll in nuts. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm. Unwrap and cut into 1/8-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks.

AUNT GISELE'S CARAMEL COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 by 1-inch jelly roll pan; set aside.
• Combine the butter, yolks, sugar, cinnamon and flour and mix until you form a cohesive ball of dough. Spread the dough onto the prepared jelly roll pan and bake for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile cook the almonds, sugar, butter, honey and milk, stirring on occasion, until the mixture is light golden.
• Remove baked dough; spread almonds mixture over the top and bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer until dark golden. Cool and cut into squares or rectangles (be sure to cut the cookies before they turn too hard.)

THE NEELYS' BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift together the flour and salt into a large bowl.
• Put the butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium speed until fluffy and light, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla, and mix until combined. Reduce the speed to low, and slowly add the flour and salt mixture to the butter and sugar mixture, mixing on low speed until the dough comes together and is smooth. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Cut the dough into quarters, wrap each piece in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
• When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 9 by 13-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it soften slightly. Using a rolling pin dusted with flour, roll out one of the dough quarters, (keeping the others refrigerated until you need them), on a lightly floured work surface to 1/4- to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut the cookies into the desired shapes, and then use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to one of the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 1/2 inches apart. Sprinkle the cookies with decorating sugar, if desired.
• Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Bake the cookies until they are light brown around the edges and on the bottom, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool briefly on the sheets, and use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

MY FAVORITE CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Using a stand mixer, cream the shortening, granulated sugar, orange peel and vanilla thoroughly, about 2 minutes. Add in the egg and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 more minute. Add in the milk and mix.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together, and then blend into the cream mixture. Divide the dough in half (thirds if you double your recipe), slightly flatten between 2 sheets of waxed paper and refrigerate for 1 hour (or freeze for 20 minutes).
• Roll out the dough 1/4-inch thick on a lightly floured surface and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. Transfer the shapes to lightly greased cookie sheets and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• For the egg yolk glaze: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. While the dough is chilling, combine the egg yolk, 1 teaspoon water and food coloring. Paint the cookies (with a soft brush) with the egg yolk glaze.
• Bake the cookies for 6 to 7 minutes. Do not allow the cookies to brown. The cookies will be slightly puffed and the glaze will look crackled. Bake in 2 batches if you don't reroll the scraps.
• For the decorative white icing: While the cookies are baking, mix the powdered sugar, milk and egg whites. Make sure that it is thick and somewhat retains its shape.
• Remove the cookies from the oven to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Then, using a pastry bag or zip-top bag, pipe the cookies with the white icing to decorate.

AUNT LISL'S BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Then mix in the eggs, brandy, salt, vanilla, and flour. Let rest for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Roll out the dough to 1/8- inch thick. Preheat oven to 350 degree. You can either use cookie cutters or use the point of a toothpick like a knife to cut out cookies in any shapes you want. Once the cookies have been cut out, gently place them on the baking sheet. Then either brush them with egg yolk and sprinkle with nuts and raisins or brush with egg white and sprinkle with blue sugar. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Use a metal spatula to gentle remove each cookie from the baking sheet to a cooling rack or flat plate.