Santas Coming Cookie Puzzle Recipes

SANTA CLAUS COOKIES

Steps:

• In a microwave, melt white chocolate at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth., Dip one end of each cookie into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Place on wire racks. For Santa's hat, sprinkle red sugar on top part of chocolate. Press one vanilla chip off-center on hat for pompom; let stand until set., Dip other end of each cookie into melted chocolate for beard, leaving center of cookie uncovered. Place on wire racks. With a dab of melted chocolate, attach semisweet chips for eyes and a Red Hot for nose. Place on waxed paper until set.

SANTA'S SURPRISE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle., Roll dough into 1-1/4-in. balls. Press a candy bar into each; reshape balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. , Bake at 325° for 10-14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. , In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate candies and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Let stand until set.

SANTA CLAUS SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, nutmeg and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. Santa-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets., Bake 8-10 minutes or until light brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Beat in milk, vanilla and salt. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Pipe onto cookies and decorate as desired.

SANTA STAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in orange juice concentrate and vanilla. , Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until easy to handle, about 2 hours., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 4-in. star-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until edges are firm, 7-8 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool., In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, water, meringue powder and cream of tartar; beat on low speed just until combined. Beat on high until stiff peaks form, 4-5 minutes. Tint 9 Tbsp. red and 2 Tbsp. tablespoons black. Leave remaining icing white. Keep unused icing covered at all times with a damp cloth. If necessary, beat again on high speed to restore texture., Place red icing in a pastry bag. With a #3 round pastry tip, pipe Santa's hats and suits. Once the red icing is dry, use black icing with a #1 round tip for eyes, mittens, belts and boots. With white frosting and a #2 round tip, add the trim for hats and suits. Use the same tip for mustaches and beards. If desired, use sprinkles for belt buckles and mouth.

SANTA'S COMING COOKIE PUZZLE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine cookie dough and flour. On a parchment paper-lined surface, roll dough into a 14x11-in. rectangle. With cookie cutters, cut out puzzle shapes. Slide a baking sheet under the parchment paper and dough. Chill for 5-10 minutes. , Remove shapes; place on an ungreased baking sheet. Place an almond on its side into the center of each shape for a handle. Bake shapes at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until edges are golden brown. While still warm, recut shapes with the same cookie cutters to form neat edges. (If cookies cool too quickly, return to oven until softened.) Remove to wire racks; cool. , Bake large rectangular puzzle on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for 12-13 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Immediately recut the shapes inside the puzzle to form neat edges. Cool completely on a wire rack. , In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Tint frosting with food coloring as desired. Frost puzzle and shapes; decorate with decorating gel and sprinkles as desired. Place puzzle shapes inside puzzle.