These are excellent and quite pretty on a plate. Alexa *********************************************************** Holly Berry Cookies Servings: 12 Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, chilled 1 egg 1/4 cup milk 2/3 cup seedless raspberry jam 2 cups confectioners' sugar 2 tablespoons milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 cup cinnamon red hot candies 4 drops green food coloring Directions: 1. In a large bowl combine the flour, white sugar, ground cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl beat the egg and 1/4 cup of milk. Add this to the crumb mixture until the dough is moistened. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). 3. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut with a 2 inch round cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheets. 4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Once cool spread jam on half of the cookies then top each with another cookie. 5. To Make Glaze: Combine the confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla until smooth. Spread glaze over the cookie and decorate with red cinnamon candy before the glaze is set. Let dry. Using a small new paintbrush and green food coloring, paint holly leaves on cookies.

Have any of you tried Oreo Cookie Balls yet? My husband brought me one home that someone at his office made. It was so good! I plan to make them for our holiday party this year. They sound very easy to make. Only three ingredients and no baking. If any of you are familiar with chocolate wafer ice box cake these work on the same principle. 1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened 36 OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 3 cups) 4 pkg. (4 oz. each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, broken into pieces, melted MIX cream cheese and cookie crumbs until blended. SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Freeze 10 min. Dip balls in melted chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan. REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Here is a link that might be useful: Oreo cookie balls

Here's a couple thumbprint cookies that are tried & true. Imake them every year. Chocolate Caramel Treasures Cookie type: formed These are another variation of thumbprint cookie. This recipe came from Gourmet Magazine, December 1999. Ingredients For the cookies: 1 stick unsalted butter, softened 2/3 cup sugar 1 egg yolk 1 teas vanilla 1 cup flour 2 tbsp whole milk 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 teas salt 1 egg white, lightly beaten 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts For the filling: 10 (1 x 1/2 inch) plain caramels, 2 tbsp heavy cream For the drizzle: 3 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped Directions For the cookies: Beat together butter, yolk, milk, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Sift in flour, cocoa, and salt and mix until mixture forms a dough. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls, then coat with egg white, and roll in nuts. Place balls 1 1/2 inches apart on a greased baking sheets. Press your thumb into center of the balls to flatten, leaving a depression. Bake until puffed slightly but centers are still soft, 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press centers of cookies again with a spoon. Let cool. Make the filling while cookies are cooling. Heat caramels and cream in a small sauce pan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and mixture is smooth. Spoon into centers of cookies and cool completely. Make chocolate drizzle one hour before serving. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Cool to warm and pour into a heavy-duty sealable plastic bag. Seal bag and snip 1 corner to form a small hole. Drizzle chocolate over cookies and let stand until set, about 30 minutes. *I never bother with the drizzle. I also usually use walnuts and not hazelnuts. ***************** Austrian Jam Cookies Cookie type: formed My mom originally got the recipe out of a magazine years ago. I don’t know what magazine. These cookies nowadays go by the name thumb print cookies. I like to call them Austrian Jam cookies because they sound more sophisticated that way. I usually double the batch. A single batch will make about 15-18 cookies. A double batch, you will get closer to 3 dozen. Ingredients 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened (not melted) 1/2 cup sugar 1 teas vanilla* 1 egg, separated 1 1/4 cup sifted flour 2/3 cup chopped almonds** your favorite flavor of jam Directions Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla and egg yolk in a medium bowl until fluffy. Stir in flour. Gather dough into a ball, cover and chill for several hours. Roll level teaspoonful of dough into balls. Dip the ball into a slightly beaten egg white. Roll the ball into the almonds. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Space cookies 1 inch apart. These cookies will not spread very much. Press an indentation with your thumb in the middle of the cookie, careful not to go all the way through to the pan. Fill with jam. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. *Almond extract can be used in place of real vanilla. ** Generally, I think the almonds are a little too hard for the rest of the cookie. I usually use walnuts or pecans. I like using Polaners preserves for the jam centers. I have also used Smuckers as well as homemade jam.

1._______________________________________________________ Kitchen Delight Chocolate Chip Cookies Posted by: Patty_WV (My Page) on Wed, Nov 13, 02 at 11:57 Kitchen Delight Chocolate Chip Cookies 1 cup shortening,or 3/4 cup butter,1 cup packed light brown sugar,1/2 sugar,1 tsp.vanilla,2 eggs,2 1/4 cups flour,1 tsp.baking soda,1 tsp.salt,2 cups chocolate chips,1 cup chopped nuts(opt) Cream shortening or butter,brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy.Add eggs and beat well. Combine flour,baking soda,and salt.Add to creamed mixture. Stir in chips and nuts.Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.Bake at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Makes 6 dozen Note:I use the butter flavor Crisco for shortening. My aunt gave me this recipe shortly after I got married 27 years ago.It came from a bag of chocolate chips.It's the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I ever use. 2.__________________________________________________________ Decadent Brownies Posted by: Ann_T (My Page) on Sat, Nov 16, 02 at 13:42 Patty, Now that I know I am posting the recipes to the right thread, I have a few more that you can add to the one above. Ann. Home Cookin 4.8 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Decadent Brownies ================= 1 Cup butter, 20 Ounces chocolate, 1-1/2 Cups sugar, Pinch of salt, 4 eggs, 1 Cup flour, vanilla to taste, 1 Cup toasted pecans Melt chocolate and butter in microwave bowl Beat in sugar and salt, Beat in eggs, add vanilla, Mix in flour, Mix in pecans. Pour into rectangle cake pan that has been lined with tin foil and rubbed with butter. Bake in oven at 350 for approximately 30 minutes. Do not over bake Should still be soft in the middle Put into freezer immediately for 1 hour or until cold. Cut into 8 bars and wrap each in plastic wrap and freeze 3.__________________________________________________________ Best Oatmeal Cookies Posted by: Ann_T (My Page) on Sat, Nov 16, 02 at 13:42 Home Cookin 4.8 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Source: from newspapper many years ago Best Oatmeal Cookies ==================== 1 Cup butter 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1 egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 1 2/3 cup flour, 3/4 Teaspoon baking soda, 1/8 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, dash nutmeg, 1 1/2 cups rolled oats Preheat oven to 350 Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until smooth. Add vanilla Combined flour, soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir into butter mixture. Add rolled oats. Roll into small balls (golf ball size) and flatten with glass dipped in sugar. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until bottoms are golden. Cookie should not get brown. Cool on wire rack 4.__________________________________________________________ Graham Cracker Chewies Recipe from the Nantucket Open House Cookbook. Posted by: Ann_T (My Page) on Sun, Aug 24, 03 at 19:43 Here are a couple of recipes that have become very popular on the Cooking/Recipe forum that you can add to the Archive. Home Cookin 4.9 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Graham Cracker Chewies ====================== These are amazingly good and simple to make. They are a nice alternative to brownies. Recipe from the Nantucket Open House Cookbook. Crust 1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature, 2 tablespoons all purpose flour Topping 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup chopped pecans, 1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 large eggs beaten, . Preheat oven to 350 Prepare the crust: Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter and flour in a mixing bowl until moist and crumbly. Press the mixture firmly and evenly in the bottom of a 9 inch square baking pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Prepare topping: Stir all the ingredients together until blended. Spread the topping over the baked crust and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely, then cut into 16 squares. Home Cookin 4.9 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table 5.__________________________________________________________ Silly Toffee Squares Posted by: Ann_T (My Page) on Sun, Aug 24, 03 at 19:43 Source: Patty Silly Toffee Squares 1/2 flour, 3/4 cup rice krispies cereal, 1/4 tsp baking soda, pinch salt, 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup butter melted, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 c butter, 1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup chocolate chips semi sweet, 1 1/4 cup Rice Krispies cereal, caramel layer. Chill and cut into squares. Combine first 6 ingredients and press into 8" square pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes In heavy saucepan combine condensed milk, 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring continuously. (this burns easily so watch carefully) Remove from heat and pour over baked crust. Melt chocolate chips over low heat. Stir in remaining cereal until well coated. Using two forks spread over caramel layer. Chill and cut into squares. 6._______________________________________________________ PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES Posted by: chery2 on Sat, Nov 15, 03 I may be a slow learner, but I finally caught on to the fact that using sweetened condensed milk in a recipe covers the duties of lots of ingredients. You gotta love recipes of no more than 4 ingredients that turn out GREAT. For instance... PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES 3/4 c. pb, 1 can scm, 2 1/2 c. flour, 1 t. vnla, Mix all ingredients. Roll into 1-in. balls. Shake in bag w/ gran. sugar. Flatten on cookie sheet by making a cris-cross pattern w/ fork. Bake @ 350 for 6-8 minutes. [At first I didn't like these. They looked like little biscuits and didn't flatten during baking. But DH said they're the best ever. SIL likes them w/ a choc. chip in the middle; also likes that they're bite size. 7.________________________________________________________ MACAROONS Posted by: chery2 on Sat, Nov 15, 03 1 bag or can of sweetened coconut [about 13 oz], 1 can scm, 1 t. van [careful! changes shade of cookies], You can add other ingredients: baking chips, crushed mint, whatever. Recipe on back of coc. bag. Makes a ton of little ones. 350 for 8 minutes. chery-va 8._________________________________________________________ Lebkuchen Bars Posted by: Roselin32 on Sat, Nov 15, 03 RECIPE: Lebkuchen Bars Posted by Roselin32 on Wed, Oct 22, 03 A Christmas favorite in our home. 1 tsp cinnamon, l teaspoon ground allspice, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 1/2 c unsifted flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 c ground almonds, 1 tsp grated lemon rind, 2 eggs, 3/4 c sugar, 3/4 c honey, 1/2 c milk, Almond Glaze, 1 c confectioner's sugar, 1/2 tsp almond extract, 1 tsp rum, 1-2T water, Sift together spices, salt, flour, and baking powder. Stir in the almonds and lemon rind. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and sugar until a ribbon forms when the beater is removed. Stir in the honey and milk. Gradually stir in the flour mixture and beat until smooth. Spread the batter in an 11x17" greased jelly roll pan. Bake in a preheated 400° oven for12-15 minutes until the cake is done. While still warm turn the cake out onto a rack. Mix the confectioner's sugar, almond extrac, rum and water. Beat until it is smooth and of a glaze consistency, adding more water if necessary. Spread on warm cake. Cut into bars while still warm. Yields: 2-3 dozen. RL`