Well-done! I'm a terrible baker and so admire what you've accomplished here.

Nicely done!!!

Such a pretty and delicious-looking picture! As for Santa's Little Helpers, I made them for the first time last year after years of having the recipe and hearing about them!

Is there a recipe posted somewhere for Santa’s Little Helpers. And, why are they named that?

Here you go Provogal....I even saved Annie's original comments! I have a master "Cooking Forum Cookie File" that I've saved over the years :-).

I don't know why they're called Santa's Helpers...I suppose they help him (her?) get through the long, long night of delivering presents? LOL!

"Santa's Helpers."

Cookie:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
Add 1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla Beat until smooth

Add:
2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp salt Beat until smooth

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Stir until smooth and then add:
1 cup chopped walnuts

Divide dough into quarters. Form
each quarter into 6 balls. Place 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. With
finger, make a wide deep depression in each cookie, clear to the edge. Fill
with topping. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, (or in a convection oven, about 9
minutes) If you undercook these, the filling is so heavy that it will break
through when you pick them up, so I make them crunchy. You could also not make
the depression in them as deep and there would be more dough to suport the
filling so that it did not break through. These are my family's favorite
cookies, and we have never ever seen them anywhere else. (They were my secret
weapon) Also, if I make a huge depression in them, I sometimes make half again
as much filling so I don't run out.

Makes 24 cookies

Annie

Thanks for sharing. I plan to bake cookies for weekend company, so I try these.

gardengriz, thanks for posting the recipe. Wow...nice combo of ingredients!

I hope Sherry drops by and sees this thread. We miss her.

okay, how about the OTHER recipes?

I have to admit that those notes were Sherry's too, and she'd never shared the recipe until she shared it with us. They were her "secret weapon" at Christmas.

I miss her too, but I know she's moved since her dear Roger died, and that she has a brand new great-grandbaby, so she's busy!

Annie

The 'Santa's Helpers' recipe is very similar to our family's 'Thumbprint Cookies' which is a versatile recipe limited only by your imagination. We liked to stuff them with jam, or even 'movie theater' candy ... like milk duds, red hots or mike n Ikes etc ...

For Christmas I make Thumbprint Cookies filled with chocolate ganache with candy cane bits on top.

Those Santa Helpers look really good. I've finished my Christmas baking but there's always next year.

OH yum, those sound amazing!

The Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies and Superdoodle recipes can be found here:

The Chinese Almond Cookie recipe is phenomenal and everyone loves them. They are at the top of my favorite list! I can't remember where I found the recipe...it was years ago.

Chinese Almond Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups of almond flour, lightly packed

1 cup of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

Pinch of kosher salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of almond extract

1 3/4 cups of flour

1 cup + 2 tablespoons of sugar

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

Slivered almonds

Method

1. Place the almond flour, salt, and butter into an
electric beater with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for three
minutes. The mixture will become course and chunky looking.

2. Add one of the eggs, reserving the other for later, and
the almond extract. Mix on low speed until just incorporated.

3. Sift together the flour, sugar, and baking soda then
add to the butter mixture at low speed. Mix until just combined.

4. Take the dough and flatten it into a disc and wrap in
plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator for two hours to chill.

5. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with
parchment paper. Place the other egg into a bowl and beat it.

6. Take pieces of dough and roll them into balls about a
half-inch wide. Place them on the sheet about and inch apart and then press
them down slightly with your palm to make a coin shape.

7. Place a slivered almond onto each cookie and lightly
press it into place, then paint the surface of the cookie with some of the
beaten egg using a pastry brush or your finger (this will give the cookie a
lacquered appearance once it bakes).

8. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges just being to
tan. Cool on the sheet on a wire rack.

Makes 5 dozen.

I have to make the Chinese Almond cookies! These would be right down my husband's alley!

Re Santa's Helpers, what is the final consistency of the filling, and do they need to be refrigerated (given the sour cream)? Wondering if they'd lend themselves to shipping: would they be okay in a box for 3-4 days til arrival, and does the filling ooze? TIA for sharing!

Thanks, gardengriz!

javiwa, I'm curious too but it appears as if she is boxing them up for gifts?

I figured the box was one of gardengrlz's charming presentations. :)

Those almond cookies are in my future! I picked up some almond flour from Trader Joe's today.

Does the dough freeze well? What about freezing the baked cookies?

Thanks!!!

Thanks everyone!

Yes, the filling is fine at room temp after baking, no need to refrigerate. I shipped boxes of cookies to family & friends for the past 2 weeks with no problems. I usually bake on a Sunday & ship them out on a Monday, 2-day UPS with no problems and they get to where they need to be as fresh as possible without making me go broke! :-)

The dough for all the cookies freezes very well...in fact that's what I do every year. I make all my cookie dough in November, put them in gallon size Ziplock bags, and freeze. When I'm ready to bake, I take whatever bags out of the freezer and let them defrost in the refrigerator for a day, maybe 2. The dough on it's own, is usually good in the refrigerator from 3-5 days.

Hope this helps...happy baking!

Thanks for the info about freezing, gardengrlz!

Edited to update: I made these today and am singing their praises-- this Chinese Almond Cookies recipe is a keeper!

I made half a recipe just to try them, and am glad I did b/c they just go down so easy. I'd like to dedicate my new 2 lb weight gain to gardengrlz! :O)

Sooz...LOL! They're really good aren't they?

I gave this recipe for the Santa's Helpers to my friend, she is going to make them today and bring some to me tomorrow! They just sounded so delicious, I had to share it! Plus, she really loves cinnamon so that middle part sounded like something she would love.

As promised, my friend made these and gave me some. I'm pretty sure she used her own cookie recipe because she already had it made(ahead of time) and waiting for thumb prints. She also made the jelly ones. I have to say, they were fantastic! She was also very well pleased with them!

gardengrlz, I'm about to make the Chinese Almond Cookies and wanted to check on the size of the balls of dough...are they really one half inch in diameter? Do you then flatten them to about 1" diameter? And about how big are they after baking? Half inch diameter balls of dough seem so tiny!

Ovenbird, naw...I've never made them that small. I usually roll the balls a lot bigger, like 1.5" across and then flatten them. They do spread a little; I think maybe by half? You'll have to play around with what size works for you...I like bigger cookies. :-)

Thanks...I like bigger cookies too!

Made the almond cookies yesterday...mmmmm good and just the right size! I do not have a stand mixer so the dough was a bit of a challenge to make. They are not going to last long in this house. Thanks again for the recipe!

Baked a batch of the Santa's Little Helpers today to share with my sister. She really liked them. In the future, I think I would double this recipe. Next time, I think I won't divide the dough into quarters but instead just spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of "dough" into my hand to form into a ball, place it on the cookie sheet and repeat. Now I need to go check on them and see if they still taste as good as they did this morning. Testing, testing.