Enjoy this great holiday cookie recipe. This recipe is only one of over 100 Christmas recipes in the new Christmas Cooking cookbook. Download your copy today here.

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Egg yolk
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1/2 cup natural raisins
1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in yolk, almond extract and salt.
Mix in flour just to blend thoroughly.
Mix in raisins almonds to distribute evenly.
On lightly floured surface, roll into a 12″ long.
Wrap securely and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 week.
With sharp knife, cut 1/3″ thick slices, and place 1″ apart on baking sheets.
Bake in pre-heated 350 degree F oven 15 to 20 minutes until cookies are set and bottoms are lightly browned. Remove to racks to cool completely.
Decorate as desired with melted semi-sweet or white chocolate, and top with colored sprinkles, raisins, nuts, or candied fruit pieces.
Allow to set before storing in layers between sheets of waxed paper in airtight container.

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 extra-large egg
1 1/4 cups sifted flour
2/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Cream shortening and peanut butter until blended; gradually add sugars; beat until fluffy.
Add egg and beat thoroughly.
Sift remaining ingredients together; divide in half and add to creamed mixture, one at a time, mixing till well blended after each addition.
Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls and place 3 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets.
Flatten with a fork by making a criss-cross pattern.
Bake at 375 degrees F for about 10 minutes.

(makes about 3 dozen)

Everybody loves these cookies! When I was a kid and went to visit my grandma, she would always have one waiting for me fresh from the bakery.

1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 pound butter
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Frosting

4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup boiling water
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate

In a large mixing bowl combine the sugar and butter until it becomes fluffy.
Add eggs, milk, vanilla and lemon extract and mix until smooth.
In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder and salt.

Add dry ingredients to the wet in batches, stirring well. Drop spoonfuls of dough about 2 inches apart on buttered baking sheets.
Bake at 375 degrees F until edges begin to brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely.

To make frosting, put confectioners’ sugar in a bowl. Stir in enough water to make the mixture thick and spreadable. Remove half the frosting to the top half of a double boiler over simmering water. Add chocolate and warm the mixture until chocolate is melted and the frosting is smooth. Remove from heat. With brush, coat half the cookie with chocolate frosting and the other half with white frosting.

Makes 2 dozen large cookies or about 4 dozen small (mini) cookies

Be sure to use real granulated sugar in this recipe.  Splenda or other sweeteners will not work.

1 egg white
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup wheat germ

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a deep bowl, beat egg whites on low speed of an electric mixer until frothy. Beat on high speed until stiff. Gradually beat in sugar and then almond extract.Fold in wheat germ. drop mixture by 1/2 teaspoonsful onto a cookie sheet that had been sprayed with a nonstick cooking spray and dusted lightly with flour. Put the cookies in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 200 F. bake 1 hour. Turn off heat, and leave cookies in oven to cool. Makes 10 servings, 5 cookies each.

Everyone loves sugar cookies around the holidays.  These cookies are great to make with your kids as they will love to decorate them with your favorite frosting or sprinkles.  Don’t forget these also make great gifts, you can get holiday tins at your local dollar store.

Holiday Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup sugar
10 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
Frosting of your choice

In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, butter, baking powder, and salt with an
electric mixer at low speed until blended. Increase speed to high and beat
until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add milk, vanilla extract, and
egg then beat until combined. Don’t worry if mixture looks a little lumpy.
Stir in flour until blended. Shape dough into 2 balls, flatten each slightly.
Wrap each with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour or until dough is easy
to handle.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, with floured
rolling pin, roll 1 piece of dough 1/8 inch thick, keeping remaining dough
refrigerated. Using your favorite (floured) holiday shaped cookie cutters, cut dough
into as many cookies as possible, reserve trimmings. Place cookies, about
1 inch apart, on 2 ungreased large cookie sheets. Roll trimmings and cut
out more cookies.

Bake cookies 12 to 15 minutes until golden around edges, rotating cookie
sheets between upper and lower racks halfway through baking time if you
have used both upper and lower oven racks. Remove cookies to wire racks
to cool. Repeat with remaining dough.

When cookies are cool, prepare frosting and use to decorate cookies as
desired. Set cookies aside to allow frosting to dry completely, at least 1
hour. If not using right away, store in tightly covered container.

1/3 cup Butter; softened
1/2 cup Granulated sugar
1/2 cup Firmly packed brown sugar
2 Egg whites or 1 egg
1/2 cup Skim milk
1 tsp Vanilla
2 cup QUAKER Oats uncooked
1 cup All-purpose flour
1 cup Raisins
1/3 cup Unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Beat butter, sugars and egg whites until fluffy. Add milk and vanilla; mix well. Stir in combined oats, flour, raisins, cocoa and baking powder. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until just set. Cool l minute on cookie sheet. Remove to wire rack; cool completely. Store in a tightly covered container.

2 1/4 cup flour, unsifted
1 tsp. baking soda
Salt
1 (4 serving size) of chocolate instant pudding mix
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 (12 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips
Mix flour, soda, and salt. Combine butter, sugars, and vanilla until creamy, beat in eggs. Add flour mixture, then pudding mix. Stir in chips. Drop on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown.

6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 of 14?oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups toasted coconut
1 cup semi?sweet or milk chocolate chips

In 2?quart saucepan over medium?low heat, combine butter, sugar and corn syrup. Heat to a full boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly pour in sweetened condensed milk, stirring constantly. Continue cooking over low heat until candy thermometer reaches
220?228 degrees. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Beat until creamy. Immediately stir in toasted coconut and mix well.
Spoon mixture by teaspoonfuls into circular mounds onto buttered waxed paper. Flatten slightly and with the end of a wooden spoon poke a small round hole into the center of each
cookie. Cool completely.
Melt chocolate chips and drizzle thinly in stripes over cookies and let chocolate harden at room temperature. Store in airtight container.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups peanut butter cups, chopped
3/4 cup peanuts, chopped
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F. Sift together flour, soda and salt. Set aside. Beat together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, sugar, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients and combine thoroughly. Fold in peanut butter cups, peanuts and chocolate chips. The batter will be stiff.
Form into balls about the size of a tablespoon. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake 12 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

I know what you are thinking, “Who wants to bake in this heat!” I thought I was a little crazy myself…but I baked these last night and they came out soooo good!

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon mint extract
1 large egg white, beaten

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and cocoa together. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, applesauce, vanilla, mint and egg white. Beat with a hand mixer until well blended. Combine the flour mixture with the sugar to form the dough. Roll into a log and cover with plastic wrap. Put into the freezer for about an hour. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Slice into 1/4 inch pieces and place on the greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.