Lemon Butter Snowbars

Lemon Butter Snowbars

Crust:
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened

Filling:        
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 Tbsp lemon juice
Confectioner' sugar for sprinkling

Heat oven to 350^.  For crust, combine all crust ingredients.  Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture is crumbly, 2-3 minutes.  Press on bottom of ungreased 8-inch square baking pan.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

For filling, in small mixer bowl, combine sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and lemon juice.  Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed, 1-2 minutes.  Pour over hot crust.  Continue baking for 18-20 minutes, or until
filling is set.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar; cool completely.  Cut into bars.

This is my favorite bar cookie.

Meringue Mushrooms

Meringue Mushrooms

2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
Chocolate or Mocha Buttercream
cocoa powder

Heat oven to 200^.  Put a few drops of oil on a baking sheet and wipe it over the whole sheet with a paper towel.  Cover with sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper.  Wipe a very thin film of oil over the paper.  In small, deep bowl, preferably stainless steel, beat egg whites until soft peaks form when beater is lifted.  Add 2 tsp sugar and whip 2-3 minutes longer, till mixture is stiff and glossy.  Sprinkle remaining sugar over egg whites and gently fold it in with rubber spatula. Fit a large piping bag with a plain tube (#5 or #6).  Place the meringue in the bag and pipe 24 small round meringues for the mushroom 'caps' onto the pan.  Pipe stems separately by squeezing meringue into an upright 'stem'. Bake in center of oven about 45 minutes or until crisp, dry and a very pale coffee-ice cream color.  Remove from oven to wire racks to cool.  

To make the mushrooms, rotate point of small sharp knife in underside of each 'cap' to make a small hole.  Spread underside with a bit of frosting and insert point of stem into cap. Sprinkle mushrooms lightly with cocoa.  Tightly covered these will store several days (if you can keep Jennifer away from them!) in the refrigerator.  

I use these to decorate the Yule Log cake.  They need to be prepared on a dry, non-humid day or they'll be sticky instead of crisp.  I have to make a separate batch of plain meringues for Jen because she absolutely loves these things!

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 (10 oz) jar cherry preserves

Combine graham crumbs and butter, mixing well.  Line 1 3/4' muffin pans with miniature paper liners (the foil ones look nicer).  Spoon 1 teaspoon graham crumb mixture into each liner; gently press into bottom.

Beat cream cheese with electric mixer until light and fluffy; gradually add sugar and mix well.  Add egg and vanilla, beating well.  Spoon mixture into liners.  Bake at 350^ for 10 minutes.

Place cherry preserves in a small saucepan; heat just until preserves melt.  Spoon about 1 teaspoon preserves over each cheesecake.  Chill thoroughly.  

Yield:  2 dozen.

These are also great topped with a whole cherry from a can of Cherry Pie Filling instead of the Cherry Preserves.  I found this recipe in a Southern Living magazine back in the 1980's.  These are one of my favorites for Christmas pot-lucks.  Everyone raves about them!  CATHY

Melting Moments

Melting Moments

1 cup unsifted all purpose flour
1/2 cup Argo corn starch
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar (10x)
3/4 cup butter

Combine flour, corn starch and sugar on waxed paper.  Beat butter until fluffy at medium speed.  Add flour mixture, beating until thoroughly combined.  Refrigerate 1 hour.  Shape into 1 inch balls.  Place about 1 1/2 inches apart on
ungreased cookie sheets; flatten with lightly floured fork.  Bake at 300~ for 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  If you'd like, roll in powdered sugar while hot.  Makes about 3 dozen.

These plain, simple, easy cookies really do melt in your mouth!  They are awesome!!

M&M Christmas Cookies

M&M Christmas Cookies

1 cup Crisco
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups M&M's plain chocolate candies - Christmas Colors

Blend together crisco and sugars in a large bowl.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Sift remaining dry ingredients together, add to sugar mixture, blending well.  Stir in 1/2 cup candies.  Drop from teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheets; decorate tops with remaining candies.  Bake at 375^ for 10 minutes or until golden-brown.  Remove cookies with spatula to wire racks to cool completely.

To make M&M Party Cookies, use any color M&M's!

Almond Brickle Sugar Cookies

These are probably my FAVORITE cookies of all time!  I've made them every Christmas since I discovered this recipe back in the early 1990's in a Land O Lakes cook booklet.  If you're in too big a hurry to shape them you can also press these into the bottom of a 9x13' pan and bake them until done, then cut into bars.  They are scrumptious!  Cathy

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 (6-oz) pkg almond brickle bits

Heat oven to 350^.  In a large mixer bowl, combine flour, sugar, butter, egg, soda and vanilla.  Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed, 2-3 minutes.  Stir in almond brickle.  Shape rounded teaspoonfuls dough into 1-inch balls.  Place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Flatten cookies to 1/4-inch thickness with bottom of glass dipped in sugar.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are very lightly browned.  Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Brown Sugar Smokies

 

Brown Sugar Smokies

Ingredients

• 1 pound bacon
• 1 (16 ounce) package little smokie sausages
• 1 cup brown sugar, or to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut bacon into thirds and wrap each strip around a little sausage. Place the wrapped sausages on wooden skewers, several to a skewer. Arrange the skewers on a baking sheet and sprinkle them liberally with brown sugar.

Bake until bacon is crisp and the brown sugar melted.