Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies with Christmas Sprinkles

 

It is officially cookie baking season, and while I am not keen on baking of any sort, cookies in particular, I do set my feelings aside in favor of Christmas cookies, the best cookies of the year! I don’t like cookies that are fiddly, but these get a pass because they require no special equipment other than a bowl and a spoon. They come together in no time, and if you don’t find rolling them into balls too tedious, you are going to be rewarded with wonderful buttery cookies full of mini chocolate chips and holiday sprinkles. These will be a beautiful addition to your cookie tray, and melt in your mouth delicious.

Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies with Christmas Sprinkles

Slightly adapted from moreorlesscooking.com

 1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter

½ t. vanilla

2 c. flour

1 c. confectioners' sugar

½ c. Christmas sprinkles

1 c. mini semi sweet chocolate chips

 Preheat oven to 375ºF.

 In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Stir in vanilla; cool completely.

 In another bowl, combine flour and confectioners' sugar. Stir in the butter mixture, chocolate chips, and sprinkles. (The mixture will look very crumbly.)

 Shape into 1-inch balls. Place cookie dough balls on ungreased or Silpat-lined cookie sheet. Flatten a bit with the palm of your hand.

 Bake for 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are brown. Let cool on a wire rack. 

 Makes about 2 dozen.

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Old Fashioned Butter Cookies

Back when I was in college (when dinosaurs roamed the earth), I discovered a little bakery a couple of miles from my house that made the absolute best butter cookies. They were about 4 inches wide, and packed with buttery goodness. As often happens, no sooner than I found it, the owner retired, and it closed. Since that time, I have been trying to find a recipe that replicated the sweet buttery goodness of those cookies. My search is over!

I recently found this recipe on the Tasting Table website. I made them yesterday, and they are phenomenal! There is a downside, however. Despite the recipe’s insistence that it makes 24, I only ended up with a dozen 3-inch wide cookies. It also takes brute strength to pipe this dough, at least using the Wilton piping bags that I had on hand. Perhaps there are larger ones specifically designed for pastry, but I was at a loss. I found the cookies were better the second day, than they were the first, always a bonus, I think. If you like butter cookies as much as I do, try this recipe. Phenomenal!

Old Fashioned Butter Cookies

Adapted from The Tasting Table

 1 c. butter, softened to room temperature

½ c. sugar

2 egg yolks

2 t. vanilla extract

Pinch kosher salt

1½ c. flour

 In a large bowl cream softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

 Mix in the egg yolks and vanilla extract until well combined.

Add salt, and then slowly add the flour while mixing until well incorporated and the dough comes together.

 Place the dough into a piping bag, and use a large star tip to pipe out circles of cookie dough onto a Silpat or nonstick baking sheet. (For an easier version, use a cookie scoop to drop cookie dough onto nonstick baking sheets.)

 Place the baking sheets into the fridge, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

 Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes until the edges are just golden brown.

 Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Making Cookies & Memories

It's December, and the holiday cookie baking frenzy has begun! In looking for inspiration, I was paging through my mother's old recipe binder and came across this little cookie book. Seeing this just made my heart swell. How I miss the glut of recipe books that used to be published by various companies by way of promoting their products. When I first set up housekeeping, these small company-produced cookbooks were pretty much all that I had. These, and a subscription to Good Housekeeping.

As I paged through this book, seeing my mother's check marks by certain recipes made me smile. Yes, I recognized the check marks as being hers. Always bold, always in pencil, and written with determination. The thing is, I don't recall her ever making any of the recipes that she had checked. I get that. When it comes to baking cookies, we all pretty much just want to stick with our favorites. Is there any disappointment greater than spending a half a day making cookies only to find them lacking?

Still, my curiosity is piqued, so I am going to make at least one of the recipes that she checked. I'll report back. Meanwhile, enjoy these vintage recipes and holiday baking tips. Despite its dated look, there is a lot of good information here.

 This post is linked to:

Great Idea Thursday

Create It Thursday

Think and Make Thursday
Home and Garden Thursday

Thursday Favorite Things

Simple and Sweet Fridays

Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Fridays Flash Blog

Friday Frenzy

Butter Buttons

I have loved butter cookies ever since I was a kid, and have been searching for the perfect recipe ever since. In my mind, the perfect recipe would not only be tasty, but the dough would also be easy enough to pipe into cute little mounds, yielding a cookie similar to the ones that I see in the Italian bakery down the street. Alas, this dough was too thick to pipe, but the end result was worth the trouble of rolling out so many little balls. Depending upon the size, this recipe yields about 35 melt-in-your-mouth cookies.

Butter Buttons

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup, plus 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 extra-large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Confectioners' sugar for dusting
Maraschino cherries for decoration (optional)

In the work bowl of a stand mixer cream butter and sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, and then add vanilla. Whisk flour and baking soda together and slowly add to creamed mixture until a stiff dough is formed.

Turn mixture out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten into a disc, wrap tightly in the plastic, and refrigerate for 3 hours or up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

Line cookie sheets with a Silpat or parchment paper. Pinching off small bits of dough, roll into balls approximately 1" in size. Place on cookie sheets about 1" - 2" apart. Flatten tops slightly by pressing down with your thumb. Top with small pieces of maraschino cherries, chocolate or colored sprinkles, or leave as is. Bake for 16-17 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and dust lightly with confectioners' sugar. Remove to wire racks to cool.

This post is linked to:

Metamorphosis Monday 
Melt In Your Mouth 
Recipe Sharing Monday
Amaze Me Monday

Inspire Me Tuesday

Foodie Friday

Chocolate-Filled Butter Cookies

I cannot resist a good cookie. In fact, my favorite dessert is cookies. Unfashionable, I know, but once I got past the sixth grade, cake (namely bakery shop birthday cake with lots of icing roses) stopped being my favorite, and inasmuch as I come from a family of pie lovers, pie pretty much leaves me cold. But cookies! Ahhh, the perfect dessert. Small, tasty, portable! You can grab one on the go, balance one on a saucer to enjoy with a cup of afternoon tea, or slip one into your pocket when no one is looking. Or, as in the case of my sons when they were very young, grabbed warm off the cooling racks, sneaked out of the kitchen and into the family room, leaping the couch in a single bound.

My favorite cookie is the butter cookie because it can be enhanced in so many different ways. In this case I sandwiched them with a layer of chocolate, but jam would work equally well. Here I piped them with a star tip, but they could be run through a press with any variety of plates in order to make different designs and then topped with chocolate or colored sprinkles, various sugars, or whatever suits you.  If you choose the cookie press, an hour of chilling will be necessary.  The dough can also be tinted with food coloring, but I prefer the simple beauty of these. I hope you'll consider adding these to your holiday cookie tray.

Chocolate-Filled Butter Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter, softened 

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 eggs

2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 drops yellow food coloring

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and the food coloring of your choice, if desired (I used yellow here to brighten the dough). Add flour and baking power and mix well.

Place dough in a pastry bag fitted with a number 4-S tip (the S means 'star'), and pipe out in 2 inch bars (I piped an "S")onto greased baking pan. (Can also be piped into rosettes or other shapes) Bake for about 5 to 7 minutes. Put baked cookies together with jam, frosting, or melted chocolate. Makes 4 dozen depending upon size.