Melinda's Holiday Cookie Recipes

As promised! Tried and tested through many years of holiday baking and cookie exchange parties!

M.

Rudolph Noses

Ingredients:

Package of Round Pretzels (ROLD GOLD pretzel rounds, about the size of a quarter)

2 pkgs of Hershey Hugs

14 oz pkg of red and green holiday M&Ms

Preheat oven to 200 degrees (just basically get it warm)

Unwrap Hershey Hugs and set aside

Spray 2 cookie sheets with non-stick spray

Arrange pretzels on cookie sheets (don't worry how close they are to each other)

Place a Hershey Hug on each individual pretzel

Put in oven just a few minutes until the Hugs begin to melt-don't let them melt all the way!

Remove from oven and then place an M&M on each Hug, gently pushing it down into the pretzel

Place in refrigerator to cool and and allow chocolate to harden (doesn't take very long!)

Remove from refrigerator and use a spatula to get pretzels off of the trays

That's it! Enjoy your treats!

Frango-Filled Shortbread Cookies
Makes 3 dozen

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for rolling
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 cup finely chopped pecans
18 Frango Chocolates (Mint, Dark Mint, Double Chocolate, or Dark
Chocolate), halved crosswise

In bowl, using electric mixer, cream together butter and confectioners'
sugar on medium-high speed for about 1 minute, or until mixture is pale
yellow and fluffy. Add flour, vanilla and salt and stir with a wooden
spoon until well blended. Stir in pecans. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and
refrigerate for about 1 hour, or until dough is firm.

Position racks in center and top of oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
Scoop out 1 level tablespoon dough and shape it around a chocolate half,
enclosing chocolate completely. Roll dough between your palms to form a ball.
Repeat with remaining dough and chocolates. As cookies are shaped, arrange
them on ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes, switching pans between racks and rotating them 180
degrees about halfway through baking, or until cookies are golden brown.
Meanwhile, sift confectioners' sugar into a small bowl. When cookies are
ready, remove from oven, let them cool just until they can be handled,
and then roll them in the sugar, coating them well. Put them on a rack and
let cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at
room temperature for up to 1 week.

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

¾ c. unbleached all-purpose flour

½ t. baking soda

¼ t. salt

¼ t. ground cinnamon

11/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

½ c. dried cranberries

½ c. firmly packed light brown sugar

¼ c. granulated sugar

¾ c. white chocolate chips

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Spoon mixture in cranberries, brown sugar, and granulated sugar and white chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt 1 stick unsalted butter. Stir in 1 large egg, and ½ t. vanilla extract.

Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet, 3 inches apart.

Bake until edge of cookies are golden and tops are set, about 11 – 13 minutes.

Confetti Cookies

1 cup M&Ms mini baking bits

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1t. baking powder

½ t. salt

½ c. firmly packed light brown sugar

½ c. granulated sugar

Whisk together baking bits, flour, baking powder and salt. Add light brown sugar and granulated sugar.

Preheat oven to 350. Combine above with 2 sticks melted, unsalted butter, 2 large eggs, and 1 ½ t. vanilla extract. Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes. Drop tablespoons full of dough onto ungreased baking sheets, 3 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 13 – 15 minutes.

Spritz Cookies (need a cookie press with attachments in shape of Xmas trees, etc.)

1 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond
2 1/2 cups flour

Let butter soften then add all the other ingredients except flour. Then mix in the flour. Use a cookie press to form cookies. Bake 7-10 minutes at 400 degrees.