Christmas Cookie Re-cap

As I mentioned in my last post my annual Cookie party was this past weekend and per usual it did not disappoint. I didn’t take the time to count the cookies, but even after everyone took a plateful I still had three large foil tin pans! I couldn’t afford (well, to be more accurate my waistline couldn’t afford) to have these cookies lingering in the house, so both Greg and I took a plateful to work and a plate to my local OTF studio as well. Spread the love I say!

I decided to make two kinds of cookies this year because I had a new cookie press I wanted to use, and I absolutely must make peanut butter cookies each year. My obsession with PB runs deep, I literally eat PB every day and what better way to get my dose than through a cookie. None I tell you, absolutely no better way. I decided to make the PB even more decadent by melting chocolate, dipping half a cookie into it, and then sprinkling it with Christmas colors. If a peanut butter cookie is delicious, adding chocolate takes it to the next level. Unfortunately, my hubby does not share the same opinion as me, so let’s just say I ate a few half of the cookies with chocolate so Greg could go sans. The things I’ll do for love.

My second cookie was a traditional shortbread recipe with a new wine grape press one of my co-workers gave me as an early Christmas gift. Once I saw the press I knew I’d have to use it to make cookies for the party. Shortbread are one of my favorite cookies as well, decadent but not too sweet, and they go great in the morning with coffee. All this cookie talk has got me craving them again, but alas there are none left…it may be time to make another cookie batch (hey, it’s the holidays so why not, right?).

Ingredients:

Peanut Butter Cookie recipe (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens with some minor tweaks.)

1/2 cup of butter

1/2 cup of peanut butter

1/2 cup of coconut sugar

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon each of baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla

1 egg

1 1/4 cup flour

Sea salt

Eggs

Place butter and PB in blender and cream. Add the sugars, baking soda/powder, vanilla, and egg and blend, scraping down sides. Add flour about 1/2 cup at a time and blend. Once it gets too thick to blend mix flour with a spatula. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on parchment lined pan. Using a wet fork place a crisscross mark on the cookies to flatten them. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in a 375 degree preheated oven for about 8 minutes. Pull out of the oven and allow to cool completely on wire rack.

Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and heat for one minute.  Pull out, stir the chips, and continue cooking until they are melted and the chocolate is dippable.  Dunk half of the PB cookie into melted chocolate, place on parchment lined pan, and sprinkle with Christmas colored candy.

Shortbread cookies

1 1/2 cups of butter (I use Kerrygold) at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar (I used lavender infused sugar that my mom got me from a nearby lavender farm)

4 cups flour

Cream the butter and sugar together. I used my stand mixer to make this an easy chore. Start adding flour about 1/2 cup at a time blending with mixer until it gets hard to knead (this happened at around 2 1/2 to 3 cups for me) and use a spatula or even your hands to mix through. Once flour is incorporated, place in refrigerator and let cool for about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into one-inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Use cookie stamp to press decoration into cookies. If you don’t have a stamp you can use the bottom of a small glass to flatten the cookie balls. Bake for 15-18 minutes and let cool completely on wire rack.

Wine to pair?

Whatever you like because it’s the holidays, and when I throw this annual shin dig I make sure I have several wine varietals for the ladies to choose from. This year we had Pinot Noir (of course), Rose, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Sparking wine, Merlot, Zinfandel and some red blends. This party is great excuse to open various bottles and take a tour around the wine world. So I hope you all are feeling those holiday vibes and indulge yourself with some sweet treats. Remember…only 11 days left until Christmas so cheers!