Maple Twist Cookies

It's four days before Christmas and we're still baking cookies. These Maple Twist Cookies are a favorite of mine. My mother and aunt would make these every year for Christmas.

I tried making these last year but they turned out to be an epic failure because my mother's recipe was a little short on instructions.

This year I called out the reserves on this one. My cousin Jimmy and our good friend Verna both had this recipe so I tried again this year.

They may not look perfect but the taste is what I remember as a kid. A sweet nutty cookie with a maple flavor. There are so many walnut cookie recipes, the combinations in this one are amazing.

What you need for the dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Crisco
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup butter Melted (save for later)

Using my Kitchenaid stand mixer, I added the flour and baking powder into the mixing bowl and sifted together.

Add the Crisco, brown sugar, and vanilla. I turned the mixer on low speed and added the eggs and milk. Continue mixing until the dough is formed. Separate the dough into 3 equal pieces and put it in the refrigerator for one hour.

While the dough was chilling it was time to make the filling and icing.

Filling for Maple Twist Cookies:
3 cups walnuts (Crushed)
6 teaspoons of brown sugar
6 teaspoons white sugar
Milk

Combine the crushed walnuts and brown sugar and white sugar in a mixing bowl. Add a couple of tablespoons of milk at a time and mix until it looks like a paste. Be careful, don't add too much milk, as it will become runny.

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon Maple extract
1 tablespoon milk

BLACK+DECKER HC306 One-Touch 1.5 Cup Capacity Electric Chopper, White
Electric Food Choppers Dicers


We used our handy food chopper dicer to chop the walnuts fine enough for this recipe. We find this to be a very handy kitchen tool for small jobs like this one.

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Combine and mix well until the icing is smooth.

My Icing and filling

Now that everything is prepared we can make these cookies. Roll the dough out thin on a floured surface. Brush with some melted butter, and spread the filling.

Fold this over 3 times and seal the ends. Cut them into 1/2 inch slices, give them a twist and place them on a greased cookie sheet or cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Ready for the oven

Bake these at 350 degrees for about 12 to 15 minutes. Let them cool and add your icing, or you can make the icing a little runny and brush it on while they are still warm.

I made my icing thick and iced them with a small spatula after the cookies cooled, If you do this you will need to double the icing recipe.

I yielded about 45 cookies you should get 15 or so cookies from each section of dough.

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!

KitchenAid K45SSOB 4.5-Quart Classic Series Stand Mixer, Onyx BlackKitchenAid KFC3516ER 3.5 Cup Mini Food Processor, Empire RedRachael Ray Oven Lovin' Nonstick Bakeware 3-Piece Baking and CookieKitchen MissionTM Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls 1.5,3,4, and 5 quart.StarPack Premium Silicone Spatula Set of 4 with Hygienic SolidReynolds Cookie Baking Sheets Parchment Paper (Non-Stick, 22 Sheets)

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Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Well, we're still on our Christmas cookie baking extravaganza and it is not going to end here so stay tuned for more. These Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies always make the cut for the Holiday's or anytime.

I got on the scale today and lost 2 pounds, I really don't know how that happened after a weekend of baking and sampling cookies. Oh well, I'm happy with that for now but I don't think it's going to last over the next couple of weeks.

This is just another cookie we make every year for the Holidays. These Reese's cup peanut butter cookies are so easy to make and another one that is so tasty. After all who doesn't like peanut butter and chocolate?

You're going to use the same cookie dough that is in our Hershey Kiss Peanut Butter Cookies click the link to get the cookie dough recipe.

Follow the same instructions as in the other recipe for the dough. This time instead of placing the 1-inch sugar-coated balls on a cookie sheet you're going to place them into mini muffin pan.

You'll need a bag of Mini Reese's Cups or least 48 of them. It's a good idea to unwrap them and put them in the freezer while you're making the cookie dough.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the cookies for about 12 to 14 minutes. They will just begin to rise over the top of the muffin pan.

Take them out of the oven, press in the Mini Reese's Cups and place the muffin pan in the freezer for about 10 minutes. After that, turn the muffin pan over and lightly tap the bottom, they will fall right out.

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!

Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups: 3.5 LBSKitchenAid KSM75WH Classic Plus Series 4.5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, WhiteWilton 2105-6746 Perfect Result Mega 48-Cup Mini Muffin Pan, 15x21-inchTop Rated Bellemain Stainless Steel Non-Slip Mixing Bowls with Lids,

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Sugar Cookies

Make Homemade Sugar Cookies:
If you have children or grandchildren you know what fun it is to make and decorate these easy make sugar cookies for Christmas.

Every year we have so much fun making these with our grandchildren and what lasting memories are created.

You can make this easy and buy the sugar cookie dough already made, but here is a simple homemade sugar cookies recipe.

So we continue our Christmas cookies with this easy recipe and oh so messy decorating process with the kids.

Here is what you need for homemade sugar cookie dough:

2 cups butter softened
6 cups flour
2 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
2 eggs
4 teaspoons baking powder

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer combine the butter and sugar together. Then add the 2 eggs and vanilla and continue mixing, and then add the baking powder. Now add the flour 2 cups at a time and mix until a dough is formed.

Roll out the cookie dough on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out your cookies with your favorite cookie cutters. We used Round, Christmas Trees, Snow Man, Snow Flake, and Santa cutters. Place them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, the time will depend on the size for the cookie. We bake all of the same size cookies on one sheet at a time.

Make Sugar Cookie Frosting:

2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light Karo Syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Beat powdered sugar and milk together, add the syrup and almond extract. Continue to mix until this is smooth. Now you can add you favorite food coloring.

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Holiday Cranberry Sauce

This freshly made cranberry sauce has become a staple at our Thanksgiving dinner. I was never a big fan of cranberry sauce until I tried this one.

Every Thanksgiving my dad had to have his cranberry sauce. The only problem was that he always bought the cranberry sauce in a can. I think this is why I never cared for it because to me it tasted like the can.

For fifteen years now my daughter has been making this delicious cranberry sauce from a recipe she found in a Williams-Sonoma Thanksgiving Guide.

I'm sure my dad would have loved this cranberry sauce, much better than out of a can, I know I do.

Holiday Cranberry Sauce Recipe:

• 2 cups of unfiltered apple cider
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 - 12oz. bags of fresh cranberries

Here is how you make it:

1. In a medium to a large non-aluminum saucepan, combine the apple cider, sugar water, and cinnamon stick
2. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer a light boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar
3. Add the 2 bags of cranberries; bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the cranberries have burst (about 10 minutes)
4. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool to room temperature, transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for a least 24 hours
5. Remove the cinnamon stick and let the sauce come to room temperature before serving
6. The sauce must be prepared at least 24 hours in advance and can be prepared up to 3 days in advance.

As always Thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoy it.

The Best of Thanksgiving (Williams-Sonoma)