Lemony Almond Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of almond flour (if you don’t have any, just use the same amount of all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Zest of 2 large lemons
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Rolling ingredients:
1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling cookies
Zest of one lemon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the lemon zest and sugar. Using your fingertips, run the zest into the sugar until the sugar becomes moist and aromatic. Set the bowl aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or any large bowl, if using a hand held), beat the butter just until it’s smooth. Add the lemon sugar mixture and beat until creamy.
Add the egg, almond extract, and lemon juice. Mix to combine.
With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture. Beat only until the streaks of white have disappeared. Turn off the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, give the dough a few more stirs.
Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the rolling ingredients.
In a large, shallow bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Using the same technique that you used for the dough, rub the zest into the sugar.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and, using a rounded tablespoon per cookie, roll the dough into balls. Roll each ball into the lemon sugar mixture to coat.
Leaving about 2-inches between each one, place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to turn brown. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to rest on the sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Coconut White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
About 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1/3 cup oil
1 cup bread flour
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup old fashioned oats (I lightly toasted mine in the oven for 10 minutes)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat cookie sheets with cooking spray.

Process coconut and oil in a food processor until very finely ground.

In a medium bowl, sift together bread flour, cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together ground coconut and sugar until well combined. Beat in vanilla and eggs until combined – about 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in white chocolate chips and oats until well combined.

Chill dough in refrigerator or freezer for 20 minutes or until firm. Using a cookie scoop, place scoops of dough onto cookie sheets. Bake 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute before transferring cookies to wire racks to cool.

Peanut Butter Snickers Cookies
About 24 cookies

Ingredients:

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups chopped Snickers candy bars (about 4 regular size bars)
¾ cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix until combined. Add the milk and the vanilla extract and mix again. Add the flour mixture and beat until flour disappears. Stir in the chopped Snickers and chocolate chips.

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets. (I weighed mine out to about 2 ounces of dough per cookie.) Gently flatten each cookie ball with the palm of your hand. Bake for 10-11 minutes, or until cookies are slightly brown on the edges. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for about 5 to 10 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Snickerdoodle Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup Butter, Softened
1 cup Sugar
2 whole Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2-¼ cups Flour
¾ teaspoons Baking Powder
¾ teaspoons Baking Soda
¾ teaspoons Cream Of Tartar
½ teaspoons Salt
1 cup Sour Cream
¼ cups Buttermilk

For the topping:
2/3 cups Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Prepare a muffin tin with liners. (I learned the hard way that they are too fragile for just cooking spray.)

In a mixer, combine the butter and sugar and cream until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the sour cream and buttermilk and mix to combine. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until you have a smooth batter.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping.

Use scooper and plop a scoop of batter into the bowl with the sugar and cinnamon. Gently roll the batter in the sugar and cinnamon. Place the ball into the muffin liner.

When you have completed all of the muffins, sprinkle the leftover cinnamon sugar onto the tops of all of the muffins.

Bake the muffins at 350ºF for about 15-18 minutes or until they are golden on top and just baked through.

Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
± 16 cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined. Stir in the oats, and then the chocolate chips.

Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. Cool completely on the baking sheet and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Christmas Cookies
±40 cookies

⅔ cups Shortening
¾ cups Sugar
½ teaspoons Grated Orange Or Lemon Zest
½ teaspoons Vanilla
1 whole Egg
4 teaspoons Milk
2 cups Flour
1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoons Salt

Decorative Icing:
1 and 1/2 cups powdered Sugar
1 larg egg white
1 tsp vanilla essence or lemon juice
Food Coloring

Directions:

Cream shortening, sugar, orange peel, and vanilla thoroughly. Add in egg and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the milk and mix.
Sift dry ingredients together, then blend into cream mixture. Divide dough in half (thirds if you double your recipe), slightly flatten between two sheets of waxed paper, then refrigerate for one hour (or freeze for 20 minutes).
Roll out dough on lightly floured surface and cut into shapes with a cookie cutters. Transfer shapes to lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 6 minutes. Do not allow the cookies to brown.

While cookies are baking, mix powdered sugar, essence, egg white and food coloring to make the decorative icing. Remove cookies from oven to a wire rack to cool. Then, using a pastry bag or Ziploc bag, pipe with white icing to decorate.

Note: when making the white decorative icing, make sure that it is thick and somewhat retains its shape.

Cornstarch Guava Cookies

Ingredients:

250g sugar
500g cornstarch
100g all-purpose flour
200g unsalted butter
2 eggs
Vanilla extract
Guava paste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sift cornstarch, sugar and flour together. Add the lightly beaten eggs, vanilla extract and blend in the butter. Knead well. Let stand ten to fifteen minutes. Roll the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Place the balls on parchment lined cookie sheets. Press down with your thumb to make a small well in the center of the cookie and fill with guava paste. Do not press too hard or the cookie will fall apart. Or you can use cookies cutters and spread guava paste in one cookie and top with another cookie.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until slightly firm. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet to firm up before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Subway Chocolate Chip Cookies
36 cookies.

Ingredients:

125g butter, softened (if using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon salt with the butter)
110g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
90g (1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons, very firmly packed) brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (1 teaspoon natural vanilla essence)
1 large egg (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
100g (2/3 cup) self-raising flour
150g (1 cup) plain flour
200g (about 1 rounded cup) chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees fan-forced).
Line one to three large baking trays with non-stick baking paper. If you have a fan-forced oven, you can use three trays and bake all of the cookies at once. Otherwise, bake the cookies one or two trays at a time so they bake evenly.
Using an electric mixer or electric hand-held beaters, beat butter, caster sugar, brown sugar and vanilla together until pale and creamy.
Stop the machine occasionally and use a spatula to scrape down the side and base of the bowl. Add the egg and beat until well combined.
Stir the plain flour and self-raising flour together in a small bowl. Add the flour and chocolate chips to the butter mixture and stir until well combined.
Form heaped teaspoons of dough into balls and place balls about 6cm apart on a baking tray. If baking the cookies in batches, you can refrigerate the dough between batches to prevent it from becoming too soft.
Bake for about 13-15 minutes, or until cookies are lightly golden but still very soft (they will firm up on cooling). The longer the baking time the crunchier the cookies will be. If you are using two trays, and you don’t have a fan-forced oven, swap the trays around halfway through the baking time so that the cookies brown evenly.
Leave cookies to cool on the tray for about three minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cookies have cooled to room temperature, store them in an airtight container.

Gingerbread Men
24 5inch tall cookies

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended.
In a large bowl (KitchenAid’s great for this) beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended. Add molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well blended. Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.
Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours. (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated. Return to room temp before using.)
Preheat oven to 375°.Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin. Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick. Use additional flour to avoid sticking. Cut out cookies with desired cutter– the ginger bread man is our favorite of course. Space cookies 1 1/2-inches apart.
Bake 1 sheet at a time for 7-10 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies– very good!).
Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack.
After cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like.