NEBRASKA Family Magazine 15 BEST CHRISTMAS COOKIES IN NEBRAsKA
Spritz Cookies Connie from Holdrege This is a family recipe that I made for my dad. He loved them! 1 pound (2 cups) butter creamed 1 ¼ cups sugar 3 egg yolks 1 teaspoon almond extract 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 4 cups flour or more Instructions: Cream butter and sugar, stir in eggs and flavoring and then add flour and baking powder. Don t overmix. Best if mixed by hand. Use a cookie press to form different shapes. Dusty Millers Arliss from Lincoln Made from a recipe book that I ve had since before we were married in 1969! 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup shortening 1 egg 4 tablespoons molasses 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon ginger 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 ½ teaspoons soda Powdered sugar Instructions Cream sugar, shortening, eggs and molasses. Sift together salt, flour, ginger, cinnamon and soda. Add to mixture. Chill dough 2 hours. Make small balls and roll in powdered sugar. Flatten balls slightly. Bake 10 minutes in 350-degree oven. Favorite Sugar Cookies Julie from Lincoln Source: Cookies & Cups Cookie 10 tablespoons butter, room temperature 2/3 cup vegetable shortening 1 ½ cups granulated sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoons salt 3 ⅓ cups flour Frosting 1/2 cup vegetable shortening 4 ½ cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon milk Cookie Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment and set aside. Cream shortening and butter together until smooth, add in sugar and beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Turn mixer to low and add in baking powder, salt and flour until just combined. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto lined baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until cookies just start to get golden. Don t overbake! Allow to cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to continue cooling. Frosting Instructions In mixer beat shortening and powdered sugar together. Mixture will look like course sand. Slowly add in milk and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Color frosting if desired and spread onto cooled cookies.
Cream Wafer Cookies with Filling Julie from Lincoln. This recipe has been made by someone in my family every Christmas for as long as I can remember! Dough 1 cup soft butter 1/3 cup whipping cream 2 cups flour Filling 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla Instructions Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the soft butter, whipping cream and flour together until well combined. Divide dough into 3 pieces. Roll 1/3 of the dough at a time. Roll out on a floured surface to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 1 ½ inch rounds (or other shape) using a small cookie cutter. Transfer cut cookies to a piece of waxed paper that is heavily coated with sugar. Turn cookies so that both sides are coated with sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet and prick each cookie with a fork 4 times. Bake 7-9 minutes. Do not brown. Cool cookies and make filling. To make filling, cream butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Tint with food coloring if desired. Place a small amount of filling between two cookies to make mini sandwiches. Snowball Cookies Sharon from Holdrege 1 ½ cups unsalted butter (not margarine) 6 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 4 ½ cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 2 ¼ cups chopped pecans 1 cup powdered sugar Buttermilk Sugar Cookies Janet from Holdrege 1 cup butter 2 cups sugar 5 cups flour ½ tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1 ½ tsp. baking powder 1 cup buttermilk Frosting and/or sprinkles for decorating. Instructions Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Add baking soda, baking powder, and salt mix well. Add flour and buttermilk gradually, mixing after each addition. Will be a thick dough. Turn out onto floured surface, and knead a few times, adding more flour if necessary. Split dough into 2 or 3 sections, and roll out on floured surface, about ¼-inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, removing from oven just before it starts to turn brown. (Bake a minute longer for crunchier cookies.) Cool on wire rack and frost when cool. Frosting 2 cups powdered sugar (or more) 2 tablespoons water (or more) 1 teaspoon lemon juice Food coloring, optional Sprinkles, optional Cream butter until fluffy, add granulated sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix in flour and pecans. The batter will be dry/crumbly. Press dough with hands forming 1-inch balls. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly golden brown. Immediately after removing cookies from the oven, roll in powdered sugar.
Pffeffernuesse Lexie from Gretna This recipe was passed down from Lexie s mom. Pffeffernuesse is a German word that mean peppernuts. This cookie is a traditional European cookie. 2/3 cup butter, softened 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/3 cup molasses 1/3 cup water 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon anise seed 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspooon cloves 1/8 teaspoon cardamom 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1 cup chopped nuts 1 cup powdered sugar In large bowl, combine butter and brown sugar; beat until fluffy and light. Stir in molasses and water. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, anise seed, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom and pepper; blend well. Stir in nuts. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate two hours for easier handling. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9-12 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets. Roll in powdered sugar. Makes 5 dozen cookies. Grandma s Caramel Cookies Janet from Holdrege (a type of Spritz cookie) 1 cup butter ½ cup brown sugar 1 cup white sugar 2 teaspoon vanilla ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon. salt 3 ½ cups flour Lacy Swedish Almond Wafers Erica from Omaha 1/2 cup butter or margarine 1/2 cup sugar 3 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons milk 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup finely chopped toasted almonds Cook and stir until smooth the first five ingredients. Then add almonds. Drop by level tablespoons onto lightly greased and floured cookie sheets or use parchment paper. Space four inches apart and place only four cookies on a cookie sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes until lightly browned. Cool slightly. Carefully lift with wide spatula and place over turkey baster to shape. Cool. If cookies harden before moving from cookie sheet, return to oven for a few second to soften. Makes 18 cookies. Remember to grease and flour cookie sheet each time you bake. Leave remaining cookie dough on low while others bake. Awesome Sugar Cookies Ashley from Holdrege 1 cup softened butter 1 cup sugar 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla 1 cup sour cream 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 4 ½ to 5 ½ cups flour Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs. Mix. Stir in sour cream and sifted flour, baking powder and soda. Add enough flour so dough isn t sticky. Roll. Cut shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 11 minutes. Awesome Icing Beat 3 egg whites with 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix with 2 pounds powdered sugar, 1/2 cup Crisco, 1/2 cup butter. Use water to make spreadable. Can use food color to tint. Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter; add sugars and mix well. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add baking soda and salt. Gradually add flour. Place on ungreased cookie sheets using a cookie press. Sprinkle with red or green sprinkles, or add a red hot candy to the center of each flower. Bake for 8-9 minutes. Makes 6 dozen cookies.
Christmas Tree Cookie Stacks Nicole from Omaha Source: Delish Cookie 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon almond extract 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt Frosting 1 cup butter 4 cups powdered sugar 2-3 tablespoons water or milk Green gel icing color 2-3 tablespoons red and white pearl sprinkles 16-18 yellow star sprinkles Directions Preheat oven to 350º and line two cookie sheets with parchment. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla and almond extracts. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Dough will be thick. Make three sizes of cookie dough balls: 1 teaspoon, 2 teaspoons, and 3 teaspoons. (You should have an even number of each.) Place medium and large cookies on a cookie sheet and press down slightly on each. Bake until center looks mostly cooked, 7 to 8 minutes. Place smallest balls of dough on another cookie sheet and press down slightly. Bake until center looks mostly cooked, 5 to 6 minutes. When cookies are done, remove from oven and let cool 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a cookie rack to finish cooling. Make frosting: Beat butter until smooth. Add half the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add vanilla and 2 tablespoons water and mix until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add green gel icing color to frosting and mix until your desired shade of green. Assemble cookies: Get one size of each cookie. Fit a piping bag with a medium sized star piping tip (I used Wilton 32) and fill bag with green frosting. Pipe a swirl of frosting onto the largest cookie, then add the second medium sized cookie on top. Pipe a swirl of frosting onto the second cookie, then top with the smallest cookie. Pipe a swirl on top of the final cookie and decorate with a star and round ornament sprinkles. Continue building cookie trees, then refrigerate until ready to serve. Chocolate Caramel Thumbprints Kelly from Lincoln Source: Taste of Home 1/2 cup butter, softened 2/3 cup sugar 1 egg, separated 2 tablespoons 2% milk 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup baking cocoa 1 cup finely chopped pecans FILLING: 12 to 14 caramels 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1 teaspoon shortening Directions In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk, milk and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Refrigerate, covered, 1 hour or until easy to handle. Preheat oven to 350. Shape dough into 1-in. balls. In a shallow bowl, beat egg white. Place pecans in a separate shallow bowl. Dip balls in egg white, then in pecans, patting to help pecans adhere. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Press a deep indentation in center of each with the end of a wooden spoon handle. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. In a large heavy saucepan, melt caramels with cream over low heat; stir until smooth. Fill each cookie with about 1/2 teaspoon caramel mixture. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies; let stand until set. Store in an airtight container. Yield: about 2-1/2 dozen.
Sugar Cookies Kelly from Lincoln Source: Taste of Home ½ cup butter, softened ½ cup shortening 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/8 teaspoon salt 3 egg yolks ½ teaspoon vanilla 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large mixing bowl beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Beat until combined, scrapping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Optional - roll balls in holiday sprinkles or jimmies. Place balls 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are set but not brown. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool. To store: layer cookies between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 2 days or freeze for us to 3 months. Gumdrop Cookies Kristine from Holdrege Source: Taste of Home 3/4 cup shortening 1 cup sugar, divided 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1 ¾cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup chopped fruit-flavored or spiced gumdrops 2 large egg whites Peppermint Kiss Sugar Cookies Kristine from Lincoln Source: Over the Big Moon 1 ½ cups powdered sugar 1 ¼ cups butter, room temperature 1 teaspoon peppermint extract (optional) 1 large egg 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup finely chopped Candy Cane flavored Hershey s Kisses Granulated Sugar About 30 unwrapped Candy Cane Kisses 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Make room in either refrigerator or freezer for your cookie sheet. 2. In large mixer bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter, extracts and egg. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often until creamy (2-3 minutes). In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to wet mixture and beat, scraping bowl often until well blended (1-2 minutes). The mixture will be a bit crumbly. Stir in chopped Kisses. 3. Shape dough into ¾-inch to 1-inch balls; roll in granulated sugar. Place 1-inch apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set. As soon as they come out of the oven, press a Candy Cane Kiss in the center of each cookie. They ll crack a little around the edges, so just use your fingers to hold the cookie together while you set the kiss inside. Put cookie sheet (with cookies) immediately into the freezer (preferred) or refrigerator, so that the Kisses will set quickly. As soon as you press them into the cookie, they will begin to soften so if you can get them into the freezer then they will keep their Kiss shape. 4. Store in a covered container- at room temperature for up to a week. In the freezer they should be good for a couple of weeks. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream shortening and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in almond extract. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in gumdrops. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold into dough. Drop by level tablespoons 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Cool 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.