Peppermint Cookies

My Mother-In-Law's Kitchen

Since I met my amazing husband, and subsequently his fabulous mother, I have been wanting to write a whole series of posts entitled "My Mother-In-Law's Kitchen." Why you ask? Simple...her food is delicious (both my husband and I love it), many of her recipe's are heirloom recipes I want to treasure and pass on, and she is an amazing person I love getting to spend time with. Especially in the kitchen!

Finally after nearly three years of marriage (and a new amazing camera from my awesome husband) I have gotten a few recipes on camera, and I hope to get many more in the years to come. 

I hope you enjoy these amazing recipes as much as we do! With love from my Mother-In-Law Linda's Kitchen xxxooo

When the recipe card looks like this you know the cookies are good!

2 cups sugar

1 cup lard (yes lard! - but don't shy away these are fabulous)!

1 cup buttermilk

3 eggs

1 tsp peppermint extract

4 tsp baking soda

6 cups flour

Cream together the sugar and lard.

Add buttermilk (it will appear lumpy)

Add eggs, peppermint and baking soda.

Mix thoroughly.

Add 6 cups of flour to the wet mixture one cup at a time. 

  

 Cover and refrigerate.  

 Roll out dough, sprinkle with sugar, and cut into your favorite shapes.

Bake at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes or until lightly brown on the bottom. Cool cookies on a wire or wooden rack.

Frosting:

1 bag powdered sugar

Milk

Peppermint extract

Food coloring

Mix powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons milk, and 1-2 tablespoons extract. Add food coloring to your desired color. Drizzle over cookies.

 Allow frosting to dry before storing in zip lock bags or storage containers. 

These can be made in advance and placed in the freezer. Just remove and bring to room temp before serving. Delicious!

Almond Cream Cheese Cookies

3 oz Cream Cheese (softened)
1 C butter softened
1 C sugar
1 egg yolk
1 Tbs Milk
1/8 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 C. sifted cake flour
1 C sliced almonds, toasted

Beat cream cheese with butter and sugar until fluffy.  Blend in egg yolk, milk, and almond extract.  Gradually stir in cake flour.  Gently stir in almonds. (dough will be sticky.)  Divide dough in half; place each cardon large sheet of waxed paper, shape into 12x1 in roll.  Refrigerate until very firm.

Preheat oven to 325.  Cut rolls into 1/4 inch thick slices.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 10-15 minutes or until edges are just starting to look golden.  THESE COOKIES SHOULD NOT BROWN.  Cool on wire racks.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been on a mission for about a year or so now to find the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I've been on numerous blogs, Pinterest, Food Network, all the big recipe websites and more. Tried hundreds of recipes and some were great, and some well not so great. Then one day I was looking in an old recipe book I had started when Ryan and I were first married. It was a gift from my only sister Marlo who had shared a dozen or so of her favorite recipes in the front of the recipe book and the rest of the book was blank for me to write recipes down. When I came across this book the other night I started flipping through it. When I found a recipe for CCC's (chocolate chip cookies) that I used to make all the time when the hubs and I were newlyweds.

So I busted out the Kitchen Aid and whipped them up. I had completely forgotten how awesome and soft these cookies were. Not only were they soft but they still had an awesome buttery taste too. They even stayed soft the next day. I wouldn't know about any longer than a day because they didn't last that long ;-) The recipe makes the perfect amount for my little family of 5. OH! And the dough was delightful, cuz you know we all eat the dough by the spoonful am I right?

So now I'm sharing the recipe with you and also making sure I have a digital copy! Enjoy the yummies!

CCC's

1/2 cup shortening (I used the butter flavor cuz why wouldn't you?)
1/2 cup butter (1stick)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 bag milk chocolate chips (or your favorite chips)

Cream together shortening, butter, sugars and eggs. Add salt, soda, vanilla and flour and mix together. Add the chips last. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Pinterest

Who else is in love with Pinterest?!? It is my new online recipe book. A few of us (that I know of) are on Pinterest so you should come follow us! You can find me as TBeautyBox I have lots of food boards. (Ladies of this blog if you want to throw your Pinterests on here ;-) feel free) I was so excited to find a certain recipe last night. It is a Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Weight Watchers. I love the recipe and was devastated, but then I never really took the time to track it down again ha! So I was thrilled to come across it on Pinterest last night. The cookies are very low in calories and fat and are delicious. I have yet to make them but I wanted to share the recipe on here with you.

And just a little shameless promotion for myself. I also have a website that is centered around beauty Tristan's Beauty Box  I do video makeup and hair tutorials and other fun videos. I post product reviews and such. It is a lot of fun! You can also add my website to your Google Readers by copying and pasting the address into your subscriptions. Thanks!! www.tristansbeautybox.com 

WW Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
– 2 tbsp light butter, softened
 - 2 tsp canola oil
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, dark-variety
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp table salt
- 1 large egg white
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 3 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, about 1/2 cup

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
In a medium bowl, cream together butter, oil and sugar. Add vanilla, salt and egg white; mix thoroughly to combine.
In a small bowl, mix together flour and baking soda; stir into batter. Add chocolate chips to batter; stir to distribute evenly throughout.
Drop rounded half-teaspoons of dough onto one or two large nonstick baking sheets, leaving a small amount of space between each cookie. Bake cookies until golden around edges, about 4 to 6 minutes; cool on a wire rack. Makes 24 servings.
Serving size is 2 cookies
Each serving = 1 Weight Watchers Point

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

I first discovered these lovelies over a year ago. So completely and delightfully delicious! It is a Paula Deen Recipe, the Queen of Butter. These cookies are so super easy and cheap to make. Thus making them perfect for this blog. I made them for my nephew's mission farewell luncheon/open house thing this past weekend. They didn't last long. Hope you love them as much as I do!

Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick butter, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Pumpkin Spice cookies

EASY EASY EASY!

1 15oz. can pumpkin
1 box spice cake mix

Dump dry cake mix into a bowl. Add canned pumpkin. Mix ingredients until cake mix is fully incorporated into the pumpkin. Drop by spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Cookies will be light and cake-like.
If you are feeling extra nice, throw in a cup of chocolate chips, too!



(The absolute best part of this recipe is the amazing smell that comes form your kitchen! Enjoy!)

I have also seen similar recipes that add an egg into the mixture, but I never bother. I have tried it with the egg, and I really don't think it adds all that much to the overall finished product...

Fudge Stripe Ice Cream Sandwiches

2 cookies
Large spoonful of ice cream
Squirt of canned coolwhip
Half a strawberry sliced and fanned.

Stack and eat!

FYI--it is a bit messy.  Have napkins on hand.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
2 spice cake mixes
1 large can pumpkin
1 12oz. pkg of chocolate chips
opt. nuts and raisins

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together - nothing but cake mixes, no eggs, oil or water.
Drop by spoonfuls on pan.   Cook for 12 to 15 mins. at 350 degrees. 

Number Of Servings:  About 60 cookies

Gooooood Cookies...

I took Lori's recipe and used a white cake mix and added 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar. SO GOOD!

Cake Mix Cookies

If you are looking for a quick cookie recipe-this is it! Plus, you should have most, if not all, of the ingredients on hand. Simple and delicious!!

Ingredients:

Any flavor cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 c. oil

Mix all together. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies!!!

Description:
My sister gave this to me and now other chip cookies just won't cut it.

Ingredients:
1 cup shortening
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp HOT water
1 tsp soda
2 1/2 cup Flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 pkg Choc Chips
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
cream together shortening, and sugars. Add eggs. To the side add the REALLY HOT water to the baking soda it should bubble-- set aside. Add flour and salt. Then the soda water, chips and vanilla.

12-15 min at 375

Number Of Servings:3-4 doz

Preparation Time:a while

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

I'm sure everyone has their own variation on these, and our family has been making them for as long as I remember. SO quick and SO yummy.

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups oats

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients, except peanut butter and oatmeal. Bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Remove from heat and add peanut butter. When peanut butter is melted, add oats and mix well. (If the mixture looks really runny after a minute, add in a few more oats.) Drop by tablespoonful on wax paper. Cool completely. Eat.

Peanut Butter Jumbos

Anyone that is a fan of peanut butter should try these!  They are SO good.  Interesting enough, this recipe doesn't call for flour.  They are definitely worth a try.  Have a BIG glass of milk on hand as well.

1 1/2 c. peanut butter

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

2 tsps. baking soda

1 cup  miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup M&M's miniature baking bits

In a large mixing bowl, cream peanut butter, butter and sugars.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla.  Combine oats and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips and baking bits.

Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until edges are browned.  Remove to wire racks.  Yield: 9 dozen.

Note: Reduced-fat or generic brands of peanut butter are not recommended for this recipe.

Cake Mix Cookies

Warning: these are addicting. You can't beat the taste, price, or convenience factor.

1 box cake mix, any flavor (I have used Devil's Food Chocolate, Cherry Chip, or Lemon, but any flavor will do)
1/3 cup of oil
2 eggs

Mix thoroughly. Roll into one inch balls then roll balls into powdered sugar. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees, for 6-9 minutes.

You could also skip the powdered sugar and opt for frosting instead- but I don't always have frosting and powdered sugar is quicker.

Tip: buy the cheap cake mix- it really doesn't matter in this recipe. Just make sure it's not the sugar free variety- the cookies didn't taste right when we tried it.