Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup green sugar crystals
1/2 cup red sugar crystals
1 cup pecan halves

DIRECTIONS
Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy.
Combine the flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in chopped pecans. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
On four sheets of aluminum foil, shape dough into four 6 inch rolls, 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each roll tightly in foil and refrigerate over night.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with foil. Remove rolls of dough from refrigerator one at a time. Coat each roll with red or green sugar crystals; cut dough into 1/4 inch slices.
Place on prepared cookie sheets; top each cookie with a pecan half. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until bottom of cookie is lightly browned when lifted.

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups peanut butter chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, fold in the peanut butter chips. Drop cookies by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until set. Cool on wire racks.

yummy!

Filled Cookies:

Mix together thoroughly:
1/2 cup soft shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs

Stir in:
2 tbsp. thick cream
1 tsp vanilla

Sift together: 2 1/2 cups sifted GOLD MEDAL Flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Chill dough. Roll very thin. Cut 3″ rounds, squares or use decorative cookie cutters for shapes. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Place a rounded teaspoonful of desired cooled filling on each (can use canned pie filling, Apricot and Cherry have always been my favorite choices). Fold over like a turnover, pressing edges together with floured tines of a fork or tip of a finger. Bake until delicately browned.

Temperature: 400 degrees
Time: Bake 8 – 10 minutes
Amount: Makes about six dozen 3″ cookies.
(Note: If you cut out a decorative shape instead of a round or square shape, you can use one of the shapes for the bottom of cookie and one for the top of cookie, as you may not be folding the cookies in half. Therefore, this will make three dozen cookies.)

**Finale: Top by sprinkling or dusting powdered sugar over each cookie after baked and cooled

Double Chocolate Snowquakes
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter (room temp)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1.25 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup powdered sugar

Dough:
Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder & salt in med. bowl & set aside.
Cream butter until smooth in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Add sugars and beat to combine; add eggs & vanilla & mix thoroughly.
With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture until soft dough forms.
Mix in chocolate chips to incorporate (don’t over-mix)
Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

To bake:
Heat oven to 350; line 2 baking pans with parchment paper. Put powdered sugar a wide bowl.
Keeping dough well-chilled (pop in and out of the fridge throughout, if needed), shape 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball. Roll to coat in powdered sugar (don’t shake off excess).
Place balls 2 inches apart on lined baking pans.
Bake 10-12 minutes, until cooked have puffed and cracked, and are slightly firm to the touch.
Cool completely on a wire rack.

Store up to a week in an airtight container.

Yield: 4 doz. cookies

Almond Bark Cookies
3 lbs. almond bark – melt in microwave on med power – 90 sec. – stir – 90 sec. stir – until smooth.
Add:
3 cups salted peanuts – not raw
4 1/2 cups rice krispies
4 1/2 cups Captain Krunch peanut butter cereal
Mix well and drop by spoonful onto wax paper until sit.
Store in air-tight container.
Makes about 100 cookies

My husband has Sprue/Celiac so I just cut back on the almond bark and leave out the Captain Krunch and make a batch for him to enjoy.

Instructions: Cream: Shortening, Sugar and vanilla.
Beat in eggs
Add Chocolate
Sift dry ingredients
Add alternately with milk

Chill 3 hours
1 inch balls roll in sugar
Place on greased cookie sheet bake 350 for 15 min. Cool slightly
4 dozen cookies
These cookies are so yummy! They aren’t super sweet, but the powdered sugar makes them just melt in your mouth! My grandma made these every year for my mom and her siblings growing up at Christmas. Once all the kids left home, my aunt Karen took over the tradition and brings them to our Christmas gathering every year. Now that I am an adult, I make them every year too… sometimes even when it isn’t Christmas… They just give you that feeling of being “home” and being with those you love more than anyone else in the world! Why wait for once a year!?