There are so many Christmas cookie recipes around but often so little time to bake during the busy holiday season.

The solution? A great tasting basic cookie recipe that quickly and easily turns into such a variety of easy to make Christmas treats, friends and family will think you poured over all your favorite Christmas cookie recipes.

Let’s start with the basics:

Basic Cookie Dough Recipe

1/2 cup (or 1 stick) butter (or margarine) at room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the flour. Beat with an electric mixer, scraping the sides of the bowl several times, until the mixture is light and fluffy. With mixer at a low speed, add the flour gradually, beating just until everything is well blended.

Place the mixture on a baking sheet using a tablespoon measure and press down with a spoon to flatten a bit. Or roll our and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. Bake at 350ºF for about 12 to 15 minutes, until golden.

This basic cookie mixture is also the base for the following cookie recipes (all baked in a preheated oven at 350ºF).

Orange Cookies

(Makes about 32)

Add 1 tablespoon of grated orange zest to the recipe. Shape into a log that is about 1 1/2″ in diameter and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Slice dough into 1/4″ thick slices. Place on cookie sheet. Cookies can be decorated with candies, rolled in colored sugar, or cut into pretty holiday shapes before baking. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned.

Cherry Coconut Chocolate Squares

(Makes about 54 squares)

In addition to the basic dough you will need:

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3 cups flaked coconut

1/2 cup maraschino cherries, well drained and coarsely chopped

Line a 13″x9″ baking pan with foil.

Stir cocoa powder into basic dough mixture. Press evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the crust looks dry.

In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, sugar, almond extract and baking powder until well blended. Stir in coconut and cherries. Pour over the baked crust.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until top just begins to brown and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. Lift it out on to a cutting board using the foil ends and cut into 1 1/2″ squares. Squares can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Coconut Pineapple Cookies

(Makes about 36)

In addition to the basic dough you will need:

1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1/3 cup pineapple preserves (use raspberry or apricot if you prefer)

Add 1 cup of the flaked coconut to the basic dough mixture and mix well. Shape the dough into 1 1/2″ balls and roll in the remaining coconut to coat them. Place the balls 1″ apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Make a deep indentation in the center of each cookie with your fingertip.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cookie is firm and the coconut is lightly toasted. When cooled, fill each hole in the center of the cookies with the preserves.

You can vary this basic dough to make a wide variety of Christmas cookie recipes. Add other flavorings like maple, ginger or cinnamon. Add chopped dried fruits like apricots or dates. Or bake them plain in holiday shapes and decorate with colored icing.

Christmas is such a wonderful time of year. Here’s hoping these quick and easy Christmas cookie recipes help keep the pressure off the cook.

About the Author:

Karen Ciancio is a fan of all things cooking related. Her website Cookingnook.com contains recipes, cooking tips, diet and nutrition information. Visit the site for a free copy of our Holiday Gift Guide, with great ideas for everyone on your list.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes One Recipe – Many Variations

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I like this mix because it’s less expensive than the store-bought kind and keeps well in the cupboard. It stays fresh longer, though, if you store it in the refrigerator. 1/3 c. baking powder 2 tsp. salt 8 tsp. sugar (optional) 1 c. shortening 1/3 c. milk for each c. of mix used for biscuits (use more milk for pancakes)

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Store in well-sealed container in pantry or refrigerator.
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It’s easy to understand why quick breads are so popular. First of all, there’s such a wide variety of taste-tempting breads from which to choose. And, they’re relatively speedy to prepare and bake, especially when you take into account the rising time necessary for yeast bread preparation.

Although biscuits, muffins, and nut breads play a particularly tasty role in rounding out the meal, the quick bread family isn’t limited to the bread plate. In fact, feathery pancakes and crisp waffles can serve as part of the main dish. And dough nuts, often star as the meal-ending dessert.

The following are quick bread tips and explanations:

• Baking powder, baking soda, steam, or air — rather than yeast — leaven quick breads.

• Most quick breads are best served hot from the oven- with plenty of butter!

• Most nut breads should be stored for at least a day. The flavors will mellow and the loaf will slice more easily.

• After baking, turn nut breads out of the pan and cool on a wire rack. Place cooled bread in an airtight container, or wrap it in foil or clear plastic wrap.

• A crack down the center of a nut loaf is no mistake — it’s typical.

Serve nut breads cut in very thin slices with simple spreads: soft butter, cream cheese, jam or jelly.

Dip tops of warm muffins in melted butter or margarine and then in sugar for a sweet and sparkling crusty topping.

Here is a recipe on a quick bread:

Zucchini Nut Loaf

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp baking powder

1 cup sugar

1 cup finely shredded peeled zucchini

1 egg

¼ cup cooking oil

¼ tsp finely shredded lemon peel

12 cup chopped walnuts

Oven 350o

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and baking powder; set aside. In a mixing bowl beat together sugar, shredded zucchini, and egg. Add oil and lemon peel; mix well. Stir flour mixture into zucchini mixture. Gently fold in chopped nuts. Turn batter into a greased 8x4x2-inch loaf pan. Bake in 350o oven for 55 to 60 minutes or till wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool thoroughly on a rack. Wrap and store loaf overnight before slicing. Makes 1.

Sandy is a food lover who has been into food business for more than 20 years. She shares her experience in cooking tips, recipes as well as healthy cooking way.

She maintains her site at: http://www.lowcarbdiabeticdiet.com

Read her blog at: http://www.lowcarbdiabeticdiet.com/blog

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If you are like me, you love to bake cookies, but hate the all-too-familiar problem of burning the bottoms. During the past couple of years, I have discovered some techniques that have ended my burnt cookie bottoms frustrations. I know these techniques will work for you as well. Happy baking!

Oven Temperature

The first step on how not to burn cookies is to make sure your oven temperature is accurate by checking it with an oven thermometer. I bought one recently at a discount store for under $4.00. If your oven thermometer does not match your oven temperature setting, you will want to have your oven calibrated.

OvenÂ’s Center Rack

Bake cookies on the ovenÂ’s center rack only. By using the ovenÂ’s center rack, your cookies will receive the same amount of heat on both sides of the cookies.

Baking or Pizza Stones

Bake cookies on flat baking or pizza stones. Baking stones are available at most specialty kitchen stores or online. They are much better for baking cookies than any metal pan because they are porous and allow air to circulate evenly through your cookies while they are baking.

Scoops

I recommend using scoops instead of spoons or your hands for placing cookie dough onto the baking stones. These are also available at most specialty kitchen stores or online. The scoops ensure your cookies will be the same size and will be beautifully round when they are baked. They also make releasing the cookie dough onto the baking stones easier than using spoons or your hands.

Parchment Paper

Always use parchment paper when baking cookies. Using parchment paper keeps your baking stones clean for easier clean-up. More importantly, it allows you to easily remove the cookies from the stone to the wire cooling racks without messing up the beautiful round shape of the cookies. Once the cookies are completely cooled, they easily peel from the parchment paper. No more scraping cookies!

Monica Brooks is a full-time Mom and cookie connoisseur. She is the author of The Guaranteed No Burnt Bottoms Cookies Cookbook available at http://www.NoBurntBottoms.com. She lives in the Louisville, Kentucky area with her husband and two children.

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Making your own gourmet gift baskets is not only fun but also an affordable alternative to purchasing them ready made. Before picking out the gift basket itself, decide what candy you will be placing inside and how many you will want for each basket. For every holiday, you have the opportunity to show off your talent – Valentine’s gift basket, Mother’s day gift baskets and Christmas gift baskets.

A trip to your local candy store will give you a huge assortment of choices. Individual candies are available wrapped in very pretty and elegant wrappings. Many other themed candy wrappings are commonly available. Sports themed wrapping, holiday and birthday themes are popular.

Another alternative is to buy bulk candy and create small individual packages for your baskets using small cloth bags or squares of transparent wrap or tissue paper filled with the candies. The corners are then gathered up and tied with a bow. This is not only another cost cutting idea, but also helps to add a personal feeling to the gift basket. Consider the recipient when wrapping your own candies. Is she a teenage girl? Replace the bow with a clip or pretty scrunchie for her hair. Is it a male friend? Ask yourself what his interests are and what activities he enjoys. Perhaps you tie a golf tee under the bow of a candy assortment, or the bow atop the basket itself could be created from a necktie.

For a larger variety of candy choices than you have locally, consider the option to buy candy online. A quick entry into a search engine for a candy online store will bring you many more choices to consider for your baskets.

Once you have decided what will go into your gourmet gift baskets, you can then choose a style and size of basket. When making several different baskets, don’t limit yourself to the same choice for them all. The basket choice for each recipient can be just as personal as what you choose to put inside. Consider what they might do with the basket once the contents are removed. And also don’t limit yourself to just baskets! For a child a fun lunch box or backpack might be just the thing. A lady can always use another cosmetic bag or handbag. A gentleman would no doubt find a use for a metal tin or a small travel bag. Consider filling a beautiful vase, a large coffee mug or something as unusual & unexpected as a Chinese take out box for that friend whose favorite lunch is moo goo gai pan

With just a little thought to the recipients likes and interests you can make a gourmet gift basket really special. Personalization is the key. We all love chocolate candy, but as we grow older some of us begin to consider it a forbidden fruit. How did something that ancient civilizations considered the food of the gods become so strife with controversy today?

Isn’t that the reason you’ve decided to create your own?

Natalie Aranda writes about food and family. Gourmet gift baskets are perfect choices for birthday gifts, anniversary gifts or wedding gifts. Making your own gourmet gift baskets is not only fun but also an affordable alternative to purchasing them ready made. A trip to your local candy store will give you a huge assortment of choices. Individual candies are available wrapped in very pretty and elegant wrappings. Many other themed candy wrappings are commonly available. Sports themed wrapping, holiday and birthday themes are popular. Another alternative is to buy bulk candy and create small individual packages for your baskets using small cloth bags or squares of transparent wrap or tissue paper filled with the candies.

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