Homemade Holidays

     Since cooking and baking has become my thing lately, I decided to incorporate this new passion into some of my gifts this season.  I put together some cookie boxes with black and white chunk cookies, a recipe from a Pillsbury Cookie book my sister gave me last Christmas.  I also found a recipe for Chocolate Cookies with Raspberry Ganach.  It seemed that everyday my email was flooded with a message titled, "Cookie of the Day" or "Best Holiday Cookies."  It was hard to decide but in the end, it was random and I just chose two that were different from each other but I thought would appeal to most people.

Black and White Chunk Cookies

Ingredients

3/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter softened
1/2 Cup Shortening
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 oz semisweet chocolate chips
4 oz white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Method
1. Heat oven to 375.  In large bowl, beat brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and shortening with mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in vanilla and egg until well blended.  On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda, and salt until blended. Stir in chips and pecans.
2. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart.
3. Bake 9-12 minutes or until light golden brown.  Cook 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Chocolate Blossom Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening 
• 1/4 cup butter, softened 
• 1 cup packed brown sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1 egg 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1- 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder 
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate pieces 
• 3/4 cup finely chopped almonds 
• Raspberry Ganache 
• 6 ounces chopped (70 percent cocoa) dark chocolate 
• 1/3 cup whipping cream 
• 1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam 
• 1 tablespoon raspberry liqueur (optional) I didn't use this
• Fresh small raspberries (optional) Or this.

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat shortening and butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, baking powder, and salt; beat until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla; beat until combined.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and cocoa powder. Beat as much of the flour mixture into the butter mixture as you can with mixer. Stir in any remaining flour mixture. Stir in chocolate pieces. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. If desired, roll balls in chopped almonds. Place balls 1-1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press thumb into the center of each ball to make an indent.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are set. Immediately use the rounded side of a 1-teaspoon measure to press down the center of each cookie. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool. Spoon Raspberry Ganache into center of each cookie. Let stand 1-1/2 to 2 hours or chill about 15 minutes or until set. If desired, garnish each cookie with a fresh raspberry. Makes about 56 cookies.

Raspberry Ganache

In a small microwave-safe bowl combine 6 ounces chopped (70 percent cocoa) dark chocolate, 1/3 cup whipping cream, and 1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam, if desired. Microwave on 100 percent power (high) for 1 minute. Stir until melted. If desired, add 1 tablespoon raspberry liqueur. Stir until smooth. Let stand until slightly thickened (about 15 minutes). Makes 1 cup.

To Store

Layer plain cookies between waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw cookies, if frozen, before serving. Or, store filled cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

These are the homemade tags I made for all of my gifts this year.  They are similar to the ones we made for the wedding, only with holiday fabric flowers.  I love the simplicity of these but the extra love they add to a package.

I made these recipe cards by printing on index cards.  I tied them with baker's string.

Here is the final product.

 I have a few more homemade gifts up my sleeve but they haven't been delivered yet.  I'll post those after Christmas.

     In other baking news, yesterday was our last day of school before Winter Break.  It was pajama day so in first grade we also turned it into Read and Relax Day.  We made hot chocolate, by putting chocolate milk in the crockpot (on low for a few hours, just stir).  I also made chocolate chip oatmeal cookies from a recipe I found online.  I didn't take a picture but they came out really good, except they were very fragile and crumbled a bit.  I also baked a batch for a friend that had cranberries and almonds.  Those held together a little better than the chocolate chip batch.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)-I didn't use nuts in the chocolate chip batch

Method
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat brown sugar, butter and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats, morsels and nuts; mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies or 12 to 13 minutes for crispy cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 1 minute; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Happy Holidays!