Colletta's Kitchen Sink: Colletta's Christmas Cookie Try-outs

Friday, October 29, 2010

Lightly Spiced Raisin Cookies--Yuck!!!!

Cookie # 8 in:

Lightly Spiced Raisin Cookies

I'm not even going to post pictures or the recipe! See Results...

Results

Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!! This recipe must have either had a misprint or someone has no taste buds. When putting the ingredients in the bowl, I tought" Wow! 3 teaspoons of baking soda!?! Ok."

They smelled really good. My mom and I sat down with some tea and a cookie fresh from the oven. Anticipation! I don't like raisins so I picked them out. The cookie itself looked promising.

One bite. That was all it took. It tasted like straight baking soda! They were completely inedible.

How disappointing! Oh, well, better to find out now than 2 days before Christmas.
DON"T try these!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Rich Date and Walnut Cookies

Cookie # 7 in:

Rich Date and Walnut Cookies

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped dates
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 egg
Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Add softened butter and eggs. Beat until thoroughly mixed.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and let cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to cooling rack. (Makes 2 1/2 to 3 dozen.)

Results

Up until I made these cookies I would have said, "Dates. Ewww!" I had never tried them because I didn't THINK I liked them. They looked too much like raisens. For the sake of this project, though, I thought I'd try out these cookies. They smelled wonderful! And guess what? They tasted WONDERFUL! Yummy! What have I been missing all these years?

Let me know if you try these out.

Linking to:

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Orange-Sugar Cookies

Cookie # 6 in:

Orange-Sugar Cookies

1 cup sugar
3 cups flour
3 Tablespoons dried, ground orange peel
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup finely ground almonds, toasted
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
Optional: Sprinkles, colored sugar, etc.

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Add softened butter, vanilla, milk and eggs. Beat until thoroughly mixed.

For drop cookies: drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

For rolled cookies: refrigerate dough fora couple hours to chill. Roll out on lightly floured surface to 1/4 thick. Cut with cookie cutter and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Optional: You can add sprinkles or colored sugar to the top of the cookies before baking.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and let cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to cooling rack. (Makes 3 1/2 to 4 dozen.)

Results

These cookies were a favorite of my 9 year-old. She took them in her lunch to school and shared with her friends. I loved the roasted almond smell filling the house. I'll probably make these again.
Let me know if you try them!

Linking to:

Monday, October 18, 2010

Wholesome Peanut Butter Cookies

Cookie # 5 in:

Wholesome Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup crunchy or creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, optional
Preheat oven to 375.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Add softened butter and eggs, peanut butter and chocolate chips (because c'mon, who wouldn't?). Beat until thoroughly mixed.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned around the edges.

Remove from oven and let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to cooling rack. (Makes 4 to 4 1/2 dozen.)

Results

These were my favorite so far. They had my favorite combination: Peanut butter, oatmeal and chocolate. Can't go wrong there!

Let me know if you try them!

Linking to:

Friday, October 15, 2010

Festive Cranberry-Orange Cookies

Cookie # 4 in:

Festive Cranberry-Orange Cookies

1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon dried, orange peel
3/4 cup chopped dried sweetened cranberries
1 cup (2 sticks) butter softened
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Add softened butter and eggs. Beat until thoroughly mixed.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned around the edges.

Remove from oven and let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to cooling rack. (Makes 3 to 3 1/2 dozen.)

Results

I wasn't sure if I'd like these because of the Cranberries. I was pleasantly surprised. They were pretty good. Kaylee liked them until I told her the chunks were cranberries, then she suddenly didn't like them!

Sadly, the dogs liked them a little too well. I had them in a ziplock on the counter. I came home to an empty ziplock on the floor with a hole chewed in the side.

Let me know if you try them!

Linking to:

Tuesdays at the Table

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Chunky Chocolate Cookies

Cookie # 2 in:

Chunky Chocolate Cookies

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch salt

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

1 egg

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Add egg and butter. Beat on low until mixture is thoroughly blended.

Drop by heaping teaspoonsfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to cooling rack. (Makes about 3 dozen)

Results

These were yummy! Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. Personally, if I make these again I'll probably just use double the semi-sweet chocolate chips or maybe chocolate chunks.

Let me know if you try this recipe and if you like it.

Linking to:

Tuesdays at the Table

Monday, October 4, 2010

Spicy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

Spicy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies are the first cookie ever made during "Colletta's Christmas Cookie Try-outs". Click on the button above to see more about the Try-outs.

Before I get into the recipe, I must tell you about a kitchen gadget that I will be using for basically every cookie recipe I make. It is the Pampered Chef Scoop.

There are 3 different sized scoops and the smallest is absolutely perfect for cookies.

Uniform in size and oh-so-easy to scoop the cookies onto the cookie sheet.

Now on to the recipe.

Spicy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon allspice

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup flour

1 cup quick-cooking oats

3/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 egg

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 375. Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add egg and butter.

2. Beat on low speed or mix by hand until mixture is thoroughly blended.

3. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls (or scoops!) onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 mintues.

4. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to cooling rack. (Makes 2 to 2 1/2 dozen.)

Icing (Optional)

1 cup powdered sugar, divided

1-2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1. In small bowl, combine powdered sugar with 1 Tablespoon milk and vanilla. Stir until smooth, adding additional milk as necessary until drizzling conisistency is reached. Drizzle over cookies and let set.

Results

I don't like raisins so I have to admit that I didn't actually eat one of these cookies. However, oatmeal-raisin is my mom's favorite cookie so she was my taste-tester.

They passed with flying colors!

Let me know if you try this recipe and if you like it.

Linking to:

Tuesdays at the Table