Cookie Recipe Blog

This is one of my all-time favorite cookies. I don’t make them often though because I will usually eat them until they are all gone. Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies are like Ginger Snaps without the snap. Usually just rolled in granulated sugar, sometimes I like to dress them up a little with some colored sugar mixed with the granulated sugar for a little extra sparkle.

Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 egg
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup granulated or colored sugar reserved

Cream together butter, shortening and sugars. Add molasses and egg, mix well. Add dry ingredients and combine until dough is well combined. Roll dough into 1″ balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Image of Farmhouse Cookies from Grandma

A few years ago my wonderful aunts put together a cookbook of all of their mother’s (my grandmother’s) favorite recipes. The book was put together in 2004 at a time when my grandma was very ill. When she saw them putting the cookbooks together, she sat up and helped while reminiscing about all of the recipes in the book. She was excited about the books and when I received my copy, so was I. This cookbook is one of my favorites. I love to just look through the recipes and think about grandma. Each recipe is hand written by her.

One day as I was looking through the recipes I came across this recipe for “Farmhouse Cookies.” I had all of the ingredients so I thought I would try them. Wow! These have now become one of our favorite cookies. I love to make them for every holiday and frost them with the appropriate color of frosting for the holiday. I made them this month for Valentine’s Day. I would have used red food coloring in the frosting, but my son is allergic to red dye. So we went with white frosting and colored candies that he could just take off.

Enjoy these wonderful cookies from Grandma Dody. Grandma is missed very much but I will always remember what a great influence and inspiration she was to me.

Farmhouse Cookies

• 1 cup shortening
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 teaspoons baking powder

Cream sugar, shortening and eggs together. Add sour cream and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Chill dough for at least one hour. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes on greased cookie sheet. Cool on cooling racks. Frost or dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy your cookies and share with your family and friends, after all that’s what grandma would do.

(PS- Thank you to my daughter-in-law Amy for making the beautiful card in the picture)

Image of Super Bowl Football Cookies

I love hosting the Super Bowl party every year. A lot of planning goes into serving the perfect menu. Finger foods, main courses, drinks and of course desserts… lots of Super Bowl desserts. Most of all I love baking cookies for my guests to snack on after a great meal.

I have always been a fan of peanut butter cookies. They are delicious,  nutritious and all-American. Peanut Butter Cookies are the perfect treat for the Super Bowl if only  they would represent the game. So I took a favorite peanut butter cookie recipe and shaped them into little football cookies. The chocolate laces make them adorable and delicious. I hope you enjoy these Super Bowl cookies at your Super Bowl party.

Superbowl Peanut Butter Cookies

• 3/4 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar

1. In KitchenAid Stand Mixer , cream together peanut butter, shortening, and sugars. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Mix well. Combine flour baking soda and salt and add to the creamed mixture.
2. Shape into 1-inch balls with your cookie scoop. Flatten balls of dough and shape into a football shape. Roll in remaining 1/4 cup sugar.
3. Place on ungreased cookie sheet 2-inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes or until lightly brown.
4. Remove from oven onto cooling racks.
5. After cool pipe the football laces with Chocolate topping (recipe below).

Topping:

• 2 teaspoons butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add powdered sugar and cocoa and whisk together. Gradually add water and vanilla until smooth.
2. Put chocolate mixture into a zip lock bag and cut hole in corner.
3. Pipe football laces on peanut butter cookie footballs. Chill until chocolate is set.

Share these with your football loving friends at  your Super Bowl party.

Image of Football Laces Piping

Photo of Pecan Praline Cookies

As a young girl my mother took me to a bakery that made a delicious pecan cookie that I absolutely loved. The bakery is no longer in business and I have looked for a comparable pecan praline cookie. I experimented a little and found that I have come up with a pretty darn close version of that sweet chewy cookie from my memory of years ago. This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Pecan Praline Cookies

Praline

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup
• 1 cup chopped toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and place chopped pecans on tray to toast them for 8-10 minutes. Take pecans from oven and set them aside to cool. In a heavy saucepan, combine sugars, butter, cream and corn syrup. Bring to a boil stirring constantly for 7-8 minutes until syrup reaches a temperature of 240 degrees with candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in pecans. Spread onto parchment paper and let cool. When cooled, place into a heavy plastic bag and break into small pieces.

Cookie Dough

• 1/2 cup butter, slightly softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until well combined.

Set aside 1/2 cup of praline mixture and then stir remaining praline mixture into dough until well distributed. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and dip into reserved praline mixture to coat lightly. Space dough balls about 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until lightly browned on edges. Let cookies stand on cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Your family will enjoy these tasty cookies!