Christmas Cookie Roundup- Day 1

Hello Lemon Baby Followers!

It has been MONTHS since I have been able to update this poor blog, but I promise I am still here, alive, and loving life!

Every year for Christmas, I make my neighbors, friends, and family cookie plates and each year I tend to make the same things (rice crispy treats, fudge, sugar cookies, etc). This year I decided to try some new recipes, and let me tell you- they are AWESOME! Today I made: Buckeyes, Red Velvet Thumbprint Cookies with a Cheesecake Center, and Gingerbread Cookies with White Chocolate Filling. Get ready to have everyone adore you, because these cookies are SO GOOD!

Buckeyes
(adapted from Complete Recipes)

yields: about 77 buckeyes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups creamy peanut butter
• 3 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 9 cups powdered sugar
• 3 packages Dark chocolate candy melts

Directions:

1. Cream peanut butter, butter and vanilla together in a mixing bowl. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until mixture comes together as a dough.

2. Using a 1 tbsp cookie scoop (or just use a teaspoon), scoop out dough into 1-inch balls. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to set up.

3. Melt candy melts (or chocolate if you feel like tempering!) in the microwave and stir until completely smooth. 

4. Poke the candies with a toothpick and dip in the chocolate. Remove from the chocolate and place on a parchment or silcone-lined baking sheet. Remove toothpick and smooth the hole to close.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Thumbprints
(adapted from Something Swanky)

yield: 2-3 DOZEN cookies

Ingredients:

For the Cookies:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg yolk*
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tsp red food coloring
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar or sanding sugar*

For the Filling:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg yolk*
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300ºF. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Beat together the butter, brown sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Mix in the flour, food coloring, and cocoa powder until soft dough forms.
3. Scoop out the dough by heaping tablespoons and roll them in the sugar* before placing on the prepared baking sheet (about 2 inches apart).
4. Bake for 10 minutes, let cool for 1 min and then  use the back of a round teaspoon to make a small indentation in the cookie dough.
5. Meanwhile, make the filling: using an electric mixer or small food processor, beat together the cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth.
6. After the first 10 minutes of baking, use the back of a round teaspoon to deepen the indentation in the cookies. Spoon a teaspoon of the filling into each indentation. Bake for an additional 8-10 minutes, until filling is set.
7. Let cool completely before serving. Store covered and chilled.

*These cookies are adapted from a book by Deborah Haroun called "Red Velvet Lovers". In the book, Deborah says to reserve the egg whites and dunk the cookie dough balls in the egg whites before rolling them in the sugar. I had some beautiful sanding sugar I had been dying to use, so I opted to roll my cookies in sanding sugar instead and loved it. But in case you're averse to wasting egg whites (or just want to try the original version), there it is :)


Gingerbread Cookies with White Chocolate Filling
(adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod)

Yield: 16 sandwich cookies Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 8 minutes

Ingredients:

For the gingerbread cookies:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar-to roll the cookies in before baking

For the white chocolate buttercream:

• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk, or as needed

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.

3. With a mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add in the egg and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Add in the molasses. Mix until the molasses is combined with the other ingredients.

4. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Form the dough into tablespoon sized balls. Roll the dough in sugar. Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet 2-inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes, don't overbake. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for two minutes, transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

5. While the cookies are cooling, make the white chocolate buttercream. Place white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second intervals until chips begin to melt, about 1 minute. Stir and repeat, heating chips about 10 seconds at a time, until thoroughly melted. Stir until chocolate is smooth and no more lumps remain. Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed in a mixing bowl until fluffy. Beat in half of the powdered sugar, melted white chocolate, vanilla and milk until mixture is smooth and creamy. Slowly beat in remaining powdered sugar until smooth; if frosting is too stiff, add in a little more milk.

6. To make the sandwich cookies, spread or pipe white chocolate buttercream on the inside of one gingerbread cookie. Top with another gingerbread cookie. Continue making sandwich cookies. Store cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Note-you may have extra buttercream, depending on how much you add between each cookie. You can keep the leftover buttercream in the fridge for up to a week.