<p>Spritz cookies from my side, and thoroughly discussed by others before me.</p>
<p>From my husband’s family: springerle and budergebakenes (sp?)
We are responsible for for the springerle: a 3 day cookie. Before we remodeled our kitchen, I called these the “cookie from hell.” Much easier now!</p>
<p>Favorites? Seven Layer bars and lemon bars. Also a crescent shaped pecan cookie that kind of resembles the powdered sugar “wedding cake” cookies. We probably end up making about different kinds.</p>
<p>Our killer ginger molasses cookies!</p>
<p>Does anyone have any recipes that are gluten-free (no flour, mixes or crushed items w flour)? Now that 2 of the 4 of us are GF, I’m not making any holiday cookies. </p>
<p>My favorite as a kid was Bourbon Balls. Crushed vanilla wafers, bourbon, cocao & confectioners sugar. No baking! (the following sounds about what my mom made, although I found many variations online). </p>
<p>[Bourbon</a> Balls - Easy Bourbon Ball Recipe](<a href=“http://southernfood.about.com/od/bourbonballs/r/bl81212f.htm]Bourbon”>Classic Kentucky Bourbon Balls Recipe)</p>
<p>Here’s another one I remember:
[Pecan</a> Crescent Cookies - Pecan Cookie Recipe](<a href=“http://southernfood.about.com/od/pecancookiesandbars/r/bl90828c.htm]Pecan”>Pecan Crescent Cookies Recipe)</p>
<p>I just made honey spiced almonds from my martha stewart hors d’oeuvres cookbook
( ingredients are chinese five spice & honey + almonds- pretty simple for Martha!)</p>
<p>I think some cookie recipes might lend themselves to gluten free, more than bread does anyway.
Maybe I will experiment with one of the gluten free mixes ( after Thanksgiving) and report back.</p>
<p>I make mini pecan pies and chocolate malt cookies that I love.</p>
<p>Romangypsies… your mom sounds like a wonderful woman!</p>
<p>I do have a few GF recipes, but always looking for more. </p>
<p>Here’s my favorite that I make & give all my friends a ziploc full of (thank you Costco - I buy 3 bags of shelled pecans):</p>
<p>[Candy</a> Coated Pecans Recipe - Allrecipes.com](<a href=“http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/candy-coated-pecans/detail.aspx]Candy”>http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/candy-coated-pecans/detail.aspx)</p>
<p>I have made this GF coffee cake several times and will again Thursday morning:</p>
<p>[Warm</a> Caramel Apple Cake (Gluten Free) Recipe from Betty Crocker](<a href=“Gluten-Free Warm Caramel Apple Cake Recipe - BettyCrocker.com”>Gluten-Free Warm Caramel Apple Cake Recipe - BettyCrocker.com) free cake&ps=9&pi=9&fv=AND(HasGridViewImage%3ATrue)</p>
<p>I am trying this quiche for the first time Thursday:
[Goat</a> Cheese Quiche with Hash-Brown Crust - Martha Stewart Recipes](<a href=“http://www.marthastewart.com/315691/goat-cheese-quiche-with-hash-brown-crust]Goat”>Goat Cheese Quiche with Hash-Brown Crust Recipe)</p>
<p>Zoosermom, I’d love to know how you make the mini pecan pies - I would LOVE these! Bite size heaven…!</p>
<p>Is it complicated? Failproof??? :)</p>
<p>zoosermom - I’d love to have the chocolate malt cookie recipes. I love all things chocolate malt. </p>
<p>My D makes pecan pies for the holidays. She makes them as gifts too. The recipe we use is a little different from most in that it is just brown sugar, eggs, butter, pecans and vanilla extract - no syrup of any kind.</p>
<p>To all of you spritz cookie makers…any suggestions for a good cookie press? Something that is easy to use and easy to clean?</p>
<p>I will get the recipes for you as soon as I get home tonight.</p>
<p>I learned this on CC, Easy Turtles:</p>
<pre><code>Unwrap Rollo candies and put each on a small pretzel bow. Stick in oven at 200 for a minute or so, just until chocolate softens. Remove and squash a whole pecan onto each Rollo. Stick in frig. Then hide them.
</code></pre>
<p>greatlakesmom - I’d love to see your brandy balls recipe. My mom used to make bourbon balls and I remember having a very nice time eating quite a few of those as a kid . . .</p>
<p>Bourbon Balls were standard with my family, too. I tried to make them once long ago. Silly me, I put the pan of Bourbon Ball goo in the refrigerator overnight and had a giant pot-sized Bourbon Blob the next morning. That was the same week I tried a “no fail” peanut brittle recipe. The stuff seized up the minute I put the spoon in to stir it. Thank goodness for Snickerdoodles. I knew I could make those in my sleep!</p>
<p>There are a few gluten free cookies I make for the friend who hosts neighborhood caroling with me. One, the easiest is meringue. </p>
<p>3 large 3 egg whites
1/8 teasp. cream of tartar
3/4 c. sugar.
1/2 tsp. vanilla</p>
<p>Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Line a large cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper. In medium bownl, with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually, until egg white stand in stiff, glossy peaks when beaters are lifted. Beat in vanilla. </p>
<p>On lined cookie sheet, put 1 tsp meringue in a little flattened mound. Sprinkle with colored sugar. I use red on some and green on others, though blue is great for a Hanukkah theme. Bake 2 hours, then turn off the oven, and leave another hour, or overnight. </p>
<p>If in an airtight box, these will keep for a while in a humidity free environment, like Midwestern winters. You could just buy them from TJ’s, but these have a slightly different texture. Being non fat, they’re lower in calories than some. </p>
<p>Coconut macaroons are the other gluten free favorite. Just google a recipe. The ones made with sweetened condensed milk are good, and easy.</p>
<p>Rum or Brandy balls wouldn’t be too difficult to make gluten free, if you made these first:</p>
<p>[Gluten-free</a> Vanilla Wafers Recipe - Food.com - 78770](<a href=“http://www.food.com/recipe/gluten-free-vanilla-wafers-78770]Gluten-free”>http://www.food.com/recipe/gluten-free-vanilla-wafers-78770)</p>
<p>Perhaps I’ve seen boxed GF vanilla wafers as well. </p>
<p>Then:</p>
<p>Brandy Balls</p>
<p>Melt together over low heat or in microwave:</p>
<p>6 oz chocolate chips (1/2 bag)
5 oz sweetened condensed milk
Mix:
2 1/2 c. cookie crumbs
1 c. sifted powdered sugar
1 C coarsely chopped pecans
1/3 C. brandy</p>
<p>Mix the two mixtures until blended. Allow to cool in fridge for 30 minutes. Shape in 1" balls, roll in powdered sugar, colored sugar, or chopped pecans. Let air dry for an hour or two, then store in an air tight container in fridge. </p>
<p>Disclaimer: aside from Christmas, I live on salad and the contents of my CSA box. Sort of.</p>
<p>I had forgoten about spritz cookies. I have a cookie press that I bought years ago from QVC, and I always forget about it.</p>
<p>My typicaly holiday baking includes raspberry-almond shortbread cookies, peppermint bark, peanut butter kiss cookies, fudge. I also make a Mexican wedding cake cookie that has pistachios and dried cherries in it. I have a recipe that I make every year called sour cream twists. They are a layered sugar dough and they melt in your mouth.</p>
<p>My daughter and I have started making the chocolate mold candies.</p>
<p>the only thing I hate is having to make, and consume, all of these in just a short time span.</p>
<p>I do go to a cooke exchange every year so always get some new ideas at the exchange. </p>
<p>I also sign up for food network’s 12 day of cookies email and it is fun to see the different cookie recipes I get each day.</p>
<p>IN my family we serve gingerbread with lemon curd at Christmas. My mother and my grandmother also made a raisen filled cookie that was either folded or crimped with a fork around the edges. I don’t have the recipe but I think I will find it and bake them this year.</p>
<p>Here’s no fail no cook and virtually no bake (except for the coconut) rum ball…2 dozen or double the recipe if you want more.
toast a 7 oz bag of coconut until golden brown (spread on sheet pan put in a low oven stir every few minutes). Let cool while you mix this:
6 Tbls of apricot jam
1/4 cup dark rum, spiced rum really any kind of rum
1/4 tsp. of almond extract
1 cup finely crushed vanilla wafers (some years I’ve also used 1/4 cup of finely ground almonds and 3/4 cup of the crushed vanilla wafers)
Add two cups of the toasted coconut (no need pack the measuring cup)
Stir.
Crush the remaining coconut. (put in a ziplock and use a rolling pin or improvise).
Use damp hands (you’ll need to re-damp every few balls), roll the balls into about 1" diameter and then roll in the crushed coconut. Keep these tightly covered if you aren’t going to eat them all in a day or two!</p>
<p>Here’s a yummy boubon (or cognac) ball from Silver Plalate that is also fast and no fail. We called them “adult cookies” when the kids were little.
This one makes 4 dozen.
Melt 6 oz of chocolate bits in double boiler
Stir into melted chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup Cognac or bourbon
2 1/2 cups finely crushed vanilla wafers
and 1 cup of finely chopped pecans.</p>
<p>Like above, roll into one inch balls but roll these balls in sugar. These are OK if they aren’t tightly wrapped…even if they dry out alittle they are yummy.</p>
<p>With both I suppose if you felt the “dough” was too crumbly you could simply splash a dash more of booze to keep the dough rolling nicely in your hands.</p>