Gourmet Cookie Bouquets Recipe Blog

The cherry fruit filling in these bars make them an excellent choice for the holidays.  The festive red color and delicious taste will seal their fate making them a treat your family and friends will love for years to come!

• 1 cup margarine

• 1 3/4 cup sugar

• 4 eggs

• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 3 cups flour

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 1 or 2 – 21 oz. cans of cherry pie filling

Cream together the sugar and margarine. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Then add baking powder, flour, salt and vanilla. Press 2/3 of the batter in a greased 10×15” pan with sides.  Spread the cherry pie filling (one or two cans depending on your tastes) on the batter and then drop remaining dough by teaspoon over top of mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean).  Remove from oven and cool.  Usually, we drizzle our bars with a glaze made from 3/4 cups powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp. milk.  Cut into bars and store in an airtight container.  NOTE – blueberry or apple pie filling would work as well.

• 1 cup Crisco shortening

• 1 cup margarine

• 1 – 8 oz. package cream cheese

• 2 cups sugar

• 2 egg yolks

• 1 tsp. salt

• 5 cups flour

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 1 tsp. almond extract

Cream together shortening, margarine, cream cheese and sugar. Then add the egg yolks, vanilla and almond extract.  Stir in the salt and add the flour until combined well. Wrap dough ball in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least an hour. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until it is 1/8” thick.  Cut out with cookie cutters shaped like trees, stars, and other festive Christmas designs. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350° until the edges of the cookies turn just a light brown.  Cool cookies on a wire rack and frost with cream cheese frosting.

Frosting

• 2 cups powdered sugar

• 3 Tbsp. cream

• 1/4 cup margarine

• 1 tsp. almond extract

• Food coloring

• Sugar Sprinkles to decorate

Mix together the cream, margarine and almond extract.  Add the powdered sugar a little at a time mixing until it is smooth and a frosting consistency.  You may need slightly less or more than 2 cups depending on conditions.  Split frosting into a couple bowls and use food coloring to tint the frosting whatever colors you want.  For example, you might want green for the trees and yellow for the stars.   Use sugar sprinkles to decorate as desired.  Frost the cooled cut-out cookies and let the frosting set prior to storing in an airtight container.  Store decorated cookies in the refrigerator.

These cookies are perfect for oatmeal cookie lovers who don’t like raisins, but will devour chocolate instead!

• 2 cups butter

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar

• 4 eggs

• 2 tsp. vanilla

• 2 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. salt

• 3 1/2 cups flour

• 4 cups oatmeal

• 1-12 oz. package chocolate chips

• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Cream together the sugars and butter. Add eggs and vanilla mixing well. Sift together the flour, soda and salt; add to the wet ingredients. Finally, stir in the oatmeal, chocolate chips and nuts if desired.  Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 9 to 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

• 1/2 cup shortening

• 2 eggs

• 1 1/4 cups white sugar

• 1/3 cup molasses

• 1 3/4 cups flour

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

• 2 cups rolled oats

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

• 1 cup chopped dates (optional)

Cream together the shortening and sugar. Add the eggs and molasses stirring well. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to the wet ingredients and mix well. Finally stir in the oats, walnuts and optional dates. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookies sheet. Bake at 400° for 8 to 10 minutes. Cookies are quite tender and soft so allow them to cool a couple minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack for complete cooling. Store the cookies in an airtight container. 

I don’t know about your family, but mine likes their cookies a little more chewy than crisp so they love these chewy gooey cookies! 

• 1 box Angel Food Cake Mix (one step type)

• 1 can (22 oz.) lemon pie filling

• 1 cup flaked coconut

Glaze

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Mix together the dry cake mix and pie filling in a large bowl.  Stir in the coconut.  Place mixture in a lightly greased 10”x15”x1” pan.  Bake bars for 20 to 25 minutes at 350°until golden.  Cool bars and then drizzle with the glaze. Cut into squares for serving.  NOTE – also works well with cherry pie filling and glaze made with milk instead of lemon juice. 

A delectable twist on traditional turtle candies – these bars are easy to make and just as tasty!

Crust

• 2 cups flour

• 1/2 cup softened butter

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

• 2 cups whole pecans

In a large mixing bowl, mix all the crust ingredients (except pecans) with an electric mixer on high speed until well blended and crumbly (about 2 – 3 minutes).  Pat crust mixture firmly into an ungreased 9×13” pan.  Press whole pecans into unbaked crust.

Caramel Layer

• 2/3 cup butter

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 – 12 oz. package milk chocolate chips

• 1 can sweetened condensed milk

• 1 cup dates, pitted and diced

• 1/2 cup crushed walnuts

• Bag of Ritz or Hi Ho Crackers

Frosting

• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened

• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

• 1 tsp. vanilla

In a heavy saucepan, melt the condensed milk and dates together over medium heat stirring constantly until a thick paste forms. Mix in the walnuts.  Spread the mixture on open-faced crackers. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool. For the frosting, beat the 3 ingredients together with an electric mixture on medium speed until smooth. Frost each cracker. Store the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

This monster sized recipe can be cut in half or even fourths to accommodate a smaller event or family.  No matter how many you choose to make, the cookie monsters in your life will love them!

• 1 lb shortening

• 2 lbs brown sugar

• 2 lbs white sugar

• 1 dozen eggs

• 1/4 cup vanilla

• 3 lbs peanut butter

• 1 lb chocolate chips

• 1 lb chopped walnuts

• 8 tsp. soda

• 1 lb plain M&M candies

• 18 cups oatmeal

In a giant size mixing bowl, cream together the sugars and shortening. Add the eggs and vanilla stirring well.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients until thoroughly blended together. Drop by spoonful onto cookie sheet for regular size cookies or by ice cream scoopful for true monster cookies.  Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until golden brown.  Recipe makes 20 dozen regular sized gourmet cookies.  NOTE – this dough freezes well so bake as many as you need when you make the dough and then divide the rest of the dough into smaller batches to freeze in plastic wrap and tin foil (or a freezer Ziploc bag).  Then just take out the dough, thaw it, and bake as directed.

These aptly named cookies taste like a million bucks!

• 1 cup shortening

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

• 2 cups flour

• 2 cups chopped nuts

In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening and sugars.  Add the egg and vanilla mixing well. Mix in the other dry ingredients, folding in the nuts last. Drop by the teaspoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Press each one down with a fork dipped in sugar. Bake at 375° for 9 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.