Gourmet Cookie Bouquets Recipe Blog

Archive for January, 2008

The cherry fruit filling in these bars make them an excellent choice for holiday gifts. 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!

Ingredients:

• 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 10x15” 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.

For more delicious cherry gourmet desserts, try these:

• Tart Cherry Pie Recipe
• Cherry Dumplings
• Cherry Waldorf Gelatin
• Cherry Cheese Mold

• 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.

For more delicious Christmas cookie recipes, try:

• How to Paint Christmas Cookies
• Christmas Cookie Decorating 101
• Peanut Butter Cup Christmas Cookies
• Christmas Spritz Cookies
• Christmas Wreaths

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.

For more delicious oatmeal cookie recipes, try:

• Chewy Oatmeal Molasses Cookies
• Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
• Oatmeal Cereal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 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.

If you love oatmeal, you'll love these recipes:

• Sugar Free Oatmeal Cookies (Diabetic)
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chippers
• Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
• Oatmeal Cereal Cookies

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!

• 3/4 cup white sugar

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1 cup butter

• 1 Tbsp. vanilla

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten

• 3 cups flour

• 3/4 tsp. baking soda

• 3/4 tsp. salt

• 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

• 10 caramels, each cut into 4 thin slices

• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. In large bowl, cream sugars and butter together. Add the vanilla and eggs mixing well. Sift the dry ingredients together and slowly add to the batter. Beat well, then fold in the chocolate chips, caramel slices and nuts. Roll dough into 2” balls and place on cookie sheet with about 2 inches of space between balls. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool cookies on wire rack and store in an airtight container.

For a great batch of chocolate chip cookies, read about the Secrets to Making the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie.