I am trying very hard to keep my promise to you, and post all my cookie recipes I gave you a preview of on my Christmas cookies post.

Here is a recipe, I also adopted from Suzy, for Sugar Cut Out Cookies.  I kept the recipe in its original form with the exception of decreasing the salt to ¼ tsp, and using only white sugar (I ran out of brown sugar).  Also, I have chosen to decorate my cookies with colored sugar and sprinkles, while she beautifully frosted hers.

These Sugar Cut Out Cookies are very festive looking, and deliciously enjoyable.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

1. Cream the butter and sugar.
2. Add eggs and vanilla, and mix well.
3. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt).
4. Gradually add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix well, until the dough is firm.
5. Divide the dough in two balls, place in a covered bowl, and cool in the refrigerator for an hour (I kept it overnight, for lack of time for baking).
6. Take out one dough ball and work it with your hands to soften it a bit.
7. Place it on a floured work area and roll it out to 1/8 inch thickness.
8. Use your favorite cookie cutters, dip them in flour, and cut out cookies.
9. Cover you baking pans with parchment paper, set you cookies on slightly apart from each other, to allow for expansion during baking.
10. Decorate with colored sugar and sprinkles.
11. Preheat oven at 375°F.
12. Bake cookies for 8 minutes, or until the edges appear golden brown.
13. Remove onto cookie rack to cool.

Tip: The taste of these cookies was super, but I would have liked them a little less firm and
crunchy.

I love baking, but since so many of my “consumers” are trying to eat healthfully, or experiment with different diets now and then, I try to support them, and do not bake as much.  I also need to learn from their good judgment and cut down on these indulgences myself.

However, when Holidays come around, and parties are to be attended to, and family and friends to join for some merry making, I get back to my baking.

I also like to try new recipes, just to expand my horizons a bit, so today I will post a recipe for Pecan Butter Balls, which I found on one of the blogs I visit regularly, and Suzy is a super baker.  I baked Butter Balls before, but these are so much lighter, and use pecans rather than walnuts, which I love so much.

I have slightly modified her recipe for my use, so I will post my version here for you:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups sifted flour, all purpose white
• 1 cup pecans, ground up
• Powdered sugar for topping

Directions:

1. Cream the butter with powdered sugar.
2. Add vanilla extract and salt, and mix it in well.
3. Gradually add sifted flour, and continue mixing.
4. Mix in chopped pecans.
5. Cover the dough and keep in the fridge for an hour, or overnight.
6. Using a tea spoon, scoop dough and form into balls.
7. Place balls on a greased cookie sheet, leaving some space between each.
8. Preheat oven to 350°F.
9. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until set (they will start cracking if baked too long)
10. Gently, remove onto cookie cooling racks.
11. Cool completely.
12. Roll in thoroughly in powdered sugar.

Store in an airtight container in a cool place, or serve immediately.

Tip. These are very delicate when hot, and can fall apart very easily. Be gentle when removing from hot pan for

cooling.  Also, keep handling to minimum, until totally cooled.

Another very special cookie recipe for my Christmas cookies selection this year, are the Dycio Crescents.  These might look like a lot of work, forming crescents from cookie dough, but soon you will find out how simple these actually are.

I also would like to share with you a special story about this recipe.  I met a very sweet lady in my church, who made these crescents for a church function.  I loved them so much, and asked her if she would like to share her recipe with me.  Of course, as kind as she is, she graciously agreed, but told me that she did not have a written recipe, as she always makes these from memory (you will identify with this if you ever asked your grandma for any recipe).  So the next time I saw her, she brought in a meticulously hand written (in Ukrainian) recipe for Rohalyky (crescents), and in addition, offered many helpful tips to make sure I understood her written instructions.  I think this created a mutual satisfaction, so I decided to share this recipe with you, as I am sure you will not find it anywhere else.

These crescents are not very sweet, but light and flaky in texture, and the jam centers make them that much more delightful.

You need to  remember to only use special jam for baking, as the regular jams are not suitable, and will boil out during baking, making a mess out of your cookie sheets, plus leaving a hallow center in your crescents.
I use Baker Fine Dessert Filling in Apricot flavor, or Solo Cake and Pastry Filling. I also use these fillings for my very favorite Apricot Sheet Cake.

This recipe makes at least 5 dozen of crescents.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz of butter, softened
• 16 oz of cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 egg yolks (save the egg whites for later use)
• Pinch of salt
• 4 ¼ cups flour, all purpose white
• 3 tsp baking powder
• Powdered sugar for topping
• 10 oz Baker Apricot Filling (1 jar), or Almond flavor if you prefer

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl combine butter, sugar, eggs yolks, salt, and extract.
2. Mix well.
3. Mix the flour with baking powder and gradually add into the mixture, and continue mixing, until well incorporated.
4. Divide the dough into 8 even balls, each the size of an orange.
5. Place in a bowl, cover, and keep refrigerated for a couple of hours, or overnight.
6. Take one dough ball at a time, and massage it by squishing it with your hands for 10 seconds, to soften it.
7. Flatten slightly, and place it on a floured work area.
8. Roll the ball into a large, 1/8 inch thick circle, like for pie crust.
9. Using a pizza cutter, cut it into 8 even triangles (like pizza).
10. Place 1/2 tsp of filling in the middle of the wide end of each triangle.
11. Roll the wide end over the filling, and keep on rolling all the way to the triangle point.
12. Slightly beat the egg whites, but not too much as not to get them frothy.
13. Fill a place with granulated sugar.
14. Dip the crescents (still in a straight form), in the egg wash, then roll them in the granulated sugar.
15. Place them on a well greased cookie sheet, with the tip end at the bottom against the cookie sheet.
16. Bent the ends of each roll, to form crescents.
17. Bake in a preheated oven, at 350°, for 20 minutes, or until the edges start getting golden.
18. Remove onto a cookie cooling racks, and cool completely.
19. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Tip:  I also use Almond filling, by Baker or Solo, for these crescents, which also tastes wonderful, and adds a nice variety to my cookie selection.

I know some of you started baking your Christmas cookies  a while back, and are all done by now, but I just started this weekend, and if it wasn’t for the huge snow fall, and all the shoveling we had to do, I would have been done baking and posting my recipes, and pictures, for you to enjoy.

Today I am just giving you a preview of most of the cookies I baked, but will post the recipes and pictures in future posts.  You can try some of my recipes next year, or next time you feel like baking.

Then again, there are some of you who have not even started baking, since your Christmas is not until January 6th and 7th.  Lots of my family and friends also celebrate at that time.  Wish you all a very Merry Christmas, no matter when you celebrate.

This year my married children are traveling to spend Christmas with their in-laws, so we will celebrate Christmas twice, once on the 24th with some of our family and friends, and then on the 6th with all our children.  I can’t wait, this will be so much fun!!!

Ok.  Back to cookies.  This year I made some Ginger Chocolate Truffles,  Frosted Lemon Cookies, Pecan Butter Balls, Cream Wafers, Dycio Crescents, and still need to finish my Sugar Cookies.

If you would like to see the recipes and the final product, please stay tuned, as I am hoping to complete posting them all by January 6th.