Cookies

I remember making these with my mom....here is a recipe Im using. I found it at www.allrecipes.com :-)

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• 40 fruit flavored hard candies

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in vanilla and eggs.
3. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; add to egg mixture alternately with milk.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide strips and, on a well-buttered baking sheet, form into window frames.
5. Keeping the colors separate, place candy in plastic bags and crush with a meat mallet. Place crushed candies inside window frames.
6. Bake for six minutes, or until candy is just mel ted. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, until candy is hard. Carefully lift cookies off baking sheet with spatula.

Another awesome Cookie recipe. I look for recipes I can make with my three year old :-) This one was found ona site called www.grit.com

Chocolate Dough 

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I'm sure whole wheat would be great too)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened baking cocoa or raw cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus extra for dredging)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• [optional] three tablespoons milk (if the dough seems too dry or crumbly; I recommend this step)

Peanut butter filling

• 3/4 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth, your choice
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions  

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets. 

 

To make the dough: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the egg, beating to combine, then stir in the dry ingredients, blending well. 

 

To make the filling: In a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth. [Personal Note: This was harder than it sounds. The powdered sugar is really light and the peanut butter really thick. It took a lot of folding, scooping and pressing with a spatula to get the two to blend well. Be prepared for poofs of white to escape and possibly inhale into your nose! Or maybe I'm just clumsier than most] 

 

With floured hands or a teaspoon scoop, roll the filling into 26 one-inch balls. Be sure not to make them any larger as the next step will be more difficult. 

To shape the cookies: Scoop 1 tablespoon of the dough (a lump about the size of a walnut), roll it into a ball and place it on an extra cookie sheet. Make an indentation in the center with your finger or a spoon and place one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation.

Bring the cookie dough up and over the filling, pressing the edges together cover the center; roll the cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out [You can see in the bottom left corner of the photo above, we have completed one ball]. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. And please don't freak out if you have peanut butter filling peaking out in a few corners. It won't affect the flavor in the end. 

 

Roll each rounded cookie in granulated sugar, and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.  

Bake the cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, or until they're set and you can smell chocolate. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack