Jolene's Recipe Journal

  Well, this is it, the last recipe of the 12 Days of Cookies.   I hope that you've enjoyed the recipes that have been shared!  Thank you so much to Carlee and Ellen for hosting, and letting me join in. I knew that I wanted to include gingerbread cookies during this event, to me, it's a flavor that means Christmas.   I searched through tons of recipes for cut out cookies, gingersnaps, but nothing really grabbed me.   Then I found this recipe from If You Give a Blonde a Kitchen, and I knew it was the one.     I've done the traditional chocolate crackle cookie, some lemon ones too, but I'd never seen it done with the flavor of gingerbread. This was another one that I thought the guys wouldn't go crazy for, but I was wrong.  My son especially loved them.   They definitely will become a regular addition to my Christmas baking list.   Thank you so much Haley for this amazing recipe! Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies Print With Image Without Image Ingredients 3 cups unbl

Cannoli purists, look away.  Today's recipe is Easy Cannoli Cookies from Crazy for Crust.  These cookies give you the taste of a cannoli while using simple ingredients.   I used a cookie cutter to make mine a bit more festive.  I also added a bit of green food coloring to the beaten egg.      I used half the mini chips in the filling and then dipped the edges in the other half.   You could substitute part of the vanilla for orange extract.    Thank you to Dorothy for sharing the recipe! Easy Cannoli Cookies Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 2 refrigerated pie crusts -- from a box 1 egg (+green food coloring, if desired) 1/4 cup turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw) 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese (do not substitute low-fat) 2/3 cup powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips Instructions Heat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Follow directions to unroll p

  I don't remember many store bought treats from when I was a kid, but I do remember Jingles cookies.   I loved dipping them into milk and watching the milk change color from the red and green sugars.   My sister and I would fight over the crumbs and the pile of sugar in the bottom of the box. Unfortunately, you can no longer get them at the store, but I searched online and found this recipe for homemade.  The dough comes together so easy and they bake up beautifully.  Thank you Aimee at Shugary Sweets for sharing the recipe and helping me recreate this childhood treat! Print With Image Without Image Homemade Jingles Cookies Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 1 cup unsalted butter -- softened 3/4 cup powdered sugar 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour 1/4 tsp kosher salt 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1 1/2 tsp pure anise extract red/green sugar crystal sprinkles Instructions Heat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat together butter and powdered sugar, add anise.

Here we go, day 8 of the 12 days of Cookies!  I don't make many sandwich cookies, but these Raspberry Coconut Cookies caught my eye when I was searching through the Taste of Home website.  I used whole milk, it's what we have on hand.   I used a cookie scoop to get nice uniform cookies so it was easy to assemble the sandwiches.   I used seedless raspberry preserves, since it's what my family prefers.  They'd also be great with cherry or strawberry.   Don't be tempted to pile the filling on, or you'll have a real big mess on your hands!   Thank you to June B for the recipe  :) Raspberry Coconut Cookies Print With Image Without Image Yield: 2 1/2 dozen ingredients: 3/4 cup butter -- softened 1/2 cup sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup flaked coconut 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt FILLING: 1/4 cup butter -- softened 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar 2 teaspoons 2% milk (

  We're looking at our second possible snowstorm of the week, so what better recipe to share today than Double Chocolate Snowballs?  I'll take these cookies over the real variety of snowballs any day.        I was out of unsalted butter, so I used regular.   I am a big fan of the Penzey's Dutch Process cocoa, so that's what I used.   I went for the second coating of powdered sugar as well.   These were deliciously messy, great with a nice cold glass of milk or some cocoa.      Thank you so much Dorothy at Crazy for Crust for this recipe! Double Chocolate Snowball Cookies Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 1 cup butter -- softened 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips Additional powdered sugar -- for rolling (about 1 - 1 1/2 cups) Instructions Heat oven to 375°. Prepare cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper. Mix togethe

  For the 6th day of Cookies, I turned to the Simple & Delicious Cookbook to find my recipe, Cherry Kiss Cookies.  I'm not normally a fan of red food coloring, but I did use it in these, and they'd look beautiful on a cookie tray.     I like dark chocolate, so I used those in place of the regular Hershey Kisses that were called for. I knew this one would be a hard sell to the guys, they don't really go crazy over anything cherry, but I do.   They both loved them, so much so that I had to hide a few so that I could get pictures.    Thank you to Joy Y for sharing the recipe! Cherry Kiss Cookies Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup confectioners' sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 6 drops red food coloring 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries 54 milk chocolate kisses -- unwrapped (used dark chocolate kisses) Instru

Growing up, Christmas was a huge gathering at my paternal grandmother's house.   The aunts and my grandmother would cook and bake for days leading up to the holiday.   All I remember is the desserts, pizzelles, rosettes, tarts, Totos and sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles.   I've searched for years trying to find that sugar cookie recipe!    These Tender Italian Sugar Cookies are from Taste of Home, and while they are not exactly like the ones I remember growing up, they are delicious and easy to make. I made zero changes to this recipe.  I used a cookie scoop to get uniform balls.    The base cookie isn't very sweet, but is balanced nicely with the icing.    You could easily change up the extracts if you wanted to.    Thank you so much to Weda M for the recipe! Print With Image Without Image Tender Italian Sugar Cookies Yield: 3 dozen Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal ingredients: 3/4 cup shortening 3/4 cup sugar 3 Eggs 1 teaspoon vanil