Cookie Recipes

The Woman has been making these two cookies every year at Christmas since I can remember there being Christmases. These are two cookies her Mom used to make every year, and the Woman continues to carry on the tradition. Both recipes are very simple to make and yummy to eat!

Hershey Kiss Cookies

2 2/3 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 dozen kisses, unwrapped
additional sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda. If you're using self-rising flour, omit the salt and baking soda. Add butter and peanut butter and mix until smooth. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and mix until smooth.

Form balls out of level tablespoons of dough. Roll in sugar.

Now, you can either press a kiss firmly into the center of the cookie at this point and bake for 10 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet, or you can bake the cookie for 8 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet, then press the kiss into the center of the cookie and bake an additional 2 minutes. Putting the kiss in the cookie for the whole 10 minutes makes a flatter cookie, but the kiss sets up a lot faster. When you only bake the kiss for 2 minutes, it takes a couple hours for the chocolate to harden back up.

No Bakes

2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 tsp salt
3 cup fast cooking oats

Combine sugar, milk, cocoa and butter in a pan and bring to a boil on medium heat. Cool 1 minute, and add remaining ingredients. Stir well and drop by teaspoons onto waxed paper. You can also add coconut or nuts if you are feeling daring, but the Woman has never done this.

The Woman asked me to ask you all to share at least one fail-safe cookie recipe that she can add to her traditional list of cookies. She also made macaroons, date balls and scotch shortbread this year, but those cookies have been nothing to brag about and probably won't make a reappearance next year.