Festive Holiday Cookie Recipes
Christmas Tree Star Tower, Orange Balls and Chocolate Rum Balls
Sep 8, 2009
From stars to bars, balls and squares, cookies come in every conceivable size and shape. What distinguishes this collection is simply...great taste and presentation. If it looks good, that's half the battle. If it tastes amazing, it goes into the keeper pile.
From traditional favorites to new-old fashioned recipes, these cookies will be a hit at every holiday celebration. Bring the little ones and the elderly together to put these cookies on the table. No one will be able to say, "No thank you," when these are placed on the dessert table with flair and love. Enjoy!
Make a Christmas Tree Star Tower
Ingredients for Cookies:
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pkg yellow cake mix
- 1 Tblsp water
- Graduated star cookie cutters
Ingredients for Frosting:
- 1 container of creamy vanilla frosting (16 oz)
- green food coloring
- red and green sugar crystals for decoration
- red hots candies for decoration
Directions for Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 375°. Combine shortening, butter, egg yolks and vanilla extract for cookies. Blend in cake mix a little at a time. Add one tsp water at a time until dough is ready for rolling.
- Divide dough into four balls. Flatten a ball with hand; roll to 1/8-inch thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut with graduated star cookie cutters. Repeat using remaining dough.
- Bake large cookies together on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 mins or until edges are golden brown.
- Cool cookies for a minute. Remove from cookie baking sheet. Repeat process with smaller cookies, making certain each size is done before removing from oven.
Directions for Frosting:
- Tint the vanilla frosting with green food coloring. Frost cookies and then stack them, beginning with largest cookies on the bottom and ending with smallest cookies on the top. Rotate cookies while stacking to alternate corners. (See photos below)
- Decorate by adding sugar crystals and candies to the tips of cookies. Can also add white frosting to look like snow. Makes enough cookies to create three Christmas Tree Cookie towers (8-12 cookies per tower).
Holiday Orange Balls
Ingredients:
- 1 (12-ounce) package vanilla wafers
- 1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 (16-ounce) can concentrated frozen orange juice, thawed and undiluted
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- Flaked coconut (optional)
Directions:
- Crush vanilla wafers to make fine crumbs by placing in plastic bag and crushing with bottom of mug.
- Add sugar, butter, and orange juice concentrate and mix well.
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in pecans or coconut, if desired; chill until firm. Makes 6 dozen balls. Store in tins or gift boxes.
Chocolate Rum Balls
Ingredients:
- 3-1/2 cups vanilla wafers (crumbs)
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/3 cup light or dark rum
- 1/3 cup Karo light or dark syrup
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
Directions:
- In a large bowl stir together the vanilla wafers crumbs, pecans and cocoa.
- Stir in the rum and syrup until well blended. Shape into one inch balls and roll each in confectioners sugar. Store in tins or gift boxes. Yields about 36 balls. Keeps well for several weeks but rarely last that long!
Collect Christmas Cookie Recipes
Collecting recipes for holiday treats and cookies is a time honored tradition. Keep a list from year to year and when you try out each new recipe, make sure to put a single star beside a good recipe, a double star for a great recipe and three stars for the holiday cookie recipe favorite that will be destined to be passed down to the next generation. Your children and grandchildren will thank you.
For more holiday dessert or cookie ideas, read Cookies for Santa or learn how to make Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies or Chocolate Truffles.
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