Candy Cane Kiss Sugar Cookie Bars

These are the bars that inspired me to make some different Christmas cookies this year. I saw this recipe and thought that would be great for Christmas and I happen to have the candy cane Hershey's kisses on hand and this is a great way to use them.

adapted from the recipe here

Ingredients

Bars

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups finely chopped Hershey's candy cane kisses - about 45 kisses

Frosting

1 1/2 cup vanilla chips
1 Tablespoon vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

For the bars:
In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla until combined. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Gently fold in the chopped Hershey kisses.

Press dough into the pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges begin to have a golden brown look. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan.

For the frosting:
In a double boiler, or microwave, melt the chocolate chips and the shortening until smooth. Add the extract and stir. Pour over the bars in the pan. After the topping is hard remove from the pan using the parchment to lift them out. Slice into bars.

~Michelle

Cranberry Coconut Chip Cookies

It seems like I make a lot of cookies and desserts that have chocolate in them.  Well, this cookie had white chocolate in it; does that count. The combination of flavors in this cookie will wow you. Add these to your Christmas cookie list.

Cranberry Coconut Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup vanilla baking chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup flaked coconut (I used sweetened)

Directions

Heat oven to 350F. In large mixing bowl, combine sugar, shortening, eggs and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add flour, oats and baking powder. Beat at low speed until soft dough forms. Stir in chips, cranberries and coconut.

Drop dough by heaping teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until set. Cool on wire racks.

recipe from here

~Michelle

Coconut Lime Cookies

This is my second coconut lime cookies in as many days. The first one was ok I used vanilla chips in them and I think that they overpowered the flavors a bit. I also didn't use actual coconut in the first batch; I used a coconut cream pudding. I didn't take any photos but I will write the recipe.

The second recipe came out much better and the co-workers said they could taste the flavors much better.

Zest and Juice

Coconut Lime Cookies - I liked this recipe

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
zest of one lime
4 TBSP lime juice
1/2 cup sweetened coconut

1/2 cup sugar for rolling cookies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla, lime juice and lime zest. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients and coconut. Roll rounded teaspoon full of dough into balls and roll in sugar. Space them 1 1/2 inches apart because they do spread. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

The first recipe that I tried went like this.

Coconut-Cream Lime with White Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 TBSP baking soda

1 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar

1 package coconut cream pudding

2 eggs

1 TBSP vanilla

2 cups white chips

2 TBSP lime juice

1/2 tsp lime zest

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the vanilla pudding mix until well blended, followed by the eggs and vanilla extract.  Blend in the flour mixture slowly, just until incorporated  Finally, by hand, stir in the white chocolate chips until everything is evenly combined and no flour remains at the bottom of the bowl.

Using a cookie scoop (I suggest a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop) for even portions, scoop the cookies and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes just until edges are golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes then place on wire racks to cool completely.

~Michelle