Green Holiday Guide: One Cookie Three Ways

December 3, 2010

Posted by Lisa Sharp under Green Holidays, Recipe

I’ve been baking since I was about two years old. Back then it was in my grandma’s kitchen and it was normally peanut butter cookies. Now I’m allergic to peanut butter so no more peanut butter cookies but I still love to bake.

During the holidays I go a bit nuts and bake all kinds of things. The cookies I’m sharing with you this time are all made from the same dough, just in different ways to make three different cookies. They are all easy and very yummy.

Sugar Cookie Dough
For all three cookies you want to start with this sugar cookie dough. It’s my favorite since it’s so easy and makes wonderfully soft sugar cookies. Even several people who don’t like sugar cookies have said they like these.

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 375′
In a small bowl mix together flour, baking powder, and baking soda, set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth.
Beat in egg and vanilla.
Gradually add dry ingredients.

Now this is where the directions change depending on what kind of cookie you want to make. Follow the above directions and then after step five look below the cookie you want to make to find what to do next.

Iced Sugar Cookies

Roll in to balls or use cookie scoop.
Place on cookie sheet.
Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until starting to get golden. DO NOT OVER BAKE! These cookies are only soft if you don’t over bake them.
Cool
Make the icing by just mixing sifted powdered sugar with a little bit of water or milk.
Ice the cookies. You can also add sprinkles.

Cream Cheese Frosted Cookies

These cookies are much richer than the above cookies and have a very different favor. Since it’s not a cooked frosting and it has milk and cream cheese you will need to keep the frosted cookies in the refrigerator.

Cookie Directions

Roll in to balls or use cookie scoop.
Place on cookie sheet.
Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until starting to get golden. DO NOT OVER BAKE! These cookies are only soft if you don’t over bake them.
Cool

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

6 oz of cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
6 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Beat with mixer at medium speed until smooth. You can add a few drops of dye after if you would like colored frosting.
Spread over cooled cookies. You can also add sprinkles.

Hidden Mint Cookies

For these cookies you will need fudge mint cookies. I highly recommend Back to Nature’s Fudge Mint cookies. They are a great natural option, if you have the Girl Scout cookies those work as well.

Directions

Make circles of the dough about 1/4 inch thick or a bit thinner and just larger than the fudge mint cookies.
Place a fudge mint cookie on half of the sugar cookies.
Cover with other the other half of the cookies.
Press edges together.
Place on cookie sheet.
Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until starting to get golden. DO NOT OVER BAKE! These cookies are only soft if you don’t over bake them.
Cool

If you would like to use the natural coloring and sprinkles seen in this post you can find them at the Natural Candy Store. I hope you enjoy these recipes and please let me know if you try any of them.