1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar (for less tang, use 1 teaspoon)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon-sugar mix: 

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350*. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter an sugar for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs and vanilla. Cream for 1-2 minutes longer.

Stir in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt, just until combined. 

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and ground cinnamon. 

If time allows, wrap the dough and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. 

Roll into quarter-sized balls until round and smooth. Drop into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and coat well. Using a spoon, coat for a second time, ensuring the cookie balls are completely covered. Place on prepared baking sheets.

*To make flatter snickerdoodles, you may press down in the center of the cookie balls before baking. This helps keep them from puffing up in the middle.*

Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for several minutes before removing from the pan to wire racks to cool completely. 

Store in an airtight container.

 

1 cup + 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup icing sugar (confectioners sugar)

Preheat oven to 350*. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the chilled, cubed butter, all purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Rub the mixture together with your fingertips until it resembles a wet, sand-like texture. 

Pour in the sweetened condensed milk. Using your hands, gently mix the dough until it comes together. Avoid over mixing to ensure a tender, melt-in-your mouth texture. Carefully roll into 10-12 equal sized balls, handling as little as possible. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Bake in preheated 350* oven for 12-15 minutes until bottoms are just lightly brown. The tops of the cookies should remain pale. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes.

While still warm, roll the cookies in the confectioners sugar and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Once the cookies have cooled, roll them in confectioners sugar again for a thick snowy finish. Yields 10-12 cookies. Store in air tight container.

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla if desired

Preheat oven to 350*F.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. On a floured surface, roll out 1/3 of the mixture evenly until about 1/4 inch or less in thickness. Cut into small rectangles, about 1 1/2 inches by 2 inch strips.This dough does not spread much, so make the cookies the thickness and size you want the finished cookies to be. Using an offset spatula or wide bladed knife, transfer to prepared baking sheets. Dock each cookie by pricking with a fork evenly 3 or 4 times down the length of the cookies.

Bake until just golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and transfer carefully onto wire racks to cool.

Repeat with the remaining dough. Dough may be refrigerated if it becomes difficult to work with. 

After cookies are completely cool, place into an airtight container for storage.

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) real butter, melted

Filling: 

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 eggs

1/4 cup real butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups sweetened shredded coconut, divided

Preheat oven to 350*F and lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish, or line with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine all crust ingredients thoroughly until they form a dough. Transfer dough to the prepared baking dish and use a spatula or your hands to press into an even layer. 

Bake crust for 13-15 minutes or until just golden.

As crust is baking, prepare the filling. In a large mixing bowl, add all filling ingredients except for 1 cup of coconut saved for topping. Combine well and pour over baked crust, spreading into an even layer. Top with remaining 1 cup of coconut.

Bake for an additional 25-28 minutes or until set in the middle and coconut begins to brown. Remove pan from oven and place on a wire rack to cool before cutting. 

1/2 cup, (1 stick) real butter, at room temperature

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

powdered sugar for dusting if desired

Preheat oven to 375*F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. Add sugar and beat 1 minute. Add egg and vanilla and mix to combine.

Combine baking powder, flour and salt. Add to wet mixture in three portions, mixing to combine with each addition.

Cover dough and chill for 1 hour.

Once chilled, dust hands lightly with flour and roll dough into 1-2 inch balls. Place onto prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart and flatten gently with fingers. 

Bake 9-11 minutes. Tops should remain pale and bottoms should be just barely golden. 

Transfer from baking sheet to wire racks to cool, then lightly dust with powdered sugar to serve if desired. Enjoy! 

Yields 3-4 dozen cookies according to how large you make them. 

COOKIE INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup real butter, softened to room temperature

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt 

FROSTING INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup real butter, softened to room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk

*Additional sugar to sprinkle on top if desired

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350*

In a large mixing bowl, with a mixer or by hand, cream together 1/2 cup softened butter with 1 cup sugar a couple of minutes or until smooth. Add eggs, sour cream and 2 teaspoons of vanilla and mix well. 

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and combine well. 

Measure about 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Use your hands to roll each portion into a round ball and place on parchment lined cookie sheets about 2 or 3 inches apart. Lightly flatten each ball a bit with your fingers. *If using sugar to top the cookies instead of frosting them, sprinkle sugar on each one before baking.*

Place cookie sheets in oven and bake for 11-12 minutes, then immediately remove from the oven. They will appear slightly under-baked but this is what you want. Do not over-bake. Carefully transfer the baked cookies to a cooling rack and repeat the process until all the cookies are baked and let all cool to room temperature before frosting.

TO MAKE THE FROSTING: 

In a medium mixing bowl using a mixer or by hand, beat the butter 30 seconds or so until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly, then add vanilla extract and milk, mixing until smooth and fluffy. Use a knife or spatula to slather the top of each cookie. Top with sprinkles or other decorations if desired. Store cookies in a tightly sealed container.

These soft cookies bear a strong resemblance to the teacakes my grandma made when I was young and are my daughter Jessica's favorite cookies ever ever ever (her words). Most of the time I don't top them with sugar or frosting. We eat them plain and they're plenty rich enough for us without the added sugar or frosting.

1 egg
1 c. peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
1 c. sugar, or packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*.

** Tip: To measure peanut butter, spray measuring cup with non-stick cooking spray, then spoon peanut butter into measuring cup, pressing to fill any air pockets.**

In medium bowl, thoroughly combine all ingredients.

For individual cookies, drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Flatten with a fork in a criss cross pattern and bake for 10-15 minutes or until brown around the edges and set. Cookies will become firmer as they cool. Remove from pan and cool on rack. Store any leftovers in zip top plastic bags or tightly covered container.

For bar cookies, spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray, and double the recipe. Press into pan and bake until brown around the edges and mostly set, about 20-25 minutes. Bars should be still a little soft in the center but will firm up as they cool. Let cool in pan on rack, cut into bars and store any leftovers in zip top plastic bags or tightly covered container.

White sugar makes crisper cookies and brown sugar makes them moist and chewy.

2 sticks butter, softened (1/2 lb.)
2 cups plain flour
½ cup confectioner’s sugar
¼ tsp. salt

*NOTE: I have used ½ butter flavored shortening and ½ butter and it is still good. Be sure you use only real butter, not margarine, or it won’t be fit to eat. Also, you may add a little more or less powdered sugar if you like the shortbread sweeter or less sweet, to your taste. This dough doesn’t rise much at all, so roll it out to the thickness you want the finished cookie to be. This is a very soft dough, but if you mess up, just mash it back together and re-roll it. Also, add the scraps from each rolling into the unused dough and re-roll with the new dough. It is almost impossible to mess it up. It does stick to the rolling pin, so watch for that. Don’t use too much flour as you roll it out or it will be tough. I’ve found the easiest way to move it from the bread board to the cookie sheet is to use a cake frosting spatula or a large bladed knife, like a butcher knife or a chef’s knife. I hope I haven’t made this seem more complicated than it really is, I’m just trying to share some of my experience with it. Good luck, I hope they turn out great for you.

Preheat oven to 350°. With an electric mixer, cream the softened butter, then gradually add the confectioner’s sugar, beating well. Mix the flour and salt together, and add to the butter mixture with a spoon, then mix with your hands until well combined. Roll out about ¼ of the dough on a floured board until is about ¼ inch thick. Cut with a sharp knife or a pizza cutter into rectangles or any shape desired and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (I use the new non-stick foil.) Prick each cookie with a fork and bake for 15-25 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Time may vary quite a bit because of humidity, different ovens, and moisture content of the butter. You just have to keep checking until you can judge about how long each batch will take. Makes about 24 1x2-inch bars.