NEW ORLEANS — Saturday, December 4 is National Cookie Day and what better time than the holiday season to make cookies with and for the family.
Peppermint Oreo Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix
- 8 Tbsp. butter, softened
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup Oreo cookie chunks
- 1 cup Peppermint Crunch pieces
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Directions
- Combine the cake mix, butter, egg, extracts, and cream cheese. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Stir in the cookie chunks, peppermint crunch pieces and chocolate chips gently. Refrigerate the dough for at least 60 minutes. The dough should not stick to your hands when you roll it.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Scoop or roll the dough into 24 balls. Bake on a cookie sheet for 10-11 minutes. The cookies will be very soft and look undone when you take them out.
- Let the cookies sit on the hot cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes, then gently remove them gently with a thin metal spatula to a piece of parchment paper on the counter.
- Let them sit until completely cool. Store in a sealed container.
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- zest of one orange or tangerine
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Finely chop the cranberries and set aside.
- In a food processor, cream the butter, sugar, and zest together until well combined.
- Add the flour and extract, and pulse about 10 times, then run the machine briefly, just until the dough comes together into lumps.
- Add the cranberries and pulse just until they are distributed, but don't process too much.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and bring together with your hands. Work it just until it is no longer crumbly.
- Form the dough into a 10-12 inch log. The longer your log the smaller your cookies will be. Wrap the log in plastic, using the plastic to smooth out the dough and help form your log. Twist the ends tight to seal.
- Chill the dough for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice the dough into 1/3 inch slices and place on the cookie sheet, two inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or slightly longer if you like your cookies crisper.
- Let them cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheets and then tranfer them to a cooling rack. The cookies are soft and delicate when hot and will firm up as they cool.