O' Cookie Trees...O' Christmas Tree!!! (Yummy, Recipe)

This is without a doubt my favorite time of year.  The weather is cooler outside, being able to spend time with family, lots of houses are decorated inside and out, the scent of Christmas Trees, and most of all the tastes and smells of baked goodies.

My mom "Candice" would bake cookies with me and my sister, every year, as a child.  She would buy all types and colors of sprinkles.  She would make red, green, white, and blue frostings so we could make cute cut-out cookies.  Those are memories I will have and cherish for the rest of my life.

Every Christmas morning we would look in our stockings, open our Christmas gifts, and enjoy Pillsbury Orange and Cinnamon Rolls.  That is a tradition that we still carry on to this day.  After breakfast we would go over to my Aunt Susie & Uncle Sonny's house for Christmas dinner with the whole family.  Now, my Aunt also made amazing fresh baked cookies yearly and I just loved them. They were so yummy in my tummy!  Years later, I learned that they were actually Classic Spritz Cookies or as my mom calls them, "Little pillows of Love."

As an adult, a have purchased an amazing cookie press that makes baking fun and easy.  I picked the Pampered Chef Cookie Press.

I would have loved to make my normal amount of different types of cookies or goodies.  However, we have a huge move coming up and lots going on so I opted to only make spritz cookies.

I do have to say that there were many moments during the few hours that I was baking that I wished I was able to bake these cookies with my Step Daughters Emma & Danielle.  Maybe somewhere or sometime in the future that will happen.  I just really hope that they are having a chance to make some lasting memories, like baking, that they will cherish throughout their lives.  

Here is the recipe if anyone wants to give them a try.  Trust me they are yummy and everyone will love them.

Classic Spritz Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) butter (3 sticks), softened

1 cup (250 mL) sugar

1   egg

1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups (875 mL) all-purpose flour

 Colored sugar or sprinkles (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). In large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed of electric mixer about 3 minutes or until creamy, scraping down sides as necessary. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Add flour; mix on low speed just until blended, scraping down sides as necessary. (Dough will be soft; do not refrigerate.)

2

Fit Cookie Press with desired disk (see Cook's Tip); fill with dough. Press dough onto Cookie Sheet 1 in. (2.5 cm) apart. Decorate cookies with colored sugar or sprinkles, if desired. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool cookies 2 minutes on Cookie Sheet; remove to cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.

Yield:

6-7 dozen,
 servings of 2 cookies

Nutrients per serving:

Calories 140, Total Fat 8 g, Saturated Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 25 mg, Carbohydrate 15 g, Protein 2 g, Sodium 55 mg, Fiber 0 g

U.S. Diabetic exchanges per serving: No information is currently available.

Cook's Tips:

Do not use disk #10 for cookies. 

Chocolate Spritz Cookies: Increase sugar to 1 1/4 cups (300 mL). Decrease flour to 3 cups (750 mL). Combine flour and 1/3 cup (75 mL) unsweetened cocoa powder in medium mixing bowl; blend well. Proceed as recipe directs.

Source:  Pampered Chef Recipes

Here are my finished cookies!  

Happy Holidays Everyone, Heather!