Regency Ginger Crisps

Ingredients:3/4 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 large beaten egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2-1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup white sugar

Directions:1) Mix butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Cool if necessary. Add egg. Sir in soda, molasses, salt, and ginger. Mix well. Chill dough for at least an hour.
2) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3) Roll dough into balls and then roll them in white sugar. Place on greased cookie sheets and flatten. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Yield 36 cookies

From Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com

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Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup golden brown sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped salted peanuts

Directions:1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2) In a large bowl, cream together peanut butter, butter, and golden brown sugar until well blended. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla one at a time. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Fold chopped nuts into dough. Chill dough if necessary to roll. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Press each ball once with fork tines.
3) Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are lightly browned. Let sit for 2 minutes on cookie sheet. Remove and cool on wire racks. Yield: 36 cookies.

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Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies

Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

Cookies:
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

Topping:
1 bag (14 oz) caramels, unwrapped
2 tablespoons milk
4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoons coarse (kosher or sea) salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups butter with electric mixer on high speed until creamy. Beat in sugar and vanilla. On low speed, beat in flour until blended.

2. Divide dough in half. Between 2 sheets of waxed paper, roll 1 portion of dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter. On ungreased cookie sheet, place cutouts about 2 inches apart. Repeat with second portion of dough.

3. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until set and just barely light golden (do not overbake). Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks; cool completely.

4. In medium microwavable bowl, microwave caramels and milk uncovered on High 2 minutes 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Frost each cookie with about 1 rounded teaspoon caramel mixture.

5. In small microwavable bowl, melt chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter uncovered on High 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Drizzle chocolate over caramel on each cookie. Sprinkle generously with salt. Let stand until set.

http://www.pincookie.com

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Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies (makes 3-4 dozen)
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Sprinkling of allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups oats
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup Craisins

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Mix together until combined. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar (white and brown) with an electric mixer. Mix until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well incorporated. Beat in pumpkin puree. Slowly add in dry ingredients (I did this with a wooden spoon) until just incorporated. Mix in oats, white chocolate chips and oats by hand.

Using a small dough scoop (or a spoon) drop dough onto baking sheet, spaced 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 14 minutes. Allow cookies to cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before storing.

From Annies Eats and My Baking Addiction

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Bisquick Chocolate Chip Cookies

Bisquick Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
2 3/4 cups Bisquick baking mix
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
1/2 cup nuts, chopped, if desired (optional)

Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, mix butter, sugar, vanilla and egg. Stir in Bisquick mix, chocolate chips and nuts. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet, d about 2 inches apart; flatten slightly. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

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Nutella Ravioli Cookies

Nutella Ravioli Cookies

1 (18 ounce) package of refrigerated sugar cookie dough(for the time challenged)

or

18 ounces fresh sugar cookie dough-this is what I used(if you need a recipe look at mycircus cookies)

1/2 cup Nutella spread

3 TBSP white chocolate chips

3 TBSP chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Roll out cookie dough to about a 1/4 inch

thickness.

3. Using a cookie cutter or a glass dipped in flour, cut out rounds. (I used a 2 3/4 inch round cookie cutter.).

4. Using a piping bag or plastic bag with the end snipped off, pipe about 1/2 teaspoon of Nutella into the center of each round.

5. Fold rounds over to create half moon shapes and gently seal edges.

6. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes.

7. Remove to racks and cool completely.

8. When cookies are completely cooled, melt chocolate chips in microwave (about 1 minute.).

9. Remove and using a fork, drizzle chocolate over cookies.

10. Repeat steps 8 and 9 with white chocolate chips.

THIS RECIPE COMES FROM MY NEIGHBOR WHO MADE THESE FOR YEARS BUT THIS WOMAN WOULD LIKE CREDIT SO LET’S ALL GIVE HER SOME. So these cookies came from Herewhere my neighbor must have stolen it from even though she has been making them longer than what the recipe is dated.

All text (which is not recipes, it’s my writing) and images on this site have ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright (c) 2006 by Peabody Rudd.

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White Chocolate Dried Cherry Cookies

White Chocolate Dried Cherry Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter(room temperature)
3/4 cup caramelized sugar*
3/4 cup powdered sugar(icing sugar)
2 eggs(room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
12 ounces good White Chocolate, chopped into small pieces
8 ounces dried Cherries(the more tart the better)

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Grease your cookie pans with butter(to make a more golden brown bottom). In a mixer, cream the butter for 3 minutes. Add both types of sugar and mix(on high)for another 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Add eggs on at a time, mixing 1 minute each. Scrape down the bowl again. Add vanilla and mix for one more minute on medium high.
In a seperate bowl sift the flour, baking soda and salt together. With the mixer on slow speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the batter. Do not over mix. Take the bowl off the mixer and by hand mix in the white chocolate and cherries.
Usuing small ice cream or cookie scoop, scoop out the dough and place onto the prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes. They will not look done. Take them out anyway, they will continue to cook on the pan. Leave them on the pan for 5 minutes after taking them out of the oven. Then transfer to a cooling rack.
*To make caramelized sugar for this recipe. Take a cookie sheet and line it with parchment paper. With the oven preheated to 375 F sprinkle 1 cup granulated sugar onto the middle of the pan. Bake for only about 5 minutes( you need to watch it the whole time because once it starts to caramelized it can quickly burn). Take out of oven and it cool completely. Once cooled, lift the blob of caramelized sugar and put into blender. Blend until the sugar is back to being super fine. Measure out 3/4 cup for the recipe. I usually make big batches of this and keep it around to use in other recipes.

culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com

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White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies

makes approximately 2.5 dozen

• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Line an ungreased cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpat. Set aside.

In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Mix in egg and vanilla.  Scrape down the sides as needed.  On low speed, mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt.  Stir in white chocolate chips & dried cranberries.  Dough will be thick and sticky, but still mold-able with your hands or a cookie scoop. Chill dough for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Drop balls of dough (1.5 tablespoons each) onto cookie sheet OR used a standard-sized cookie scoop. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  Do NOT cook them longer than 10 minutes.   Remove and let cool for 3 minutes on the cookie sheet.  Transfer to cooling rack.

*Do not drop dough onto warm cookie sheets.  Allow cookie sheets to cool completely between batches.

adapted from The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

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Pecan Pie Cookies

Makes approximately  two dozen 2 inch cookies

Preparation: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line bake sheets with parchment.

Ingredients:

Cookie portion:

• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup confectioner sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour

Pecan Filling:

• 1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
• 4 ¼ oz  chocolate, 65% cacao, melted
• 1 tablespoon of corn syrup
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon cardamom

Drizzle Finish:

• 2oz. chocolate, melted

Instructions:

1. Cream butter, brown sugar and confectioner sugar until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl lightly beat egg, vanilla, baking soda and salt. Add egg mixture to creamed butter mixture and mix to combine. Using a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula fold in flour. Chill dough for at least 45 minutes.
2. While the dough is chilling, place pecans, melted chocolate, heavy cream, corn syrup, and cardamom in a bowl and mix to combine.
3. To assemble: Scoop out approximately 1 ½ tablespoon of dough and flatten it into one hand, then scoop out one heaping teaspoon of pecan filling and place it in the center of flatten dough. Bring the edges of the dough  to the center press dough together so that it seals the filling in. Place dough stuffed cookies, seam side down on parchment lined bake sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for about 10-12 minutes or until edges start to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and allow cookies to rest  on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
4. Using a mini whisk or spoon or fork, finish cookies with chocolate drizzle.

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Chocolate Chip Cookies

Andes Crème de Menthe Chunk CookiesServings: 4 Dozen
Preheat oven to 350

• 1/2 cup salted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 package (10 oz) Andes® Creme de Menthe Baking Chips or Andes® After Dinner Mints, coarsely chopped
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

Blend butter, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs until mixed.
Stir in baking chips or chopped candy and then flour.
Chill at least one hour in refrigerator.

Measure out approximately 1 ounce of dough.
Raise oven rack one level above middle and baking on non-stick cookie sheets.
Bake at 350-degrees for approximately 8-10 minutes.
Cool on pans for two minutes before removing.

source: http://checkitoutavesta.blogspot.com

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Mini Nutella Cookie Cups Delicious Recipes

Mini Nutella Cookie Cups

(Makes enough for 2-3 dozen)

Recipe adapted from Delightful Bites, originating from Barbara Bakes

Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe adapted from AllRecipes (sans chips)

Ingredients

1 cup butter (softened)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Jar of Nutella(12 tablespoons per batch)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your mini muffin tin (unless it is nonstick like mine).

Cream butter and both sugar in bowl until light, smooth and fluffy! Beat in eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated. Gradually add dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda) until all the flour is mixed in!

Roll dough into balls 1.5 inches thick.

Pop them in the mini muffin tin and bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown but not too dark around the edges.

When done, remove from oven and let sit for about 2 minutes. Then make wells for the nutella with a shot glass, a similar object or a spoon. Add 1 tbsp Nutella to each cup – it will start to melt quickly so you can swirl it around and make it nice and smooth.

Let cool 15-20 minutes in tin. Remove from tin and place in your mouth. Repeat. Nutella will solidify in about an hour, which then makes them safe to transport! To share.. you know? Sharing?

This recipe made enough for 3 batches for me. I kept the dough in the freezer and rolled/baked them from frozen and they were perfect!

Enjoy – these gooey little bastards are to DIE for! yay!

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Macaroon Kiss Cookies

Macaroon Kiss Cookies

Makes approx. 48 cookies

2 1/2 cups All purpose flour

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

2/3 cups butter, softened

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 egg yolks

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon juice from a fresh orange

10 cups sweetened flaked coconut, divided in to 6 cup and 4 cup portions

1 bag Hershey Kisses (48 pieces)

Step 1:  In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

Step 2:  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg yolks, vanilla and orange juice and beat till smooth.  

Step 3:  In 1 cup increments, mix flour in to the butter mixture.  Add the 6 cups flaked coconut and beat to combine.

Step 4:  Refrigerate dough for 1 hour. While dough is chilling, remove wrappers from the Kisses.

Step 5:  Preheat oven to 350.  One at a time, scoop dough into 1.5" balls (about the size of a large walnut, roll between your palms, then roll in the bowl of remaining coconut (4 cups).  Arrange on an ungreased baking sheet, at least an inch apart (cookies will spread slightly).  A standard cookie sheet should accommodate a dozen cookies at a time.  Bake 12-14 minutes, until the cookies puff and are very lightly browned.  

Step 6:  Remove from oven.  Immediately press one Kiss into each cookie.  Return pan to oven and bake for an additional minute.

Step 7:  Remove pan from oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes.  With a thin spatula, gently move cookies on to a rack to finish cooling.

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Molasses Crinkle Cookies

Molasses Crinkle Cookies

1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/2 cup for dipping
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
12 TBSP unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup light or dark molasses

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside.
3. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter with brown and granulated sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and add yolk and vanilla; increase speed to medium and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds. Reduce speed to medium-low and add molasses;beat until fully incorporated, abuot 20 seconds, scraping bottom and sides of bowl once with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to the lowest setting; add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl down once. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no pockets of flour remain at bottom. Dough will be soft.
4. Using TBSP measure, scoop heaping TBSP of dough and roll into a ball. Roll ball in sugar and place onto prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are browned, still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, about 11 minutes(I wanted a a less soft cookie so I baked mine longer about 13).
5. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.
Makes 22 cookies.

http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com

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Black & White Spider Cookies Recipe

• Prep: 45 min. Bake: 10 min./batch + standing
• Yield: 30 Servings

451055

Ingredients

• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup water
• ICING:
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 8 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 to 3 tablespoons warm water

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs and water; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes.
• Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 3 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
• For icing, in a large heavy saucepan, combine water and corn syrup; bring just to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat; whisk in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth.
• In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate. Stir in 1 cup of icing and 1 tablespoon warm water until smooth. (Icings will thicken as they stand; stir in additional water, 1 teaspoon at a time, to thin if necessary.)
• Spoon chocolate icing over half of each cookie; spread evenly. Spoon vanilla icing over the remaining half of cookies; spread evenly. Let stand until set.
• Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; insert #2 round pastry tip. Fill the bag with remaining vanilla icing; pipe a spider web onto the chocolate half of each cookie.
• Using another bag, pipe spiders onto cookies with remaining chocolate icing. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen.

Nutritional Facts1 cookie equals 218 calories, 3 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 14 mg cholesterol, 120 mg sodium, 49 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein.

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White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs, room temperature if possible
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time and add in vanilla. Add in flour, baking soda and salt. Beat until well combined. Using a wooden spoon, stir in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.

Drop about a 1/2 tablespoon (or whatever your desired cookie size is) onto the baking sheets, at least 1 1/2 – 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until bottoms are slightly golden brown. The cookies do not really brown, so don’t overbake them!

Recipe from Ghiradelli

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Chocolate & Nutella Macarons

Chocolate Macarons with Whipped Nutella Ganache
Ingredients:

For the macarons:
110 gm blanched slivered almonds
200 gm minus 2 Tbs powdered sugar
2 Tbs cocoa powder (dark or regular)
100 gm egg whites (took me about 3 ½ large eggs), aged in the fridge for 3-5 days
50 gm granulated sugar

Start by putting the almonds in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder and give it a few pulses to combine. Set aside.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer (or you can use an electric mixer), beat egg whites to a foam. It should resemble bubble bath at this point. With the mixer still running, slowly add the granulated sugar and continue beating just until smooth and stiff peaks have formed. Check it often so you don’t over mix. You want to stop right at the beginning of the stiff peak stage.

Add the almond mixture to egg whites and carefully incorporate with a spatula. You want the mixture to be thick enough to pipe, but thin enough that it won’t form peaks when piped. I suggest testing the batter by spooning out a small amount on a plate and checking that the batter “melts” into itself. If it doesn’t, give it a few more strokes and try it again.

Place macaron batter into a piping bag fit with a large, round tip and pipe small circles (about 1 inch to 1 ½ inches in diameter) onto your prepared baking sheets. Let macarons rest for at least 45 minutes to an hour, or until a hard shell has developed on the top. You can test this by carefully brushing your finger over a macaron. If it feels dry, you’re ready to go. If not, give it another 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 300F.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, one baking sheet at a time. Let cool completely before filling.

For the Nutella ganache:
½ cup of heavy cream
2 oz bittersweet chocolate
3 Tbs Nutella

Place chocolate and Nutella in a medium sized heat-proof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream to a simmer. Pour hot cream over the chocolate and Nutella and let sit for 20 seconds. Stir to combine until smooth. Place ganache in the refrigerator until thickened, but still pourable. Make sure to stir a few times during the process so the ganache is a uniform consistency throughout. Using an electric mixer, whip ganache until it is a pipeable consistency and light in color. Place ganache into a piping bag and pipe a small circle onto one macaron shell. Top it with a similar sized shell and squeeze together carefully.

Keep macarons in the refrigerator. Let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Recipe adapted from Annies Eats

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Sour Cream Cookies

Sour Cream Cookies(makes about 60-70 cookies)
Ingredients:

for the cookies:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening (Crisco)
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs (beaten lightly)
4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda. Set aside.

Cream together butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in sour cream, vanilla and eggs until combined. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until incorporated. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat over to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Alternatively, you can grease pans lightly with Crisco or butter.

On a cleaned, floured surface, roll out dough to a 1/4 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake until bottoms are a very light golden color, about 6-8 minutes. Do not overbake!

for frosting:
5 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 Tbs vanilla extract
6 Tbs milk (plus more, as needed)
food coloring (optional)

Just mix everything together with an electric mixer and thin down with milk until the frosting is a consistency you like.

Source: http://www.cakeandallie.com

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Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yields about 3 dozen

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder*
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
7 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
6 Tbsp all vegetable shortening, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp white vinegar 
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp red food coloring
1 1/3 cups white chocolate chips, divided

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda and salt, set aside. Add butter, shortening and sugar to the bowl of an electric stand mixer and mix on medium speed until very pale and fluffy about 4 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk and mix until combine. Add vinegar, vanilla and food coloring and mix until well blended. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combine. Mix in 1/2 cup white chocolate chips. Scoop dough out by the heaping tablespoonfuls (about 1 1/2 Tbsp) and roll into balls and place on buttered or Silpat lined cookie sheets. Gently press about 6 white chocolate chips into the top of each cookie, being careful not to flatten the cookies (if you do flatten them a bit just reshape them to the height they had before adding the chips) and bake in preheated oven 8 - 9 minutes. Allow to cool several minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Store cookies in an airtight container.

*If you want a more chocolaty cookie you could replace 1 - 2 Tbsp flour with an additional 1 -2 Tbsp cocoa, the red just won't be quite as vibrant. Or, you could replace the white chocolate chips with chocolate chips.

**Note: this recipe has been completely revised as of 9/7/12 due to comments stating cookies are flat and not red enough. I myself thought them to be flat. This recipe completely eliminates both of those issues. These are thick, vibrantly red and completely delicious (they better be, these were my 4th batch. Fourth times a charm right =).

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

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Easter Sugar Cookie Squares

Yields 24 squares

Ingredients:
1 recipe Sugar Cookie Squares
1 recipe Vanilla Frosting, recipe follows (this is 1 1/2 original recipe)
Red, yellow and green food coloring
White sprinkles

Directions:

Prepare Sugar Cookie Squares according to directions listed and allow to cool completely.  Prepare vanilla frosting according to directions listed, then scoop out 1/3 of the vanilla frosting into a separate mixing bowl (about a heaping 1/2 cup).  Tint remaining 2/3 of the frosting with red and yellow food coloring (a 1:2 ratio, for every drop of red add 2 drops yellow), add food coloring and stir with a fork or electric mixer until desired orange color is reached.  Tint remaining 1/3 frosting with green food coloring until desired green color is reached.  
Spread orange frosting evenly over entire sheet of "cookie" then cut into squares (cookies).  Scoop green frosting into a Ziploc bag and seal bag. Then using scissors cut a tiny end off one of the edges of the Ziploc bag (start tiny when cutting because this will determine the size when piping, you can cut more after testing the size of the pipe, if desired.)  Then pipe diagonal lines in one direction over each cookie (see photos below), then repeat this processes making diagonal lines heading the opposite direction.  Outline the edge of each cookie with green frosting.  Sprinkle each cookie square with white sprinkles.  Store cookies in an airtight container.

Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:
6 Tbsp butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp half and half

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, whip until well blended and fluffy (I used to do this in separate steps but I really don't think it's necessary).

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