Recipe: Cherry Delight Cookies {and a Christmas Cookie Exchange!}

These cookies hold deep memories for me, having made them with a dear friend from church years ago.  I will remember her always -- her Christmas spirit, her wonderful laugh, her constant friendship -- and I'm so glad that I have some of her recipes to remember her by!

My family is NOT a fan of coconut, and so these cookies don't get made very often, as I am the only one who will eat them around here.  I remember making them one year as a young mom.  When I realized that nobody else would eat them, I froze them, and had a daily treat for myself for a long time!  (Your loss dear Family!)

I couldn't resist making them this year, and I'd like to share the recipe with you.  Cherry Delight Cookies are a rich, cherry-almond treat!  {I love that combo, don't you?}  Enjoy!

Helen's Cherry Delight Cookies 

½ cup margarine

½ cup sugar

1 egg

½ tsp. almond extract

1¼ cups flour

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking powder

2 T. chopped maraschino cherries

1 cup shredded coconut

In a mixer, cream together margarine and sugar.  Blend in egg and almond extract.  Mix well.  Add flour, salt, and baking powder.  Blend in chopped cherries and coconut by hand.  Drop by teaspoonfuls on baking sheet. Top each cookie with half of a cherry (like a thumbprint).  Bake at 375F for 10-12 minutes or until set up. They won't brown much on top, but you'll see the coconut around the edges getting brown.  (Makes about 2 dozen.)

Today, I'm linking up with Edie for an Online Christmas Cookie Exchange.  I hope you'll stop by and check out the submissions.  Who knows?  You might find a new favorite!  Click on the photo below to join the party , or just to stop by and discover new cookie recipes.

p.s. thank goodness i got these cookies baked for you on saturday, as sunday afternoon, my oven decided to clean itself in the middle of a baking cycle, burning a batch of cookies my daughter was baking.  oy.  never a dull moment around here, that's for sure!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also linking up at The Everyday Home for a Christmas Cookie Exchange Link Party.

Recipe: Molasses Sugar Cookies

Tuesday was "Connections Day" for freshman -- my daughter's first day of school.  Yesterday was my son's first day.  I've been thinking of them like crazy during the day.

A dear friend just took her son to college over the weekend.  So, we know a little of one another's... ?angst?  Truth be told, I only have an inkling of what she must be feeling, but nevertheless, we have adopted the same mantra for this school year:  "God is good, and loves my kids even more than I do!"  What a comfort it is to rest in that.

So, while I was resting (and picking up clothes, and making my bed, and doing laundry, and folding towels, and running errands.... HA!  What, you thought I'd be eating bonbons?), I thought I would whip up some Molasses Sugar Cookies (read: BAKE some bonbons) for my kids' after-school snack.

Hey, you didn't think after-school snacks were just for little kids, did you?  Big kids come home with a big hunger.  (Television commercials don't lie about that, at least.)

This recipe is an old family favorite, and super easy!

As I baked these cookies, I realized that while my kids were at home being homeschooled, we did a lot of little special things that we no longer get to do together.  So, it makes me happy to be able to do a little something to show them that I'm still thinking about them during the day.

Molasses Sugar Cookies

3/4 c. margarine

1 c. sugar

1/4 c. molasses

1 egg

2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

Melt margarine & cool a little.  Add sugar, molasses, and egg.  Beat well.  

Add dry ingredients, and mix until incorporated completely.

Chill.

Form into 1" balls and roll in granulated sugar.

Place on cookie sheet about 2" apart.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Do not overbake.

ENJOY!

Project Pinterest: Devil's Food Cookies

So, the other day, my son had a friend over in the afternoon.  Since they are boys, and I know they are always hungry, I thought I'd make them a snack.  Trying to think of something easy that I could whip up, I remembered that I had a Devil's Food cake mix on my pantry shelf.  I went to Pinterest and did a search for "Devil's Food Cookies."

I'm pretty sure that I've seen this recipe on a cake box before, but it wasn't on the box that was sitting on my shelf, so...

Here's my PIN,

and here's the original source: Two Under the Son.

You can visit Two Under the Son for the complete recipe.

I did TWO things differently.

1.  I substituted applesauce for half of the oil.  I use applesauce in place of oil in many baking recipes, but was hesitant to do a full substitution my first time baking these.  The cookies turned out great, though, so I think next time I would use only applesauce.

2.  I used mint chocolate chips rather than M&M's.

I served them to the boys, and it was vewy, vewy quiet.  (It's possible they were "hunting wabbits.")  

But seriously.  Quiet.  That's a good thing!

Another Pinterest success.

Chocolate Chip-Pumpkin Buttons

For one of my bridal showers (nineteen years ago), I received a Betty Crocker cookbook. This "new and revised edition" was printed in 1980.  That was NOT the year I got married. Apparently a dear soul at church had saved it in her "potential gift stash" (I believe she was famous for this), and I was the lucky recipient.  Now, lest you think I jest about being the "lucky" one, let me tell you - I DO use this cookbook.  I have sticky notes sticking out of the top of it indicating the most-used recipes.

They include:

• pizza
• hard-boiled eggs
• creamy scalloped potatoes
• cake doughnuts
• apple pie

Today, I went searching for a pumpkin cookie recipe that I had made several years ago with semi-sweet chocolate chips.  After checking my recipe box without success, I finally pulled the Betty Crocker cookbook out -- and there it was (unmarked - go figure).

I just finished making the cookies, and my daughter just tried them.  She was skipping around the kitchen saying that we need to call them Chocolate Chip-Pumpkin buttons, since they don't spread -- and end up just the size of my Pampered Chef scoop.  I think I'll make that notation in the margin of my cookbook.  I like to take notes there so I remember successes and failures, or things I did differently.

Here is our version of Betty's cookies:

Chocolate Chip-Pumpkin Buttons

{soft cake-like cookies}

1 c. sugar

1 c. canned pumpkin

1/2 c. margarine

1 T. grated orange peel

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

  *1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

(or maybe a shake or two more...)

Heat oven to 375F.  Mix sugar, pumpkin, margarine, and orange peel (I used dried peel because that's what I had on hand).  Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by tablespoonfuls** onto ungreased stone.  Bake until light brown, about 10 minutes. I let cool on stones for 5 minutes, and then move to cooling racks.

* Betty recommends a chip-free version with 1/2 c. raisins and 1/2 c. chopped nuts, but that's not how we roll.  She also recommends the addition of a "Light Brown Glaze," but the chocolate chips add just enough gooey sweetness for us.

** THIS is the scoop that I use = one level Tablespoon measure.