Orange Cranberry Butter Cookies

These are the most delicious and easy to make cookies, I have ever made.  This recipe first appeared int the "Southern Living" magazine. The original recipe called for 1.5 cups of butter. But I used only 1 cup better and the cookies were awesome.

Orange Cranberry Butter Cookies

Orange Cranberry Butter cookies

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup butter softened
2. 1.5 cup cups powdered sugar
3. 1 cup dried cranberries chopped
4. Zest from 2 oranges
5. 3 cups all purpose flour
6. sprinkling sugar of your choice color...I choose golden
7. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
8. 1/2 teaspoon salt
9. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat the butter for 2 minutes and add the powdered sugar and mix well. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder and add it into the butter and mix well. Add the cranberries and orange zest and stir to combine. Divide the dough into 2 parts and roll into 2 square logs and wrap in plastic and refridgerate for 2 hrs.

Roll the logs in sprinkling sugar and cut them into 1/4 inch pieces. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Set the cookies on a parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes until the edges turn slightly brown.

Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy

Sugar cookies

I can cook but baking cookies is my nemesis...I have tried and tried again. Either they turn to be very crunchy...which I do not like, or turn to be cake like. I want a chewy cookie not a cake EEEKKK!!!

But today I hit the jackpot. Finally found the recipe which makes the delicious chewy cookies I love love love.

So...I must tell you, I have never baked a sugar cookie. So I missed one BIG detail about baking it. I should have left them like a ball and with enough space between each of them. So :(  they spread out and touched each other...so no round nice looking cookies. But for the first time baker, the taste is fantastic. Anyone trying to bake a cookie for the first time should start with this recipe.

This recipe makes about 30-32 cookies.

Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies

Ingredients:

1. 2-3/4 cup all purpose flour
2. 1 teaspoon baking soda
3. 1/2 teaspoon salt
4. 1 cup (8oz) butter melted
5. 2 cups sugar divided into 1-3/4 cup and 1/4 cup
6. 2 teaspoons vanilla
7. 2 eggs

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until  fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until just blended. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in remaining 1/4 cup of sugar ( I used the different colored sugars I had) . Place cookies 2 inches apart onto a cookie sheets and flatten slightly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned at the edges. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve with coffee or as is :)

How to freeze sugar cookie dough

 Place the cookie dough after rolling them in the sugar on to a cookie sheet and freeze them. So once you need some sugar fix, thaw as many as you want and bake and enjoy 

Flying Lemon Hearts Cookies

I love Shortbread cookies. These are so great and so easy and super fast to make. I made a different flavor of these cookies and since my kids were at home I made them my Sous Chefs. Needless to say these lemon flavored shortbread cookies I made just flew off the cookie sheet and I had no chance to even put it into a plate or a storage container

Lemon Shortbread Cookies (Lemon Flavored Eggless cookies)

lemon shortbread cookies

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups all purpose flour
2. 3/4 cup each of white sugar, butter
3. 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
4. 1 heaped teaspoon orange Tang (Optional)
5. A pinch of salt

Cream the butter and sugar . Add the other ingredients and mix well into a dough. Roll the dough on a floured surface into about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick sheet. Cut it into your favorite cookie shape.

Pre heat oven to 325 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes on the middle rack. Let cool a little bit and enjoy

Eggless shortbread cookies

Back in the good 'ol days when I was a kid, there used to be one store which was close to my house and me and my brother used to go there an buy candies and cookies and there were my favourite cookies. But these were also the expensive cookies. When others used to be for 5 Paisa (and an Indian rupee is divided into 100 paise) and 1 rupee= 0.02 dollars , this particular cookie used to be 10 paisa. Double of other cookies.
                   Now I know why it was a very popular cookie in India. Mainly because it was eggless and India being one of the biggest vegetarian nations (Meaning...having the highest population who are vegetarians...atleast in those days)

Shortbread cookies

Shortbread cookies

Ingredients:

1. 1/3 cup butter, softened
2. 1/4 cup sugar
3. 1 cups all purpose flour
4. 1/3 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter, salt and sugar in large bowl.  Stir in flour.  If dough is crumbly, mix in an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons of softened butter. (I used water)
       Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness and cut dough with cookie cutters into desired shapes.  
Bake about 20 minutes, Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy with tea or as is