Recipe: Yuletide Linzer Bars

This was the third and last cookie I made for the holidays. I didn't go too overboard since my mom was making some as well.

I liked these. They were a favorite amongst the family as well. They are good with a hot cup of coffee or tea. The crust is like a crumble, with a light cinnamon flavor and ground almonds. The raspberry preserves in the middle at a delicious tartness to it that allows the cookie bar to not be too overbearingly sweet. I thought the raspberry was a great touch (as opposed to cherry or any other flavor).

Taste grade: A

Baking these were quite fun, in my opinion. The hardest part was crushing the almonds and putting the dough on top of the preserves. I noticed that there is just enough dough to make the bars. No waste, which we all know I love. In fact, the top will have holes in it and won't quite cover the preserves in parts, which is perfectly fine. After they come out of the oven, they are easy- one and done. Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top and your finished! Over all, I think this was the most put together and best recipe out of the three that I did.

Cook grade: A+

Here is the recipe:

Yuletide Linzer Bars (from Santa's Favorite Cookies: Sweet Treats for the Christmas Season, 1999)

1 1/3 cups butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole almonds, ground
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raspberry preserves
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer until creamy. Beat in egg and lemon peel until blended. Mix in flour, almonds, and cinnamon until well blended.

Press 2 cups dough into bottom of prepared pan. Spread preserves over crust. Press remaining dough, a small amount at a time, evenly over preserves.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar; cut into bars.

Recipe: Mocha Crinkles

Another one of my Christmas cookies was called "Mocha Crinkles". I picked this one because a) I like mocha and b) I thought the picture in the recipe book looked cool. Let's be honest- that's the reason why most of us pick a recipe.

These particular cookies are very cake-y when you taste them. They are PACKED with a big chocolate flavor. You get a very slight coffee after taste. I thought they tasted pretty good, but like I said, because it has a rich chocolate flavor, make sure you have milk nearby. Over all, I thought they were better than what I had thought they were going to turn out to be.

Taste grade: A-

As far as making them, they were pretty simple to make. In fact, I think I liked making them better than eating them. When you make them, though, I have to warn you that they have a strong coffee scent. Don't worry! It's not that strong in flavor once they are made (as I said above). It was really neat seeing them "crinkle" in the oven. The only thing about them is that you have to let them set in the refrigerator for a few hours before you make them.

Bake grade: A

I think these would be a nice addition to any sort of cookie gift basket. I do have to say that they crumble easily, though.

Ok, so here's the recipe:

Mocha Crinkles (from Santa's Favorite Cookies: Sweet Treats for the Christmas Season)

1 1/3 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso or coffee granules
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Beat brown sugar and oil in medium bowl with electric mixer. Mix in sour cream, egg, and vanilla, set aside.

Mix flour, cocoa, espresso, baking soda, salt and pepper in another medium bowl.

Add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture; mix well. Refrigerate dough until firm, 3 to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350. Pour powdered sugar into shallow bowl. Set aside. Cut dough into 1 inch pieces; roll into balls. Roll balls in powdered sugar.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheets 10 to 12 minutes or until tops of cookies are firm to touch. Do not overbake. Cool on wire racks.


Over all grade: A-

Recipe: Almond Milk Chocolate Chippers

These turned out amazing. They weren't too "almond-y", and they had just the right amount of chocolate. They are just like regular chocolate chip cookies except instead of vanilla extract, you use almond (or almond-flavored liqueur), and you put in almonds. I thought they were a great cookie for the holidays, or any time of the year really. They would be great to serve for a party or for kids, and of course, I'm sure Santa wouldn't be able to help himself either.

Taste grade: A+

Baking them was really easy too. Like I said, they were just like chocolate chip cookies, but with minor alterations. Little clean-up and easy to make.

Bake grade: A+

Over all, I highly recommend these cookies. Here is the recipe:

Almond Milk Chocolate Chippers (from Santa's Favorite Cookies: Sweet Treats for the Christmas Season, 1999)

1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons almond-flavored liqueur*
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. To toast almonds, spread on baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Remove almonds from pan and cool; set aside.

Increase oven temperature to 375.

Place flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl; stir to combine.

Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until well blended. Beat in liqueur. Gradually add flour mixture. Beat at low speed until well blended. Stir in chips and almonds with mixing spoon.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Let cookies stand on cookie sheets 2 minutes. Remove cookies with spatula to wire racks; cool completely.

Store tightly covered at room temperature or freeze up to 3 months.


*If you don't want to use the liqueur, use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract for 2 tablespoons of liqueur. I used 1/4 of a teaspoon for a very light taste of almond extract.