Merry Christmas! The basic cookie recipes here were taken from the Betty Crocker Website. The poured icings are mine. The procedures are what we did in our bakery. Hope you enjoy the cookies.
Use this recipe from the Betty Crocker site:
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/russian-tea-cakes/3af8664b-6c3e-4022-b686-cd961521e59b
I make a double batch when I make these. They go very quickly at my home- especially the pecan crunch. Here is a TIP: Take ½ or ¼ amount of the total dough. Roll it out into a log. I use a scraper from The Pampered Chef to cut out my pieces of cookie. Of course round them out for the Wedding Cookies. For the Pecan Crunch take the pieces that you cut, don’t worry about rolling them into balls, place them flat side down on your baking sheet. When they are all placed use your pointer finger and press a divot in the cookie. Bake as above and cool. Icing recipe for the chocolate drop will be at the end of these recipes.
Swedish Kisses - These are a combination of 2 cookies. The bottom is a regular sugar cookie recipe and the top is a spritz cookie recipe. I cut out round bottoms from the sugar cookie dough then I use an extruder for the spritz cookie and place it on top of the raw round sugar cookie leaving an opening in the middle. Once they are all done fill a cake decorator bag made from parchment paper or a plastic baggie with jelly. ( I like using a tart jelly so I choose to use plum) Squirt your jam into the middle section. Then Drizzle with a fork or pipe the white icing on top. (Icing recipe to follow after all the cookie recipes are delivered.)
Use the following recipes for this customized cookie
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/seasons-best-sugar-cookies/3cc6d2db-aee6-41f4-b0f1-5f0958bc75ba
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/the-ultimate-spritz/aa68df04-bd64-4f1b-8421-0df82064bca4
The Christmas Tree cookie was a variation of the following cookie using jello as a flavor enhancer. I used lime for the trees - use your imagination for others types. Spritz cookie are neat…you can manipulate them with your hand or an extruder or press. I use The Pampered Chef Cookie Press. For the Tree I used disc number 7, for the Swedish Kisses I used disc # 13, and the poinsettia could be duplicated as in the recipe with disc number 5. I don’t know if The Pampered Chef still offers their cookie press. I do love that product and I am so happy I own it every time I bake cookies. Ok now the last Betty Crocker recipe. Use the following recipe at the site below.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/raspberry-poinsettia-blossoms/e3434950-8e80-4b0c-b4cf-407bdb2d5fcb
Now, my icing recipe. This is good for Danish, cinnamon Buns, Apple turnovers, you can even use this a poured icing for petit-fores, and, well, you get the idea. When you add cocoa powder to it you make chocolate icing. The secret to this recipe is you choose the consistency. Let’s get started.
Take 1 pound of 10x Powdered Sugar. Many folks may not realize that the reason Powdered Sugar can also be called 10X and still be only powdered sugar is that this Sugar is milled 10 times and that is why is so powdery and why you can just put “10X” on your shopping list! Back to the recipe:
1# 10X Place in bowl
2 Tbspns Melted Butter add to 10x and stir or mix
1 Tspn Vanilla or almond flavor
Add milk or cream until you reach desired consistency
For Chocolate icing Use:
1# 10X
¼ to 1/3 C Cocoa Powder
2 Tbspns Melted Butter add to 10x and stir or mix
1 Tspn Vanilla or almond flavor
Now, you can use milk or cold coffee or both
