Holiday Gifts Baked with Love

Peppermint Mocha Chip Cookies

(Family Features) Nothing says “love” like fresh baked cookies and treats. This holiday season, give the gift of homemade goodness…and enjoy the time you save on shopping by spending it with your loved ones.

Make it a Family “Bake”tivity

Get the whole family together and create a makeshift Santa’s Workshop. Have one person measure all of the ingredients, another can mix everything together, and everyone can have fun decorating to favorite holiday tunes.

Create a Gift that Keeps Giving

Layer the dry ingredients of your favorite cookie recipe in glass jars. Attach copies of the recipe to the jars with bright ribbon bows and voila, you’ve created thoughtful gifts and cheery holiday kitchen décor.

Refresh Holiday Favorites

Chocolate chip and gingerbread cookies are classics, but these Peppermint Mocha Chip Cookies might become a fast new favorite. Notes of crisp peppermint perfectly complement the flavors of coffee and semi-sweet chocolate morsels. Add a crushed peppermint to each cookie to create a beautiful and seasonal presentation.

For more holiday recipe ideas, visit www.meals.com.

Peppermint Mocha Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cups Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, divided
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 teaspoons Nescafé Taster’s Choice House Blend 100% Pure Instant Coffee Granules
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 3 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 12 soft peppermint candies, crushed

Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Grease or line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. MELT butter and 1 cup chocolate morsels in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth.
3. TRANSFER chocolate mixture into a large mixer bowl; add sugar and beat until combined. Add coffee granules, vanilla extract and peppermint extract; beat just until combined. Beat in eggs. Add flour and baking powder, mixing until all is incorporated. Fold in remaining 2 cups chocolate morsels.
4. SCOOP dough onto prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart, using a medium size cookie scoop. Sprinkle each cookie with a little of the crushed peppermint candies.
5. BAKE for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are set. Allow to cool for about 2 minutes on baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Serves
Makes 36 cookies

SOURCE:
Nestlé

Sugar Cookies

(Family Features) From sugar plums to sugar cookies, the holidays may well be the sweetest season of all. But when all of that celebratory goodness comes with extra calories, the most wonderful time of the year suddenly becomes less sweet.

Fortunately, there are ways to trim calories in your favorite recipes this holiday season without sacrificing flavor. Simple substitutions for higher-calorie, higher-fat ingredients can help make a big impact.

Follow these easy tips to convert original recipes-like Grandma’s famous apple crisp, sweet potato casserole or cut-out sugar cookies-into great-tasting, reduced-calorie treats:

1. Substitute the Sugar: Sugar adds sweetness, structure and moistness to baked goods, but the calories add up at 760 calories per cup. Try a natural sugar substitute specially formulated for baking, such as Truvia Baking Blend. Truvia Baking Blend is a mix of sugar and zero-calorie Truvia sweetener, which is made with the best tasting part of the stevia leaf. Use half as much Truvia Baking Blend as you would sugar to cut up to 75 percent of the calories per serving from sugar.
2. Cut the Fat: Use canola oil to replace all or a portion of shortening and butter in the recipe, in order to reduce saturated fat in cakes, cupcakes, cookies and muffins. To cut total fat, use applesauce or nonfat Greek style yogurt for a portion of the oil in a recipe. Limit fat reduction to no more than 50 percent to help keep the recipe texture close to that of the original.
3. Resize the Serving: Reduced-calorie, reduced fat substitutions can make a recipe lose some bulk, meaning the recipe may not rise and expand as well when baking. To reduce this effect, use a smaller pan like an 8-inch pan in place of one that measures 9 inches. Or try baking individual cakes, crisps, cobblers and brûlées in ramekins or small oven-safe dishes, which can also help control portion size.

Get started on your figure-friendly holiday baking with this recipe for Sugar Cookies. A serving of 2 cookies delivers 120 calories and 3 grams of sugar per serving compared to 150 calories and 11 grams of sugar per serving in the full sugar version.

For this and other reduced-sugar, reduced-calorie seasonal recipes, visit www.truvia.com/baking.

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup Truvia Baking Blend
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon skim milk
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. In large bowl, cream together butter and baking blend until smooth. Beat in eggs, vanilla and milk.
2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add flour to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.
3. Place dough on lightly floured work surface. Divide dough in half; pat each into a circle and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill dough for 30 minutes or until slightly firm.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll chilled dough to 1/4- to 1/8-inch thickness on lightly floured surface.
5. Cut with cookie cutter and place cookies 1 inch apart on lightly greased cookie sheets.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned.
7. Allow to cool 5 minutes on pan, and then place cookies on wire rack to cool completely.

Notes, Tips & Suggestions
Use themed cookie cutters to make festive shapes, then add frosting and decorations. (Note: This will change the nutrition information listed above.)

SOURCE:
Truvia

Peppermint Bars

(Family Features) Baking is among the most fun, flavorful holiday traditions – and one that brings family and friends together in the kitchen. In fact, nearly 60 percent of home cooks are expected to bake holiday cookies this year.¹

Whether you’re baking gifts for teachers, sweets for a cookie share, or a nibble to enjoy after wrapping gifts, surprise and delight friends and family by taking seasonal favorites and infusing new twists.

“The holidays are marked by cherished baking traditions and enjoying the season’s most-loved flavors and treats, like gingerbread men, sugar cookies, peppermint candies and eggnog,” says Mary Beth Harrington of the McCormick Kitchens. “This season, we’ve taken a favorite recipe, Peppermint Bark, and added a fun, new take to create holiday-inspired cookie bars. Layer fudgy brownies with smooth peppermint crème, chocolate glaze and candy cane toppings for these delicious Peppermint Bars.”

For more holiday baking recipes like Spiced Holiday Sugar Cookies, and White Chocolate Kissed Gingerbread Cookies, visit www.McCormick.com.

¹Allrecipes.com Measuring Cup, 2011 Holiday Survey Trends

Peppermint Bars

Ingredients

• 1 package (21 ounces) fudge brownie mix
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 15 tablespoons butter, softened, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon McCormick Pure Peppermint Extract
• 12 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
• Crushed peppermint candies or candy canes (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare brownie mix as directed on package. Spread in greased foil-lined 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan.
2. Bake 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.
3. Meanwhile, beat confectioners’ sugar, 7 tablespoons butter, cream and peppermint extract in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended and smooth. Spread evenly over cooled brownie. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
4. Microwave chocolate and remaining 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter in large microwave bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Spread over top of chilled brownie. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies, if desired. Cut into bars.

Serves
Makes 36 servings

Preparation Time:
15 minutes

Cook Time:
15 minutes

Refrigeration Time:
30 minutes

SOURCE:
McCormick