Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies
I was trying to picture a festive cookie plate to take to the cookie exchange. For awhile, I was waffling between White Chocolate Craisin Cookies and these. I ended up with these. I kinda got hung up on the white chocolate in the others, wondering if I wanted to ‘waste’ a couple batches of cookies on white chocolate… Shannon, maybe you should try them. 
(Side note: This might be confusing to some of you because I have 2 Shannons in my life (my husband and one of my friends), both of which I refer to on here hit n miss, but if you know there are 2, you can usually tell which one I mean by the context. ;)) Back to these craisin cookies, I am planning to make a batch, and add the chocolate last, dividing the dough in half and adding white to one half and milk choc to the other.
Wow, I just spent a whole paragraph writing about something that has nothing to do with what this post is about. Good grief.
First, before the recipes, I’ll give amounts: I used 5 cake mixes, which made 9 1/2 dozen filled cookies, so I actually baked 19 dozen individual cookies. Me and baking 19 dozen cookies goes great together, I loved it… if it wouldn’t make me gain 100 pounds, I’d bake every day. On the other hand, Megan (my 6-month old) and baking 19 dozen cookies does NOT go great together. Let’s just say her naptime was blissful. Although, she thought it was bliss sitting back in a corner up on the counter playing with everything within reach (except toys). It’s amazing how far a 6-month-old can reach, I found out! Anyway, I made the frosting recipe 3 times and had about 1 cup left over. So, I’ll break this down for you to save you having to get out the calculator… 2 cake mixes would make approx 46 finished cookies (mine were anywhere from 2″ - 2 1/2″ across) and one batch of frosting would do approx 38 cookies… could become one of those deals where you make more frosting to use up the rest of the cookies, then you have too much, so you make more cookies to use up the rest of the frosting, then you have cookies left, so you make more frosting…… and so on.
Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies
1 red velvet cake mix
2/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
Mix. Shape into balls.
Bake at 375 for 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, this was going on…
Marshmallow Creme Filling
2 sticks (1 cup) butter
1 7oz. jar marshmallow creme
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat til creamy. Spread it on however you want, but I put it in a bag and piped it on. Easy and less mess!
Put another cookie on top and you’ve got yourself a yummy little red velvet sandwich cookie!
You know, I was just thinking, we could do all sorts of stuff with this because there are all sorts of cake mixes out there… use a white cake mix and put in green food coloring and have green sandwich cookies, make any kind of cake mix cookies and tint the frosting red or green, roll the assembled cookie in crushed red & white candy canes so it sticks to the frosting, dip half of a red velvet sandwich cookie in chocolate, mix up a white cake mix and a red velvet one and then fold them together til it’s red & white swirled… any other ideas?
Christmas Cookie Exchange 2010
It’s that time of year when I need to unlock my extra reservoir of willpower. Here is what’s sitting on my table RIGHT NOW…
Seriously, the table these are on is 5′ away. I could stand up, take 3 steps, reach out and grab a handful. Or 2 handfuls (I have 2 hands). They are even all still uncovered from taking the picture. Thing is, I’m not even tempted. Nope. Huh-uh. Not me. Not at all. 
I’m not even sure what they’re all called, so I’ll just make up a name for them if I don’t know. Oh, and hey, I’m really curious. What’s your favorite of all those cookies? If they were, say, sitting on a table 5′ away from you and you could only pick one, which one would you pick?
First, we have Monster Cookies made by Carla. Monster cookies are my all-time favorite… I’d better hide them, the others would never know.
Next is Thumbprint Jam Cookies made by Julie. So pretty.
Here are Christmas Cutouts and Candy Cane Cookies made by Janae. Way too cute.
Then, we have Peanut Butter Cookies Dipped in Chocolate made by Linda. These call to me almost as loud as the monster cookies.
Next is Snickerdoodles made by Deb. Shannon will claim this plate.
Here are Cream Wafers made by Renita. So beautifully Christmas-y.
Next is Chocolate Crinkles made by Mary. Ohhhhh, yum!
There are 2 plates left, one cookies and one candy. I made those. Here are Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies.
And this plate is Chocolate-covered Tree-shaped Pretzels, Chocolate-covered Ritz crackers filled with Peanut Butter, and O’Henry bars. The O’Henry bars recipe came from Lisa @ The Cutting Edge of Ordinary. Thanks, Lisa! They are awesome!!!
Oh, and I need to point out my candle and snowflake holder… don’t you just love it? Julie (the one up there who made the jam cookies) gave it to me for my birthday this year. I LOVE it!
Ok, now I know I haven’t been posting on here very much and I don’t want anybody to faint, but I have some recipes to get in before Christmas, so I’m going to post one about every day for awhile. *thud* You fainted, didn’t you?! Here are the planned upcoming posts, not necessarily in this order:
– Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies
– O’Henry bars (I know, you can get the recipe on Lisa’s site, but I want it on mine, too )
– Teacup Chocolates (excited about this one, this one happened only in my head so far, so hopefully they’ll turn out!… I’m making them Thurs for another cookie/candy exchange on Friday)
– Chocolate-covered Ritz Filled with Peanut Butter (I know, you know how to do that already, just by the title, but I want to show you a trick that made the process faster and funner… more fun, whatever)
– Lexi’s 8th birthday cake (it was a snicker bar with a fondant wrapper)
Don’t forget to humor me with what kind of cookie up there you’d like best!
Peanut Butter Fudge
Fudge. Yum. It’s one of my areas of weakness.
Louise, one of my message board buddies, posted this recipe. I made it before Christmas, so it is LONG gone, but you should have the recipe anyway. I do still prefer the melted chocolate chips, butter, peanut butter, and marshmallow combo, but will definitely keep this recipe on hand for when I need a fudge fix and am out of chocolate chips and marshmallows… two things that I don’t always keep on hand.
Peanut Butter Fudge
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
Mix all ingredients together, and blend until smooth. Press into a 8 or 9 inch square pan, and chill. Louise says, “I like to line my pan with waxed paper so I can easily flip the hardened square out to cut later on. This stuff tastes sinfully delicious, and melts in your mouth!” She is so right on that last sentence!
This was Christmas, remember? Where the fudge went was on a plate to take to the 1st & 2nd grade room for after the Christmas program… rice crispy bars cut into Christmas-y shapes, fudge, and Resees cups.
Side note: The picture doesn’t show the shapes too good, but rice crispy bars can be made to fit about any occasion… just make them a bit thinner than usual and sprinkle them with colors and cut them in shapes to fit the ocassion. Kinda like this layered finger jello.
Cranberry Relish or Salad
This is a cranberry relish recipe that Mom added some variation to. It is SO good!!!! You don’t even have to be crazy about cranberries to like it. Mom gave me this recipe along with the ingredients. There are several different ways to make it and on the recipe she wrote: “It might not always taste exactly the same, but always leaves that crisp flavor in your mouth!”
Cranberry Relish
Printable recipe coming soon.
2 cups washed, raw cranberries
2 cored apples
1 large peeled orange, or put in some peel if you like OR substitute the orange for crushed pineapple
1 - 2 cups sugar, to your taste
1/2 cup or more chopped walnuts or pecans
Pulse in blender or grind together berries and oranges. Do not over blend to mush. I opted for the crushed pineapple instead of the orange. I LOVE pineapple! I put in about half of a can.
Shred or chop apples. Add nuts.
Mix together and keep tasting and adding sugar till happy. I liked it with 1 cup of sugar… didn’t want to interfere too much with the tartness. Don’t miss popping a few cranberries between your teeth for a tart burst of flavor! Makes 3 cups. May be frozen.
And here’s another variation, which I love! You can also mix in some Cool Whip and cream cheese. Mmmmm! I think this addition would make it a salad instead of relish.
So there you go, this one or that one… take your pick… you can’t go wrong either way!
Christmas Cookies - Sour Cream Cutouts
Other than listening to some Christmas music, this is the first thing “Christmas-y” thing I’ve done this year… Christmas cookies. (Decorating my house will hopefully happen this week yet.) These were for a cookie exchange, so I *ahem* didn’t let my eager little helpers in on the fun because I have to say “No licking!” about 273 times in the course of the project and that just sorta wrecks the Christmas spirit. So, I got up early and made & frosted them myself.
I’m not a fan of sugar cookies, butter cookies, or any frosted cookies like that because I think they’re rather dry and messy and not very tasty. Having said that, these would be about at the top of the list of good frosted cookies that I’ve had. The only better ones I can think of were some that my friend Kim made one time. They had cream cheese in them.
Sour Cream Cutouts … recipe taken from the Christmas Cookies & Candies cookbook
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
6 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream
FROSTING:
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. milk (I added more so it would be faster/easier spreading)
Food coloring, optional
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine dry ingredients; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (dough will be sticky). Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle. (It’s not kidding about this… impatient me tried it without chilling. Bad idea. So, I chilled it for about an hour and the process went MUCH better!) On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4″ thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters dipped in flour. Place 1″ apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 8-12 minutes or until lightly browned. (I set the timer for 10 min and they were perfect.) For frosting, beat the butter, powdered sugar, and milk until smooth. Add food coloring if desired. Frost cookies. Yield: about 9 dozen.
Up next: Lexi’s 7th birthday cake. Her birthday was actually today, the party is tomorrow… 7 of her friends are coming after school.
About Me
Hi! Welcome to my kitchen! My name is Kay. I'm from central Ohio. I love cooking and baking. Especially baking. It's therapeutic for me. I'm not a professional or gourmet cook by any means. I'm a Christian homemaker who happens to take pictures of some of the food I make. I have 2 little 'helpers'... Lexi (9) and Tiffany (5), who are young cooks in training. And I should mention Megan (born in June 2010), altho' she's not in training yet. She's more in charge of inside-the-cupboards demolition when she's in the kitchen. I don't do anything on the grill... that's where my husband Shannon comes in! He grills quite a bit, especially in the summer. So, sit back and enjoy browsing thro' the recipes. If you try some of them, I'd love to hear feedback on how you liked them! If you want to contact me, my email address is kay@kitchenscrapbook.com