Christmas-Mega-Post

Honey Cheesecake w/ Blueberry Sauce

Rocky Road Fudge

Brown Sugar Shortbread Stars + Hazelnut Macaroons

Lemon Shortbread Stars

This is the third time I've made shortbread this December. This mixture was not as crumbly as usual is because I decreased the amount of flour I usually use. This is excellent if you want to make shapes. Plus I took pictures as I went. It's like a whole how-to guide!

Lemon Shortbread Stars
-1 c. unbleached flour
-1/2 c. butter
-1/4 c. sugar
-1 tsp. vanilla
-zest of one lemon
-sprinkles (not optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Cream together butter and sugar. Slowly add in the flour. Then add the vanilla and lemon. On a floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, flatten out mixture to 1/4 inch. Press out stars using a lightly floured cookie cutter.

When you press out shapes, you're going to have leftovers, because that dough in between the stars isn't going anywhere. Simply gather the leftovers up and again roll the dough out until it's 1/4 inch thick. Keep doing this until you can't make anymore stars. Place the dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure the stars are at least 1/2 an inch apart because they will spread out slightly when cooked.

Put a pinch of sprinkles on top of every cookie. Bake cookies for 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool completely before moving. Once cooled, transfer cookies to tin. Enjoy!

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

Another baked good I'm mailing to my Grandpa are these macaroons. I used this recipe and it's completely foolproof. So, use it.

Lemon Shortbread

I'm here with another baked good, lemon shortbread. My family and many of my friends will never be able to go back to regular shortbread after this.

Lemon Shortbread Stars
-1 1/4 c. unbleached flour
-1/2 c. butter
-1/4 c. sugar
-1 tsp. vanilla
-zest of one lemon

Preheat oven to 350. Cream together butter and sugar. Nextly, add the vanilla and lemon and then slowly add in the flour. Work the mixture together using your hands. Once homogeneous, transfer the mixture to a 9x9 square pan. Cook until slightly golden at the edges (about 15-20 minutes). Cut into squares straight out of the oven then allow to cool.

Gingersnaps

This is an amalgamation of several recipes I've found, combined in such a way that 1)it will fail less b)all the ingredients will be in my house.

Gingersnap!
makes 24 cookies

Preheat oven to 350.
Whisk together:
-1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
-1 1/2 tbsp. grated ginger
-1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
-1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
-1/2 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 tsp. salt

In a separate bowl, cream together:
-1/2 c. butter
-1/2 c. brown sugar
-1/2 c. molasses

Add in dry mixture until just combined.

Have a bowl with:
-1/4 c. brown sugar, for rolling

Make each cookie using a heaping tablespoon of batter. Roll it into a ball and then coat the ball by rolling it in the brown sugar. Place on a cookie tray lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 14 minutes.