By Kyle Kennedy, Staff Reporter
Cookies are the quintessential holiday dessert.  Simple to make, easy to customize, they represent an infinite number of ways to please your taste buds.  Here are five cookie recipes to try this holiday season.
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Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup (two sticks) butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup light molasses
1 egg
3½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cloves
Frosting
Instructions:

1. In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat butter, brown sugar and molasses until light and fluffy.
2. Add egg and remaining ingredients (except frosting); beat at low speed until well mixed, constantly scraping bowl with rubber spatula.
3. Shape dough into a ball; wrap dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours until firm.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 2 large cookie sheets.
5. On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll one-half of dough ¼ inch thick, keeping remaining dough refrigerated.
6. With 8-inch long gingerbread cookie cutter, cut as many cookies as possible; reserve trimmings. With a spatula, carefully place cookies on cookie sheets.
7. Bake cookies 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool. Repeat with remaining dough and trimmings.
8. Decorate cookies as desired with frosting.

Source: The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook, First Edition (New York 1986)
 

Grandma’s Cut-Out Cookies

Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
4 teaspoons milk
2 cups flour
1½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions:

1. Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt).
2. In a separate bowl, cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Add egg and beat until fluffy. Stir in milk.
3. Add dry ingredients mixture. Divide dough and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for one hour.
4. On a floured surface and using a floured rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
5. Place cut dough on ungreased cookie sheet and decorate with sprinkles.
6. Cook in preheated oven at 375°F for six to eight minutes. Move to higher rack in oven if bottoms start to brown.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Ingredients:
1¾ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 egg
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Mix flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together the remaining ingredients. Gradually mix dry ingredients into creamed ingredients.
3. Shape into small balls (about a teaspoonful) and roll in granulated sugar.Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes.
4. Press a Hershey’s Kiss into the center of each cookie and then bake another two to five minutes.

 
Pecan Crescent Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter
5 Tablespoon Sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon Water
2 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups ground pecans
Instructions:

1. Cream first four ingredients.
2. Mix flour and salt together and then add to creamed ingredients. Add ground pecans and mix.
3. Form dough into 2-inch crescent shapes and place onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325°F for 10 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and roll in powdered sugar.

 
Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients:
½ pound (2 sticks) butter
32 ounces chunky peanut butter
2 pounds powdered sugar
7 cups Rice Krispies
1 pound milk chocolate dipping candy
Instructions:

1. Soften butter. Add all of the above except chocolate.
2. Moisten hands in water. Roll into 1½-inch balls.
3. In a double broiler, melt 1 pound of chocolate.
4. Dip balls into chocolate one by one and then place them on wax paper while the chocolate hardens.

 
Kyle Kennedy can be reached at [email protected].