The Home Cook: Lemon Spritz Cookies & Peanut Butter Sweeties

Christmas is just about here. It's standing so close I can almost feel it breathing in my ear, whispering things like...must make pie...must make cheesecake...eat lots of sugar. Christmas is getting down right pushy.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that Tim had to work and I was going to be making Christmas goodies. And make I did, Paula Dean and her butter-lovin' self would have been proud...I used 4 boxes of butter and one bag of sugar. Yes, kind readers...one WHOLE BAG of sugar. That's a lot of sweet stuff. The final count ended reading something like a candy-makers catalog. In the end there was:

- Caramel Corn
- Oyster Cracker Snacks
- Pumpkin Bread (9 mini-loaves)
- Butter Crunch Toffee (Something New - Eh, Will Try a Different Recipe)
- Chocolate Chip Mint Cookies (Something New - Has Potential)
- Ice Box Cookies
- Almond Bark Pretzels
- Lemon Spritz Cookies
- Peanut Butter Sweeties

This just leaves the last two baking projects of the year, the desserts for Christmas Day.

The sweet-salty perfection of pretzels and almond bark.

I think we've all had them, those little wreath cookies. The ones that are made from a cookie press, come in assorted pinks or green, a little dry, a little chewy and have zero flavor? When I first got my cookies press I made those edible wastes of space and time, but then inspiration struck in the form of a Google search and never again have I inflicted that horrid blend of flour, sugar and glue on another human being. These days I have a trick up my sleeve and an ace in the hole, these spritz cookies have class and, of all things, flavor! Small airy bites of crisp lemony goodness, one batch of these goes fast.

Lemon Spritz Cookies

1 cup Butter, softened
1 (3 oz.) package Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Sugar
1 Egg Yolk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3/4 teaspoon Lemon Flavoring
1 1/4 teaspoons grated Lemon Peel
2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Preheat oven 350°F. Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add sugar and mix well until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk, vanilla, lemon flavoring and lemon peel. Mix well. Gradually add flour and salt to creamed mixture. Shape dough in small logs and place in Wilton Cookie Press. Press cookies onto cool ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 4 dozen cookies

When it comes to all time favorites nothing beats the Peanut Butter Sweetie. It's a perfect blend of sweet, salty, crisp, melty, chocolate and peanut butter deliciousness.

Hello new Macro-Lens.

Peanut Butter Sweeties

1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Butter, softened
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3 cups Powdered Sugar
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (small size)
1/2 cup Milk Chocolate Chips
1 Tablespoon Shortening
approximately 3 cups mini-pretzels

Blend together peanut butter, butter and shortening until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar until combined. Shape mixture into 1" balls; press on to pretzel.* Place on waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate until peanut butter is firm, about one hour. Melt chocolate chips and shortening on stove over low heat or in microwave. Dip PB balls into chocolate, returning to baking sheet pretzel side down. Allow to sit until chocolate has set; storing in an air tight container in refrigerator.

*Some years I can't find the mini-pretzels that this recipe calls for, if that happens I crush the pretzels and roll the chocolate dipped peanut butter ball in them...like a poky truffle.