The Sweet Backstory

Bourbon balls have been part of the Mooney family Christmas Eve tradition for as long as I can remember. And, yes, that means the kids in the family get their first taste of bourbon at a very young age!

Ingredients

3 C Ground Vanilla Wafer (one box)
1 C Ground Walnut Meats
1/2 C Bourbon
3 Tbs Light Corn Syrup
1 1/2 Tbs Cocoa
1 C Confectionary Sugar (put 2-3 tbs into the batter)

Instructions

Mix ingredients together, chill for 30 minutes in refrigerator, form into balls, and then roll in confectionary sugar two times.

The Sweet Backstory

When I was about 3 or 4, my family moved to the States from England. We moved into a South Buffalo duplex with our landlords, an elderly couple, The Rosses, living below us. My parents both worked, so Mrs. Ross looked after me a lot in those early days. The Rosses were a warm and lovely couple who went out of their way to keep me entertained. Mrs. Ross was a wonderful cook and she had me help her in the kitchen (under her watchful eye) as she whipped delicious treat after treat. Apparently, this recipe was one of my favorites as Mr. Ross took to affectionately calling me “shortbread.” Their smiles and warmth went a long way to helping the States feel like home.

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or almond extract, if desired)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 325°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the softened butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes)
3. Mix in the vanilla extract until well combined.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed until the dough comes together. (Avoid overmixing.)
6. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead gently to form a smooth ball.
7. Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness.
8. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes, or shape the dough into a log, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill before slicing into rounds.
9. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.
11. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

The Sweet Backstory

My mom would make these every year, without fail. She would make enough to feed a small army…or 3 growing boys. She would eventually get into the habit of freezing more than half the batch so that we would ensure having them on Christmas morning. The alternative, and most common scenario, is that we eat them by the handful and they wouldn’t last the weekend, let alone until Christmas.

Our new tradition is my mom coming over to make these with my children, with one slight alteration. My son has a peanut allergy, so instead of peanut butter, we substitute Wow Butter (a toasted soy alternative that tastes almost identical to PB). It tends to be a bit dryer of a mixture for the filling, so we just add a touch more vegetable oil to compensate and now everyone can enjoy the wonder that is the Magic Middle!

Ingredients

Dough
1 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. Baking soda
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Packed brown sugar
1/2 Cup Butter (softened)
1/4 Cup Peanut butter
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 egg
1 tsp. Vegetable oil

Filling
3/4 Cup Peanut butter
3/4 Cup Confectioner sugar
1 tsp. Vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa, and baking soda.
3. In a large bowl beat sugar, brown sugar, butter, and 1/4 cup peanut butter until light and fluffy. Beat together egg and vanilla, then add to the sugar mixture. Gradually mix in flour mixture until well combined, set aside.
4. In a small bowl, combine filling ingredients and mix well.
5. Roll filling into 1-inch balls then shape ~1 tbsp of dough around the filling ball, covering completely. Place ~2-inches apart on a baking sheet.
6. Moisten the bottom of a glass and dip in sugar then gently press each ball to slightly flatten (do not totally squish!)
7. Bake each batch for 7 minutes, and transfer to cooling rack.

The Sweet Backstory

Every year my family would have a dedicated “Christmas cookie night” where we baked and decorated all sorts of cookies—from sugars to spritzers and more—but these little pillowy snowballs were always my favorite.

On that night, “elves” would always leave treats for us out in the snow; at the cue of some faint jingling, we would all rush outside to find mini Snickers bars and M&M-filled candy canes for everyone. As if that weren’t magical enough, later on in the evening, we would all be stopped in our tracks at the sound of a “Ho, ho, ho”, as we dashed to the windows just in time to see Santa himself walking down the end of our street. I later found out that each year that was my Grandpa, in his very own Santa suit. Now that my Grandpa has passed, my brother-in-law has helped to carry on the tradition for all of the grandchildren.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400º

2. Mix butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and salt until the dough holds together.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool slightly on a wire rack.

5. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar; cool on a wire rack. Roll in powdered sugar again.

The Sweet Backstory

An American classic! I remember helping my mom/grandma add the Hershey Kisses before baking. Sometimes I eat them in one go, or other times carefully dissect the Hershey Kiss and eat separately.

Ingredients

Yield (5 dozen cookies)
1 ¾ Cups all-purpose flour
1 Teaspoon baking soda
½ Teaspoon salt
4 Ounces (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
½ Cup smooth peanut butter (or other creamy nut butter)
½ Cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
½ Cup light brown sugar
1 Large egg
1 Tablespoon milk, half-and-half, oat milk or nut milk
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
Nonstick spray or vegetable oil for cookie sheet (optional)
5 Dozen (one 11-ounce package) Hershey’s Kisses, foil removed

Instructions

1. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, peanut butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, and light brown sugar. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat until well blended. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing thoroughly. If the dough is very soft, refrigerate for about 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray, oil or line a cookie sheet with nonstick liner and set aside. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. (For a precise number of cookies, divide the dough into 5 pieces, and shape each piece into 12 balls.)

3. Roll cookies in sugar and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake until very light brown and puffed, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and lightly press a candy kiss into center of each cookie, allowing it to crack slightly. Return to oven until light golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oven, cool completely, and store in an airtight container.

The Sweet Backstory

These aren’t visually stunning like many Christmas cookies, but it is SO hard not to eat them all up every year.

My mom and I have enjoyed making these together, and the difficulty of handling the pastry dough is well worth the flaky, delicious reward.

They’re not as sweet as other Christmas cookies in that the sour cream pastry dough has a slight touch of savory to it (similar to a pie). They’re great as a snack with your morning coffee or anytime you feel like sneaking back into the kitchen for a tasty morsel. I am basically disappointed if there’s a year where these aren’t in my cookie tin.

Ingredients

Dough
4 Cups flour
2 Cups butter
1 1/3 Cups sour cream

Filling
Raspberry Preserves
Pineapple Preserves
or favorite preserves of your choice
(Pick 2 flavors to keep things interesting!)

Instructions

1. Cut cold butter into flour (as you would pie crust dough) until it becomes ragged/crumbly

2. Add sour cream to dough mixture (may get a bit sticky, handle carefully)

3. Refrigerate dough for an hour

4. Roll the dough out onto pastry cloth to prevent sticking to surfaces

5. Using a round bowl, glass, or circular cookie cutter, cut out circles from the dough

6. Put 1/2–1 teaspoon of preserves in the center and fold in half, crimping the edges with a fork

7. Sprinkle granulated sugar on top before baking (or alternatively, once done baking, dust the pastries with powdered sugar)

8. Bake at 450 degrees for 9–10 minutes until lightly golden brown. Do not overbake, as the preserves can leak out and burn easily.

The Sweet Backstory

While this recipe has a decidedly un-festive name, they turn out like little fruitcake bites, only better–what’s more holiday than that? I loved making these with my grandma for two reasons:

1. They’re really fast and easy and one of the first things she let me “help” with, and
2. There’s enough redeeming nutritional value with the fruit, eggs, and nuts that my mom, who didn’t allow Fluff or colored marshmallow-y cereals into the house for breakfast, let my sister and I have one or two of these to start our days around Christmastime.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
2 cups citron*
2 1/2 cups flour
3 eggs
2 pounds chopped nuts**
pinch salt
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda, dissolved in a little warm water   

Ingredient notes:
* This is a 1950s recipe, but what they mean is candied citrus peel or candied fruit; sometimes sold as fruitcake mix.

** Unsalted, not peanuts. Use what you like. Good options are almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, pepitas, and macadamia.

Instructions

(Makes 6 dozen.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream butter, sugar, and eggs.
3. Add dry ingredients.
4. Fold in fruit and nuts.
5. Drop by spoonfuls onto a lightly sprayed cookie sheet.
6. Bake 10 minutes or until set and beginning to brown.

The Sweet Backstory

I come from an Italian family where recipes are approximated which can get tricky with baking. But this recipe will give you soft and fluffy sugar cookies every time!

Ingredients

Dough
5 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Tsp baking soda
3/4 Tsp salt
1 Cups sour cream
1 Cups unsalted butter, softened
2 Cups sugar
2 Eggs
1 Tsp vanilla

Frosting
3 Cups powdered sugar
3 Tbs butter, softened
1 1/2 Tsp vanilla
4-6 Tbs evaporated milk

Instructions

Makes 2 dozen

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Cream sour cream and butter, add eggs vanilla and sugar
3. Mix dry ingredients, and slowly add to wet ingredients
4. Divide dough into 2 pieces, wrap in plastic wrap, chill for 1-2h
   
   
5. Flour surface, roll to 1/4in thick, cut out shapes
6. Bake 8-10min
7. Transfer to rack immediately

The Sweet Backstory

An all time great and no one does it better than my mom, Holly! While not a holiday specific cookie, they are enjoyed best with friends and family – which is what the holidays are all about.

Ingredients

2 ¼ Cups all-purpose flour
1 Tsp. baking soda
1 Tsp. salt
1 Cup butter
¾ Cup granulated sugar
¾ Cup packed brown sugar
1 Tsp. vanilla extract I use a generous tsp measurement, almost like a “oops! I spilled” method)
2 Large eggs
2 Cups chocolate chips (or any chocolate chip substitute)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. Combine: flour, baking soda and salt
3. Gradually beat flour mixtue in
4. Beat: butter, sugars, vanilla extract in a large bowluntil creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition
5. Add in chocolate chips
6. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet
7. Bake 9 – 11 minutes

The Sweet Backstory

As a child my Mom would make at least a dozen types of Christimas Cookies. In addition to those, she would make at least 6 different kinds of biscotti for dipping in your coffee or hot chocolate. Our annual “Cookie Making Day” was considered an actual holiday in our household – filled with music, laughter, and a lot of flour! It is a tradition that I have carried on with my own family and since my children all love anything almond flavored the best I am sharing this version of our biscotti recipe.

Parchment paper is your friend!

Ingredients

1 Cup slivered almonds (toasted)
1 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 Cup butter (softened)
1 Tsp pure almond extract
1 Tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Eggs
3-1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 Tsp baking powder
1/2 Tsp baking soda
1 Cup maraschino cherries (drained, patted dry, and finely chopped)
8 ounces white chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

Makes 2 dozen.

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Cream together sugar, butter, extracts, and eggs.
3. Add flour, baking powder, and baking soda and mix well.
4. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Gently kneed 2-3 minutes until dough holds together.
5. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a rectangle about 10″ x 3″, rounding the corners, on a sheet of parchment.
6. Bake approximately 25 min or until the center of the dough is firm to the touch.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool 15-20 min.
8. Move parchment to a cutting board. Cut into 1/2″ thick slices using a sharp serrated bread knife.
9. Place slices back onto the baking sheet lined with new parchment.
10. Bake 15 min longer.

Optional
Melt white chocolate chips in a microwave in short bursts being careful not to scorch. Carefully dip one end of each biscotti.