More Sweets

I ran across a few more recipes for holiday cookies that I wanted to try.

Cherry Tassies

1 1/4 cups butter, softened
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup finely crushed candy canes or starlight candy mints
48 maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350 Beat butter on medium to high for 30 seconds. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups powd sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat in peppermint ext, vanilla, and egg. Finally, beat in the flour and candies.

Place remaining 3/4 cup powd sugar in shallow dish. Shape dough in 1 inch balls, roll in powd sugar . Press each ball into bottom of mini muffin cup. BE SURE TO GREASE CUPS!!! Bakers Joy worked much better than Pam.

Place cherry stem side up in each cup and bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until pastry is browned. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Cool for 5 minutes in pan before transferring to cooling rack.


I think these taste a lot like spritzer cookies. It's not "cakey" at all, but more like a muffin shaped cookie. They look really cute and have a different taste than typical cookies/muffins.


Now, this next recipe, I won't make again...most likely.

Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp red food coloring paste

Beat butter at medium speed until creamy; gradually add sugar until light and fluffy. (mine was never fluffy) Add egg and vanilla until blended. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture on low until blended.

Divide dough into 2 equal portions ( mine didn't look like bread dough, it was more cookie dough-like) Roll 1 portion of dough until 12 x 8 inch rectangle on a piece of lightly floured plastic wrap.

Knead food coloring into remaining portion of dough. Roll into 12 x 8 rectangle as well. Place rectangles on top of each other. Cut in half lengthwise. Roll up each rectangle, jelly roll style. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.

Preheat oven to 350. Cut ends off each dough log and slice remaining dough into 1/4 in thick pieces. Bake on parchment paper for 7 minutes or until puffed and set. Cool cookies on sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Frost 1/2 of cookies and top with another cookie to make a sandwich.

Peppermint Frosting

1/4 cup butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
1/8 tsp peppermint extract


I wasn't too happy with this recipe. Cookie dough is impossible to "roll out" I was expecting it to be more like bread dough...not so much! On top of that, it's hard to get RED cookies...mine usually look pink. I picked the best 2 cookies to take a picture of, but don't let them fool you. Most of them look like the steak shaped doggie treats! I was thinking that to myself, and then Eric said that exact thing. Great minds think alike. I'm going to wrap them like mints once they are set, and maybe they'll look better. It's all about presentation!