Welcome to My Kitchen

Cookies of all types make the to-do list in most households this time of year. Many are baking to ship to family and friends or contribute to bake sales. There are many delicate cookies best eaten within a day or two of baking and others need to be made now to develop flavors before the holiday gatherings.

Pretty cutout cookies are attractive on cookie plates or decorating a tree but require longer preparation time. Molded or drop cookies take less time, but bar cookies are generally the easiest to prepare and bake and hold up best in shipping. Toll House Caramel Bars are layers of chocolate and caramel goodness easy to prepare. They freeze and ship well.

Toll House

Caramel Bars

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, divided

2 cups oatmeal

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup butter, melted

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1 cup (12.25-ounce jar) caramel ice cream topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour, brown sugar, baking soda and oatmeal, mixing well. Stir in the melted butter, mixing until well combined. Reserve 1 cup of this mixture.

Press the remaining mixture in an ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with the chocolate chips then the walnuts. Combine the caramel sauce with the remaining 1/3 cup flour. Drizzle this mixture over the chocolate chips and nuts. Sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture. Return to oven and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan on a wire cooking rack.

When cooled, cut into bars. Store in airtight containers with layers separated with parchment or waxed paper. Yield: 3 dozen bars.

Chewy Bars title is descriptive of these bar cookies, recipe attributed to LaFaun Johnson, Moses Lake. Featuring coconut and walnuts in a chewy sweet cookie dough, they are not as easy to ship, but layered with parchment they store well for making ahead.

Chewy Bars

Crust:

1 cup butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar

Topping:

6 eggs, well beaten

4 Tbsp all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl combine the crust ingredients, cutting in the butter until it forms fine crumbs. Press mixture into a 11 x 17-inch baking pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and raise heat to 375 degrees.

Meanwhile, in the same bowl, combine topping ingredients, stirring well before spreading over baked crust. Bake in the 375-degree oven 25 minutes more, or until browned. Remove from oven and cool in pan. When partially cooled, about 20 minutes, cut into bars. Don’t wait until totally cooled. Yield about 4 dozen bars.

Note: for extra chewy bars, use 3 cups brown sugar in place of the 2 cups granulated sugar. Yes, 3 cups is correct.

Kids, cutout cookies and Christmas seem to go together. Plan to make two batches of the dough for Paintbrush Cookies as the dough needs chilling. Make one ahead so you can start baking cookies right away with the anxious little ones. The batch of dough you mixed with them will be chilled by the time you use up your premade dough.

Before making these cookies be sure you have a supply of small, clean watercolor paint brushes on hand. Clean paint shirts or small aprons are useful to protect clothing from food coloring stains.

Paintbrush Cookies

Cookie Dough:

3/4 cup butter

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla or lemon extract

2 1/2 cups sifted, all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Egg Yolk Paint:

1 egg yolk

1/4 tsp water

Liquid food coloring

In a large mixing bowl, beat together until creamy, butter, sugar, 2 eggs and choice of extract. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and stir into creamed mixture. Form into a ball, cover in plastic wrap and chill 1 to 2 hours.

When ready to bake, line baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

While oven heats, prepare egg yolk paints bu beating egg yolk with water. Divide in half and tint with 1-2 drops desired food coloring. Repeat with additional egg yolks to make as many colors you want to use.

Roll out one fourth of the dough at a time on a lightly floured surface to 1/8th inch thick. Cut out with cookie cutters. Place two inches apart on prepared baking sheets.

Using clean small paint brushes, paint the cookies with the egg yolk paint. Bake painted cookies 5 to 6 minutes, watching closely until just golden. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: about 4 dozen.

Note: if you want to hang as ornaments, use a drinking straw to punch a hole at the top of the cookie before baking. Also, a wire strainer will work in a pinch if you do not have a flour sifter.

We have another column to publish before Christmas. Do you have a favorite holiday recipe to share, sweet treats, side dishes, any recipes your family enjoys this time of year? Share them with your fellow readers by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Record-Times, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the Welcome to My kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office. Those putting up fresh cut Christmas trees will want to make sure the tree has plenty of water available in the tree stand. Misting with water from a spray bottle can also extend the life and safety of your tree. Be sure lights are unplugged when misting. When it is time for the tree to be taken down, consider using the tree, whole or cut into branches to shield roses and other shrubs from harsh winter weather.