Unusual Christmas Cookie Recipes - Cherry Snowball Cookies

These pretty cookies have a surprise cherry in the middle.

1 cup butter, softened

Cookies Recipe

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 teaspoon salt

36 maraschino cherries, well drained

Glaze Coating

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, cream the butter, sugar, water and vanilla.

In another bowl, combine the flour, oats and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture.

Shape a tablespoonful of dough around each cherry to form a ball. Place 2-inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until bottoms are browned. Let cool.

Glaze Coating

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 to 1/3 cup milk

2 cups flaked coconut, finely chopped

Directions

In a bowl, combine sugar and enough milk to make a smooth dipping consistency. Dip cookies into glaze, then roll into coconut.

Makes 36 cookies.

=> Unusual Christmas Cookie Recipes: Spumoni Cookies

The favorite Italian ice cream treat becomes a delicious cookie.

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 squares semisweet chocolate, melted

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

3 to 5 drops green food coloring

1/4 cup candied red cherries, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3 to 5 drops red food coloring

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually add in the flour and mix well.

Divide the dough into three sections.

Stir chocolate into one section; mix well.

Add pecans and green food coloring to the second portion

Add cherries, almond extract and red food coloring to the third section.

Roll each section between two pieces of waxed paper into 8x6-inch rectangles. Remove the waxed paper.

Place the chocolate rectangle on a piece of plastic wrap. Top with the green and pink rectangles; press together lightly. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Cut the chilled dough in half lengthwise. Return one half to the refrigerator.

Cut the remaining rectangle into 1/8-inch slices. Place 1-inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until set. Cool. Repeat with remaining dough.

Makes 84 cookies.

=> Unusual Christmas Cookie Recipes: Chocolate Dipped Spritz Cookies

These classy cookies are dipped in chocolate and decorated with nuts and sprinkles.

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

11 ounces dark, white or milk chocolate candy coating

Chopped walnuts and/or colored sprinkles

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

In another bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder; gradually add to the creamed mixture.

Using a cookie press fitted with your choice of disk, press the dough 2-inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, or until set (do not allow cookies to brown). Let cool.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the candy coating; dip each cookie halfway into coating. Sprinkle with nuts or colored sprinkles. Place on waxed paper until set.

Makes 72 cookies.

Unusual Christmas Cookie Recipes - Cherry Snowball Cookies

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Homemade Cookies Recipe

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Homemade Gifts - Unusual Ideas for astonishing Gifts

Homemade Gifts - Unusual Ideas for Extraordinary Gifts

If you're looking for a unique gift for someone wonderful in your life, but just aren't able to find something worthwhile, maybe it's time to look inwards. A well made present from the heart will often times have more impact than an expensive gift from a name brand store. And homemade gifts, when done right, are not difficult to craft.

Embellishing Fleece

Homemade Cookies Recipe

A treasured gift for the holidays or winter birthdays would be a two-yard piece of fleece material with a crocheted edge. This is very simple to do with a rotary cutting tool and a skip-stitch cutting blade. The first round of crocheting is a simple single crochet where you are crocheting in the holes made with the skip-stitch tool. Subsequent rows can also be single crochet, or more elaborate stitches.

Homemade Dog Biscuits

Dog biscuits fresh from your oven are a very special gift for someone who has recently adopted a dog. Allrecipes.com has some recipes that you bake up and cut into fun dog-inspired shapes and oftentimes the major pet product stores carry doggie-bone shaped cookie cutters. Or maybe use heart-shaped cutters to show some doggie love! Once your biscuits are done, a special touch is place them in a basket with a couple of dog toys or rawhide bones or chew toys if the gift recipient has adopted a puppy.

College Freshman Survival Kit

An eighteen year old leaving home for the first time often enjoys taking a bit of home with them when they go. When your college-bound child is about to fly the nest, send them off with a basket loaded with college essentials such as: energy drinks, microwave popcorn, chocolate bars, instant coffee, a big coffee mug, a large batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies, flip-flops (for those communal showers), and last, but certainly not least, a heart-felt, handwritten note filled with love and encouragement.

A Pillow for All Seasons

Pillows are a wonderful decorating accent as pillowcases are so easily interchangeable, and therefore you're not stuck with one look all the time. Furthermore, sewing an envelope pillowcase is one of the easiest sewing patterns to master and instructions for which can be found everywhere on the internet. With that in mind, a wonderful gift to give to the ladies in your life is one pillow with four or five different envelope pillowcases. While the typical holiday themes are certainly appreciated, being a bit whimsical is also possible. Such as swapping out a Christmas pattern with a tropical snowman print. Or instead of Easter for spring, showcase St. Patrick's Day. Or use a red, white, and blue motif for Independence day. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

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Michelle Michalski is a freelance writer specializing in domesticity, crafts, and living green.