No one has to know.

Sometimes I want to make the fancy cookie with the fancy frosting or decoration and do all the things... Sometimes I want to make a slab of cookie in a pan, slap some frosting on it and then cut it to look like Christmas trees. Being near the end of the holiday season meant less effort but also still cute bakes. These cookie bars could be customized to whatever holiday or event you are planning, they don't need to be trees, they could just be squares or triangles. I brought these to a family party and they were gone very quickly. My favorite dish to bring home is an empty one - and in this case - toss. Make all the good things, even if they are easy, make them. No one has to know.

Christmas Tree Sugar Cookie Bars
Sugar Cookie Bars:
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder not baking soda!
½ teaspoon salt omit if using salted butter
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
Buttercream Frosting
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick) softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk
Topping
Green food coloring
Sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350°F. If butter hasn't been softened you can place in microwave for 10 seconds to *slightly* soften it.
In a large bowl, cream together unsalted butter (1 cup, i.e. 2 sticks) and granulated sugar (1 cup) on medium speed for 20-30 seconds. While mixer is still on medium speed, add in egg (1 large), vanilla extract (2 teaspoons), and almond extract (1 teaspoon).
Once mixed, add in baking powder (1 ½ teaspoons), salt (½ teaspoon), and *all-purpose flour (2 ¼ cups); adding flour ½ cup at a time on low speed.
Mix until all flour disappears, typically 20-30 seconds. You do not need to beat/mix this any longer than it takes to mix in the flour. When pinched between your fingers, dough should be similar to a playdoh consistency and not be very sticky. Refer to photo above in post for how dough should look.
Spray a light-colored metal 9×13 pan with cooking spray, then line pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2 inch overhang on each long side so that you will be able to lift the bars out of the pan.
Drop the dough into 1-tablespoon sized chunks into the prepared pan. Use your hands or a spatula to press down the dough until it covers the pan.
Tip: If the dough is sticky, you can place another piece of parchment paper on top and continue pressing down. To get clean edges, you can fold down the sides of the parchment paper and press like shown in the FAQ section above.
Bake bars at 350°F for 14-16 minutes. The trick to soft sugar cookie bars is to take them out right when you see the TINIEST amount of brown around the edges. The center may look underdone and this is okay; the bars will continue to bake in the hot pan when cooling.
Allow to cool completely before frosting (you can put the pan in the fridge on a cooling rack to speed this up).
In a large bowl, beat unsalted butter (½ cup, i.e. 1 stick) on medium speed using a hand or stand mixer (with paddle attachment) for 1-2 minutes, until light and creamy.
Keeping the mixer on medium speed, slowly add in vanilla extract (2 teaspoons), almond extract (½ teaspoon), and powdered sugar (2 cups).
Once incorporated, turn mixer to high speed and beat for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and beat for 30 seconds. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk if frosting seems too thick to spread.
Add green food coloring and mix until combined. If you plan to add a little frosting star, reserve about 2 tablespoons of the white frosting so that you can dye it yellow!!
If using sprinkles, add them immediately after frosting. If you wait too long, the frosting will set and the sprinkles won't stick.
Chill or freeze bars for 30-60 minutes before cutting (this will help prevent the frosting from smearing!).
If not eating same day or within 3-4 hours, place in airtight container to stay fresh. These bars can sit out for a few days due to the sugar in the frosting keeping the milk stable. These bars are also amazing chilled or frozen for 1-2 months (any longer and they tend to dry out).

Don't wear black, you'll be a wreck.

These cookies are a hot mess... Are they delicious? Yes! Are they a pain to make in the crescent shape? Oh man yeah - round flat balls would be way easier on all accounts. But folks we are making crescent cookies! The recipe was in my mom's cookbook - get this - from my dad's former mother-in-law Reka. Didn't know he had one of those? He did. He was also a widower, another story for another time. But these were Reka's recipe! It's old, like REALLY old so you know it's a legit recipe! Forming the shape was a pain, I broke too many to admit. I used a cookie scoop to get the amount of dough I was using to be approx. the same and did my best. These are very crumbly and like to fall apart. Do you best and when in doubt - douse in powdered sugar. Oh the hot mess part? You'll be covered in powdered sugar when you eat them. Don't wear black, you'll be a wreck.

Crescent Cookies
1 cup butter
2 cups flour
1 cup pecans
5 tbls sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbls water
1/2 tsp Salt

Mix together. Form into crescent. Bake in 325 oven for 20 min. Dip in powdered sugar while warm.

When the math isn't mathing but still tastes good

I saw this recipe in passing and decided even if no one else was interested in Oreos and peppermint, I wanted to try this recipe for Christmas Day. I decided to use gluten free Oreos because I figured I'd get more buy in from my GF family members as they actually like chocolate. Also GF Oreos are great. I did open the Oreos and use them as single layers, the filling just added that extra fun. The math here isn't mathing and the layers aren't mathing. I think 1 cup of crushed candy canes is enough since it's used twice in layers then on top. I was very careful with the peppermint and also bought new extract. I'm pretty sure I moved with my bottle of extract 13 years ago... Time to go through the spice drawer again I guess... add that to the to do list... Anyway... this cake was a hit! Moreso than I thought it would be! The GF Oreos stayed a little crunchy and it didn't feel overly rich or too creamy - despite it being a cream cake. Weird right? But it's true! I would for sure make this again, more layers and more good things! Try it again with other flavors too! All sorts of options.

Chocolate Peppermint Icebox Cake
60 Oreo Thins or Chocolate Wafers
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1⁄2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1⁄4 teaspoon peppermint extract
3 cups heavy cream, cold
1 1⁄3 cups crushed candy canes

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, or in a mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, mix softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract and peppermint extract together until smooth.
2. Slowly pour in 3 cups cold heavy cream and mix on low until the mixture starts to come together. Increase the speed to medium-high and mix until the mixture is fluffy. Set aside.
3. In a 9-inch spring form pan, arrange a layer of Oreo Thin cookies (about 20) in a circle. Spread about one-third of the whipped cream over the cookies (about 1 1⁄2 cups), making sure to cover them completely, and top with 1⁄3 cup crushed candy canes. Repeat with the remaining cookies, whipped cream, and crushed candy canes, making 3 layers, finishing with the whipped cream on top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
4. Just before serving, run a small spatula around the edge of the cake to release it, unhook the springform pan, and gently slide the cake on to a plate. Finish the cake with the crushed candy canes and crushed Oreo Thin cookies, if desired.

If peanut butter is your jam, then these should be too.

The month of December I was sick for most of it - so when we decided to host Andy's meeting the day after Christmas I didn't think much of it. Sure, why not? What's one more thing? A few more bakes. Oh, but wait - we need to have our house presentable the day after Christmas for company! Christmas night I sat and looked around our house wondering how that ever was going to happen. But you know what? It was great! It forced us to clean up, put things away and get things in a presentable, not perfect, state so we could have company over. I'd be fine doing it all over again. I made these Peanut Butter Blossom Bars. They are much like the cookie but in bar form and with a peanut butter cup on top. If peanut butter is your jam, then these should be too.

Peanut Butter Blossom Bars
Dough
½ cup unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
Topping
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
24 Hershey's® Kisses® or REESE'S® miniature peanut butter cups

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter for 20-30 seconds, or until fully melted.
Add light brown sugar and granulated sugar and use an electric mixer to mix on medium-speed for 1 minute.
Mix in peanut butter. Add eggs and vanilla extract, mixing until well combined. Mix in baking soda and salt.
Gradually mix in all-purpose flour until just incorporated.
Press dough into a greased & parchment-lined 9x13" pan until smooth. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons granulated sugar on top.
Bake at 350°F for 16-18 minutes, or until the edges and top are lightly golden brown. Avoid overbaking; the bars will appear slightly underbaked but will continue to bake as they cool in the pan.
After removing from the oven, immediately press in Hershey's® Kisses®. Allow the bars to cool completely and the chocolate to re-harden before removing from the pan and cutting.

One salty turtle... or could be....

My Aunt Kathi used to make the best turtles. She used to send them each Christmas and while my folks weren't always the biggest fans I sure was. Something about the soft caramel and pecans with chocolate - so good. I haven't made them in years and bought supplies to make them, then I ran across this recipe for Turtle Bark. All the same goodness but so much faster and easier. It's so good. I mean SO good.
The only change I'd make for next time is sauteing the nuts in a little butter and salt. So you get the salty and sweet. I did roast the nuts in the oven a little bit, but a little salt? Oh that would be so good. I did not use almond bark - I used dark chocolate chips - mostly because I really like dark chocolate and my body hates milk, so milk chocolate (and almond bark) is not something up my alley. Easy to make and reminds me of my Aunt Kathi who past a few years ago - love it.

Turtle Bark
1 package chocolate almond bark, 20-24 oz (or dark chocolate) 
25 caramel squares, equal to about 1 & 1/4 cup caramel bits
1-2 Tbsp water or heavy cream
whole pecans, as many as you desire, I chopped some of them

Instructions
Line a baking sheet with either a silicone baking mat, parchment paper or wax paper.
Rough chop the almond bark into smaller pieces for quicker melting. Place in a glass bowl.
Microwave the glass bowl for 3 minutes on 50% power, stir. Microwave for another 1-2 minutes on 50% power. Add more time in 30 second intervals if needed until melted. Continue to stir the chocolate to keep it melted while you melt the caramel.
Place the caramel squares in a microwave safe bowl. Add 1-2 tbsp of water or heavy cream and microwave for 1 minute on 50% power. Stir. Microwave for an additional minute on 50% power, continue for 30 second intervals until the caramel is melted.
Reserve a small amount of chocolate for drizzling, about 1/4 cup.
Pour the melted chocolate over the silicone mat, spreading smooth with a spatula. Use a spoon or small cookie scoop and drop dollops of caramel on the bark. Swirl the chocolate and caramel together with a butter knife or spatula. Add the pecans (chopped and whole). Drizzle the remaining chocolate over the bark.
Allow the bark to harden on the counter for 2-3 hours. Using a sharp knife, cut the bark into pieces once it’s completely set. Store in an airtight container.