Whether you have a holiday dessert baking day with family and friends, or you’re looking to enjoy some festive desserts for yourself to enjoy, our volunteers came through this year with recipes sure to delight! Each one of the recipes in this blog is a staple for one of our volunteers this time of year.

With so many great options to choose from, you might just have to come back to this blog to grab some recipes for another baking day before the season is over!  

Grandma and Grandpa Rausch Toffee

From the kitchen of Mary Guentzel – submitted by Angela Guentzel

“Mary Guenztel makes this toffee every year for Christmas at the Guenztel house! It isn’t Christmas without sneaking a piece of toffee!”

Ingredients

1 cup butter
1 ½ cups sugar
Walnuts, chopped
Chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Chop walnuts and sprinkle them over the bottom of a buttered cake pan.
2. Mix butter and sugar in a sauce pan and stir continually until golden brown or caramel colored.
3. Pour into the buttered pan. Spread evenly with a spatula. Let cool slightly until barely firm.
4. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. As they melt, spread with spatula.
5. Sprinkle the top with chopped nuts if desired!

Raspberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprints

Recipe from Land O’Lakes – submitted by Sara Hewitt

“This is my all-time favorite cookie recipe for the holidays!”

Ingredients

Cookie: 
1 cup butter, softened
⅓ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon almond extract 
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup raspberry jam (can substitute for your favorite flavor jam if you'd prefer!)

Glaze: 
1 cup powdered sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons water
1 ½ teaspoons almond extract  

Instructions

1. Combine butter, granulated sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract in a bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add flour; beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until mixed well. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Make indentation in the center of each cookie with your thumb – don’t worry, the edges may crack slightly. Fill each indentation with about 1/4 teaspoon of jam.
4. Bake for 14-18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand for 1 minute on the cookie sheets; remove to a cooling rack. Cool cookies completely.
5. Combine all glaze ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Once cookies are cool, drizzle the glaze over cookies.

Swedish Kringla

From the kitchen of Ellyn Oelfke

“This one is a Christmas cookie favorite of mine!”

Ingredients

1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup buttermilk 
8 ounces sour cream 
1 teaspoon vanilla 
4 egg yolks
5 ⅓ cups flour 
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda 
¾ teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter, and beat with a hand or stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add buttermilk, sour cream, almond extract, vanilla and egg yolks. Beat well. 
2. Add 4 cups of flour and all remaining ingredients. Mix well. With a wooden spoon, stir in remaining 1 ⅓ cups of flour. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. 
3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheets. With 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, roll and form into ribbons. Bake for 6-9 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to the cooling rack. Enjoy! 

Peanut Butter Blossoms

From the kitchen of Sarah Kern

Ingredients

½ cup butter
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla 
1 ¾ cups flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon salt 
Hershey Kisses or comparable candy 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream together the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. 
3. Add egg, vanilla extract, flour, baking soda, and salt to the mixture. Mix together until well combined. 
4. Roll the dough into balls, then roll the balls in the granulated white sugar. Place on a baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. 
5. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and place the chocolate in the center. Push it into the cookie slightly so the edges crack. Then bake for 2-5 minutes longer. 
6. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a cooling rack.

Chocolate Crinkles

From the kitchen of Ellyn Oelfke

Ingredients

½ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla 
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (baking chocolate), melted 
2 cups flour 
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups granulated sugar 
½ teaspoon salt 
4 eggs
1 cup powdered sugar (to roll cookie dough in)

Instructions

1. Mix oil and sugar, then pour in the melted chocolate. 
2. Blend in one egg at a time until well mixed. 
3. Add vanilla. 
4. Sift flour. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt into the oil mixture. 
5. Chill several hours or overnight. 
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
7. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into powdered sugar. Shape dough into balls and roll in the powdered sugar. 
8. Place about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. 
9. Bake 10-12 minutes – do not overbake! Enjoy! 

Molasses Cookies

From the kitchen of Sarah Kern

Ingredients

1 ½ sticks butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup dark brown sugar (light brown sugar would work as well)
¼ cup molasses
2 ¼ cup all purpose flour 
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves 
½ teaspoon salt 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Melt butter and let it cool. Once cooled, combine with brown sugar, egg and molasses. Mix until smooth. 
3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients slowly and mix together. 
4. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. 
5. With your hands, shape dough into walnut sizes balls and roll in white grnaualted sugar. 
6. Place cookies an ungreased baking sheet and press balls down lightly with the bottom of a glass. Bake for 9-10 minutes. 
7. When done, remove cookies from oven and transfer to a cooling rack. 

Almond Lace Cookies

From the kitchen of Ellyn Oelfke

Ingredients

¾ cup grated unblanched almonds (measure after they have been grated) 
½ cup butter 
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream 
½ cup granulated sugar 
1 tablespoon milk 
1 tablespoon flour

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan. 
3. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until butter is melted. *Melt butter first, add almonds last.
4. Drop by a teaspoon onto a greased and floured cooking sheet. 
5. Bake for 8-9 minutes. 
6. Remove from oven and let cool very slightly, then take cookie off from pan and roll over the handle of a wooden spoon. Carefully place on a cooling rack. Enjoy! 

*Recipe notes:
– If you use a Teflon pan, you do not need to grease and flour the pan but add an additional 1 or 1 ½ tablespoon of flour to the mixture. 
– Be sure to grate the almonds in a grater, rather than grinding them. Grinding them releases too much of the oils and damages the texture of the batter. 
– Doubling the mixture is usually necessary since this recipe does not make very many cookies.

CrackerJack Popcorn

From the kitchen of Sarah Kern

“This is my grandparents recipe! We’d make this every year.”

Ingredients

1 cup molasses
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon butter
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Popcorn

Instructions

1. Boil ingredients together until a hard ball forms. Add the baking soda and stir.
2. Pour mixture onto popcorn and form balls with your hands.

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