Holiday Treats & Gifts Kids Can Make

Make up a batch of these yummy cookies for your family, make some Gingerbread Playdough for a friend or make some Snowman Soup to give to your favorite teacher.

Christmas Sugar Cookies

·        1 cup powdered sugar

·        1 cup white sugar

·        1 cup Crisco or butter

·        2 eggs

·        2 teaspoons vanilla

·        1 cup cooking oil

·        1 teaspoon salt

·        1 teaspoon baking soda

·         5 cups flour

·        1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Cream sugar, butter and oil until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs. Sift dry ingredients together. Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. Roll into balls. Press to flatten slightly with a glass. Bake at 350° F for 15 to 20 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet until cookies are light brown.

 (HINT: Slightly dampen the bottom of the glass and dip in colored sugar before flattening the cookies.)

Gingerbread Play-Dough

• 1 Cup flour
• 1/2 Cup salt
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• Spices--Cinnamon, Allspice, Ginger, Nutmeg

What you do:

 Mix the dry ingredients. Add spices a small amount at a time until the dough smells and looks like you want it too. Mix water and oil together first and then add them to the dry ingredients and stir. In a pot, cook the mixture for two to three minutes, stirring frequently. The dough will start to pull away from the sides of the pot and stick together. When this happens, take the playdough out of the pan and knead the dough until it becomes soft and smooth. Allow the dough to cool and then store it in an airtight container.

Chocolate Spoons
We make these every year as gifts!

• Plastic spoons
• Melting chocolate, white, dark or milk chocolate – we have even used chocolate chips.

Melt the chocolate according to the package directions. Dip the spoons into the chocolate, making sure the whole “bowl” part is covered. Lay them on was paper to harden. Then wrap in plastic wrap and tie with a ribbon. Great for stirring coffee or hot cocoa with!

Snowman Soup
A great gift for your favorite teacher.

• 1 package hot chocolate mix
• 3 Hershey Kisses
• 10 mini marshmallows
• 1 candy cane
• nice mug

Put these in a Ziplock bag and put the bag inside a nice mug.

Stained Glass Window Cookies

• 12 oz. chocolate chips
• 1(10oz.)package miniature colored marshmallows
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 1 cup coconut

Melt chips and butter. Use the microwave – start at 1 minute and then go in 15–30 seconds, stirring after each time. Cool slightly and add nuts and marshmallows. Divide mixture in half to form two rolls. Roll them in coconut. Wrap in wax paper and chill 24 hrs. Slice into 1/3" cookies.

Ginger Bread Christmas Cookies

·        1 1/4 cups sugar

·        2/3 cup light molasses or corn syrup

·        1 cup butter or margarine

·        2/3 cup heavy cream

·        1 3/4 tbsp. ground ginger

·        1 tbsp. baking soda

·        6 cups flour

 Heat the sugar, molasses, and butter in a large saucepan over low heat. After the butter melts, cool mixture. Stir in cream, ginger, baking soda, and flour. Let dough stand overnight.

 Preheat oven to 400*. Divide dough into thirds. Roll each piece very thin. Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Bake cookies on greased cookie sheets for 5 to 7 min. Cool on a rack. Makes 7-8 doz.