Is there anything better than a warm cookie right out of the oven?

The cookie recipe below has a sad origin, but don’t let that scare you away!  A few years back, a dear friend of mine passed away unexpectedly right around Christmas.  He was a young man with his whole life ahead of him and my friends and I were all devastated.  After a few terrible weeks, I realized that I was spending more time moping than being productive, and that I wasn’t going to feel better until I found a way to put some goodness back into the world.  So I started with Cheer Cookies – part sugar cookie, part dessert ravioli, part mad science experiment.  I made batches and batches, and shared them with my friends.

The best part is that you can use any basic sugar cookie recipe you like, and fill them according to taste.  Here’s how I make them, and may they bring you good cheer, as they did to me:

Cheer Cookies

Basic Sugar Cookies:

  • 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • (Add 1 heaping tablespoon of cocoa to the flour if you prefer  chocolate)

Filling Suggestions:

  • Mini-chocolate chips – dark, milk, or white
  • Peanut Butter
  • Chopped up mini-marshmallows
  • Nuts
  • Caramel chips/butterscotch chips
  • Coconut
  • Nutella
  • Anything else your heart desires

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 inch thick. Cut into large round or square shapes – a regular drinking glass works great!
  3. Mix a handful of filling ingredients together – I find that using peanut butter or something sticky helps.  Take a teaspoonful and place on one half of the cookie circle, then fold the other half over and press the edges down with a fork.  Be careful not to overfill!
  4. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
  5. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven or until golden. Cool completely.
  6. Be careful biting into that first one – molten hot goodness inside!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and cookies all around. 🙂

THE KRINGLE GIRLS – HOLLY

It’s hard to be normal when you’re Santa’s daughter, but Holly Kringle is giving it her best shot, staying out of the family business and building a life for herself as a small town teacher. However, the elves and Mrs. Claus decide to help things along when Holly falls for David, the hot divorced father of one of her young students. When Santa “accidentally” leaves the little boy’s present behind, the family calls on Holly to deliver it herself, even if it means a midnight tangle with David that could turn their little spark of chemistry into Christmas fireworks.

David Brewster might be ready to start dating again, and can’t keep his eyes off his son Henry’s gorgeous teacher. She’s sweet and nice and smells like cinnamon, but everyone seems convinced that she’s Santa Claus’ daughter. David is sure it must be nonsense until Holly magically appears in his living room on Christmas Eve to deliver a present for Henry. Santa’s daughter or not, David is determined to convince Holly to give them a chance, even if he has to get incredibly naughty to make her wishes come true.

THE KRINGLE GIRLS – IVY

Ivy Kringle doesn’t have time for romance.  The second of Santa’s daughters, she’s determined to keep Santa’s empire moving with the times.  While the rest of the newly formed External Relations department is taking time out for a well-deserved office party, Ivy is still hard at work.  Which is all for the best.  The last thing she needs is to get caught under the mistletoe and reveal her family’s magical susceptibility to the holiday plant.  This Christmas Eve, she’s going to play it cool, no matter badly she wants to heat things up with her sexy business partner, the tall and brooding Rafe Allen.

Rafe is dying to get his hands on Ivy, but worries that his need to take control might scare her off.  When he discovers that mistletoe has the power to make a Kringle girl do anything he asks, he sets out to use the magical plant to seduce the cool and reserved beauty.  As the party rocks on around them, Rafe will use every sexy trick in the book to get Ivy to admit that not only is she as head over heels for him as he is for her, but that they belong together, even when Christmas is over.

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