Mexican Wedding Cakes

Oh so simple and oh so good. Every once in awhile I get a craving for these. These make great gifts during the Holidays or whenever you feel like sharing a little love.

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Mexican Wedding Cakes

4 dozen

1 cup butter, salted
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup raw pecans, toasted then coarsely ground

extra powdered sugar for dusting, about a cup

Preheat oven to 350* F. Beat butter in a large bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the 1/2 cup powdered sugar and extracts. Beat in flour and salt then pecans. At this point you can wrap and chill to make rolling easier. I never chill mine though as they seem to roll just fine. Place the extra powdered sugar in a pie dish and set aside. Roll dough by about two teaspoons or so into balls. Place onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet about an inch apart. (I get 24 balls to a sheet) Bake at 350 for about 12-15 minutes until set and just starting to turn a pale golden color on top. Do not over cook these or you will end up with a crumbly mess! Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheets. Gently toss warm cookies in the powdered sugar to coat completely then place on a cookie rack to cool completely. Reroll cookies in powdered sugar. Store airtight at room temperature.

Really Good Peanut Butter Cookies

I received this recipe from my MIL who got it from her MIL. It probably came from the back of a peanut butter jar or something. Who knows. All I can say is they are great! I double the recipe, bake at 325 degrees F. for about 17 minutes and use about 2 oz. of dough per cookie to get 20 nice large crisp yet chewy cookies. I'm posting the original recipe as is and will let you play with it as you wish. Enjoy!

Vel's Peanut Butter Cookies©

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream together peanut butter and butter. Gradually add sugars. Mix well. Add egg, mix well. Sift together flour salt and baking soda. Add in two additions to creamed mixture. Beat well. Drop teaspoon size and flatten with fork. ( I roll them into balls first and then flatten them.) Bake at 350° F. for 8-10 minutes. Makes 4 1/2 dozen.

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

recipe origin: from Williams-Sonoma's Essentials of Baking

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup Dutch process cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup confectioners sugar

In a small saucepan over very low heat, combine the butter and chocolate.

Cook, stirring occasionally, just until they are melted and the mixture is smooth.

Pour the chocolate mixture into a large bowl and allow to cool slightly. Stir in the granulated sugar until evenly moistened.

Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
Gradually add to the chocolate, sugar and egg mixture and stir to combine.

Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat an oven to 375°F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator.

Shape the dough into ¾-inch balls.

then roll in the confectioners’ sugar to coat completely. Place the balls about 1 ½ inches apart on the prepared pans.

Bake the cookies until puffed and cracked on top, about 10 - 12 minutes. They may appear underdone in the center but will turn crisp as they cool. Allow to cool on the pans for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 42 cookies.