For me, there is little worse than being sick over the holidays – especially baking holidays like Thanksgiving.  I started feeling like I was coming down with something the day before Thanksgiving, and by the weekend I was completely down and out with Bronchitis.  Needless to say, I didn’t do nearly the amount of baking I wanted to over the holiday – and I certainly didn’t eat as much as I wanted to – although I suppose maybe that’s a good thing.  Now that I’m feeling a little better, I’ve turned my attention to Christmas baking. 

I was fortunate to be chosen by Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker program to participate in GLAD Products Glad to Give campaign, an effort that supports Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.  This is a non-profit organization founded by parents inspired by their young son’s ongoing fight against cancer.  For every cookie exchanged via this campaign, GLAD will donate $0.10 toward a goal of $100,000.  I hosted a cookie exchange with my family and exchanged a total of 192 cookies. 

White Chocolate Dipped Drop Sugar Cookies

Giant Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

French Palmiers

Soft Gingerbread Men

Basic Sugar Cookies, Frosted

Snickerdoodles

Chocolate Walnut Drop Cookies

Chocolate Chow Mein Haystacks

Chocolate Sugar Cookies, Frosted

Thanks to Foodbuzz for selecting me to participate, and good luck to everyone!  The giveaway opens immediately and will close on December 12th at midnight CST.  The winner will be notified on December 13th. 

Enjoy!

*I received the gift giveaway products from GLAD and Foodbuzz. I also received a stipend for participating in the program.

Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Yield: 12 large or 24 small gingerbread men

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in large bowl. Set aside. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add molasses, egg and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into a thick flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness on lightly floured work surface. Cut into gingerbread men shapes with cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are set and just begin to brown. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Decorate cooled cookies as desired. Store cookies in airtight container up to 5 days.

White Chocolate Dipped Drop Sugar Cookies
Yield:  Approx 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 cup salted butter
3 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup coarse sugar crystals or regular granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in 1 egg yolk at a time beating each until combined.  Add vanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda, cream of tarter, and salt until well combined, scraping bowl as necessary.  Using a medium scoop or a large tablespoon and form dough balls, then roll them in sugar crystals. Place cookie balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper 2 inches apart.  Bake for 12-14 minutes until the surface of each cookies have a cracked like texture. Remove from oven and allow cookies to remain on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.  Dip the cooled cookies in melted white chocolate.  Garnish with sprinkles before the chocolate hardens.

Giant Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Yield:  24 extra large cookies

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil
4 ounces 99% unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 cups sugar (I used bakers ultra-fine sugar)
4 large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cup powdered/confectioners sugar

In a large bowl, combine sifted flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the canola oil, chocolate and sugar.  Blend with paddle attachment on medium speed.  Add the eggs one at a time.  Add vanilla, scraping the bowl as necessary.  Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed.  Mix until just combined. 

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap (in a disc shape)  and chill for at least two hours.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Pour the powdered sugar into a shallow bowl.  Roll the dough into 2 inch balls, then roll in powdered sugar so that all sides are covered.  Place cookies two inches apart on to silpat or parchment covered baking sheets.  Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are set.  Cool completely on cooling racks.

Easy Chow Mein Haystack Cookies
Yield:  24 cookies

1 12 oz bag chocolate chips
1 12 oz bag chow mein noodles
1/4 cup heavy cream

In a large bowl, heat heavy cream in the microwave until steaming hot but not boiling.  Add chocolate chips to hot cream and allow to sit for 1 minute.  Whisk chips until smooth.  Pour dry noodles into chocolate mixture, and turn with a rubber spatula until completely covered with chocolate.  Drop by the Tablespoon on to parchment covered cookie sheets and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Store in an airtight container.

Snickerdoodles
Yield:  Approx 36 cookies

1 and 1/3 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 and 1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
Topping:
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Cream together sugar, salt and butter until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, and continue to beat approximately 4 minutes.  Mixture should be very light.  Add the vanilla.  Add flour, cream of tartar and baking soda.  Mix until just combined.  Chill the dough for one hour. 

Combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Roll the dough into 1.5 inch balls, then roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.  Place on cookie sheet approximately 2 inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set, but do not over bake.  Cool on wire racks.

Sources:  Gingerbread Cookies by McCormick, White Chocolate Dipped Drop Sugar Cookies adapted from See Jane Cook, Giant Crinkle Chocolate Cookies adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod, Snickerdoodles adapted from The Prepared Pantry

*I received the gift giveaway products from GLAD and Foodbuzz.  I also received a stipend for participating in the program.

**To enter the giveaway, visit the Glad Cookie Exchange App on Facebook – (Click HERE for the link) and send cookies to your friends.  If that link doesn’t work, try (THIS ONE.)  Then come back here and let me know you participated by leaving a comment below.***