Christmas Eve Bake-a-Thon with Gina

                                                          Peanut Butter Blossoms!
What You Will Need:

• 1 bag of individually wrapped Hershey Kisses Brand Milk chocolates
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cup of flour
• 1 tsp. of salt
• 1/2 cup of Reese's Brand peanut butter morsel chips (optional) I added this because I like the extra peanut butter taste.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter, add sugar and peanut butter. Beat until creamy. Add 1 egg and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda, and salt into the batter. 

3. Take a small hunk of the batter with your fingers and mold them into walnut sized balls. Roll in white sugar (I put the remaining unused sugar from the box in a small bowl and coated them there) then place on baking sheet.

4. Bake them for about 8-10 minutes. (Baking times will vary according to the type of oven you are working with. Mine tends to be pretty weak when it comes to baking large quantities so I usually add another minute or so to any recipe)

5. During the last 2 minutes of baking, place 1 individual Hershey Kiss into each cookie (just the top of the cookie, otherwise if you press down it'll break into the bottom of the cookie when you cool them.) 

Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies

My personal favorite: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies!

Prep time: 15 min

Bake time: 10 min

Ready in: 45 min

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of softened butter
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of chopped macadamia nuts
• 1 cup of white chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli brand chocolate chips)

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 10 minutes in the oven or until golden brown.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

The All American Classic: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients: 

• 2 1/4 cups of flour
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 cup (or 2 sticks) of softened butter
• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup of packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip morsels (I use Nestle Tollhouse Brands for this recipe)
• 1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt into small bowl. Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add in flour mixture. Stir in morself and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. 

Makes about 5 dozen cookies