Shortbread Cookies

Since they only sell these once a year, right about now any that you have left over are going to taste like used air-hockey pucks. Now you can toss out those relics and fill the box with a fresh batch, made with this killer mimicked recipe.

1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons beaten egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus an extra 1/4 cup reserved for rolling)
1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening, sugar, vanilla, and salt with an electric mixer

2. Add the egg and beat mixture until it's fluffy. Add the baking soda and mix for about 20 seconds, then add the buttermilk and mix for an additional 30 seconds.

3. In another bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.

4. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix well with an electric mixer until flour is incorporated.

5. Roll the dough into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap and then chill it for 1 hour.

6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

7. Roll dough out on a well-floured surface to 1/8-inch thick and punch out cookies with a 1 1/2 to 2-inch cutter (a medium-size spice bottle lid works well). Arrange cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet.

8. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 60 cookies.

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Samoa Cookies

6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 of 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups toasted coconut
1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

In 2-quart saucepan over medium-low heat, combine butter, sugar and corn syrup. Heat to a full boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Slowly pour in sweetened condensed milk, stirring constantly. Continue cooking over low heat until candy thermometer reaches 220-228 degrees. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Beat until creamy. Immediately stir in toasted coconut and mix well.

Spoon mixture by teaspoonfuls into circular mounds onto buttered waxed paper. Flatten slightly and with the end of a wooden spoon poke a small round hole into the center of each cookie. Cool completely.

Melt chocolate chips and drizzle thinly in stripes over cookies and let chocolate harden at room temperature. Store in airtight container.

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Thin Mints Cookies

Those cute little cookie peddlers have just recently put away their boxes of these chocolatey munchables until next year. So if you want to enjoy some Thin Mints, you're going to have to wait a while. Or you could make a homemade version with a little help from JMR, and it makes the equivalent of three boxes of the chocolate-dipped Girl Scout Cookies favorite.

3 10-ounce bags Nestle Mint Chocolate Morsels
6 tablespoons shortening
108 chocolate wafers (See Nabisco for the Oreo wafer recipe.)

1. Combine mint chocolate chips with shortening in a large microwave safe glass or ceramic bowl. Heat on 50% power for 2 minutes, stir (with a plastic or wooden spoon), then heat for an additional minute. Stir once again, and if chocolate is not a smooth consistency, continue to zap in microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth.

2. Use a fork to dip each wafer in the chocolate, tap the fork on the edge of the bowl so that the excess chocolate runs off, and then place the cookies side-by-side on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm.

Makes 108 cookies.

NOTE: If you can't find the Nextle Mint Chocolate Chips you can add 1 1/2 tsp. of mint flavoring to regular chocolate chips and just a dash to the dough.

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