Great Grandma Huss' Sugar Cookies

4 cups Flour

½ lb. Butter

2 ¼ cups Sugar

2 Eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla

(All ingredients at room temperature)

Rub/Cut flour into butter with fork or pastry blender.  Add Sugar.  In separate bowl, mix eggs and vanilla.  Add to flour mixture.  Gather crumbs into baseball size balls.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Roll out thin on floured pastry cloth and cut into shapes.  Sprinkle with colored sugar.

Bake at 325 for 12-15 minutes, or until brown around edges.

If you're crazy and want to double the recipe (as it was intentionally written) it's 2 lbs. Flour, 1 lb. Butter, 2 lbs. Sugar, 5 Eggs & 2 tsp. Vanilla.  But beware...it's A LOT of dough!

Molasses Cookies

3/4 cup Melted Butter
1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Dark Molasses
1 Egg
2 tsp. Baking Soda
2 cups Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp. Cloves
1 tsp. Cinnamon

Melt butter and cool.
Add sugar, molasses and egg.
Beat well.
Sift in dry ingredients.
Mix and chill well.
Roll into small balls, then in granulated sugar.

Bake @ 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Cannoli Dip

16 oz. Ricotta Cheese
1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Vanilla
8 oz. Cool Whip
1/2 cup Mini Chocolate Chips

Mix first 4 ingredients well. Gently fold in Cool Whip. Refrigerate. Right before serving, mix in mini chocolate chips (to taste).

Serve with Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips (Stacey's or Trader Joe's)

Choco Cherry Cookies

2 cups Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1-6 oz Package Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup Nuts, chopped
1/2 cup Maraschino Cherries, drained and chopped

Combine Flour, Salt, and Baking Soda and set aside.  In separate bowl, beat sugar and butter until creamy. Blend in Vanilla. Add flour mixture.  Stir in Chocolate Chips, Nuts and Cherries. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. 

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Makes approximately 7 dozen, unless you eat the dough. :)

Toffee Bark

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter

1T Vanilla

1 pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heath toffee bits

Preheat oven at 375.

Line jelly roll baking sheet with tin foil and cover with saltines salt side up.  Line the crackers as close together as possible.

In sauce pan melt butter and sugar – bring to a rolling boil and boil for 3 minutes stirring continuously so it doesn’t bubble over.  Take off heat and add vanilla. Spoon all over the crackers and spread so crackers are evenly coated and let soak in.  Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes until bubbly and lightly brown.

Take out of oven and sprinkle the package of chocolate chips over the crackers. Put back in oven for 1-2 minutes to melt the chips.  Take out of oven and spread chocolate with knife to smooth.  Sprinkle with toffee bits.  Refrigerate immediately for 4-5 hours or overnight if you can resist sampling.

Take out and peel off foil and break toffee into chucks to serve.