It's National Bake Cookies Day!

Disclosure / Disclaimer:  I received this info, free of charge,from Maria Zoitas , Westside Market NYC,, for blog posting purposes. I received compensation, for it's post. No other additional compensation,  monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post

Did you know there was such a thing?

As it's holiday baking season, it seems appropro doesn't it?

Maria Zoitas, creator of “Maria’s Homemade” line of prepared food sold exclusively at Westside Market NYC, is sharing a delicious assortment of fresh baked cookie recipes with us today!

 Each of these recipes are easy and fun to make with kids, and are sure to make for the perfect treats for family gatherings, holiday parties, and even Santa!

Ready to start baking?

Let's start with everybody's favorite:

Sugar Cookies

INGREDIENTS

·         ½ Cup soft butter

·         ¾ Cup white sugar

·         1 Egg

·         1 ¼  Cups all-purpose flour

·         ½  Teaspoon baking soda

·         ½ Teaspoon baking powder

·         ½ Teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 375⁰F.

2.  In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

3.  In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract and then gradually blend in the ingredients from the small bowl.

4.  Use an ice-cream scooper to scoop out and shape the dough into balls.

5.  Place the balls 2 inches apart on an 18x9 inch sheet pan, and then flatten them until they are ¼ inch thick.

6.  Place the sheet pan into the preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes.

7.  Remove cookies from oven and place them on a wire rack to cool off.

Note: If you chill the dough, after Step 3, then this should be a great recipe for cutting out shapes too!  Just remember to roll out on a mat with a bit of confectioners sugar and flour, for extra goodness!

Peanut Butter Cookies

INGREDIENTS

·         1 Stick unsalted butter

·         ¾ Cups smooth peanut butter

·         ½ Cup granulated sugar

·         ½ Cup packed dark brown sugar

·         1 Egg

·         ½ Teaspoon pure vanilla extract

·         ¼ Cup all-purpose flour

·         ½ Teaspoon baking soda.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350⁰F.

2. In an electric mixer bowl, add butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg and vanilla extract. Mix ingredients at medium speed until they are thoroughly combined.

3. In a medium bowl, sift flour and baking soda together. Add this to the electric mixer bowl and blend to combine.

4. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of dough, shape them into balls, and place them 3 inches apart on a prepared baking sheet.

5. Dip the balls of dough in warm water and flatten them slightly and place them back onto a buttered baking sheet.

6. Sprinkle each cookie with a few peanuts.

7. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes.

8. Remove from oven and let them cool off on a wire rack at room temperature.

Note: Want to make these more special? Add some some peanut butter or mini chocolate chips to the batter!

M&M Cookies

INGREDIENTS

·         1 Stick softened butter

·         1 Egg

·         1 Cup sugar

·         1 Cup Flour

·         1 Cup milk chocolate M&Ms

DIRECTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 350⁰F.

2.  Mix butter and sugar together until they are completely combined. Add egg and mix well. Stir in flour then mix in the M&Ms.

3.  Bake at 350⁰F for 7-9 minutes or until the edges are brownish.

Note: for extra holiday fun- color your batter with red or green food dye, and add only red and green M&Ms to the batter!

Thanks Maria for the great (and simple) recipes!