Monday, December 12, 2011

Icicle Ornament Cookies~


This past weekend, I started my holiday baking. Once the gifts are all bought, I find baking a wonderfully relaxing past time. I always have to make my family's favorite cookies but it's always fun to try something new each year. The results of a Christmas cookie contest, sponsored by our local newspaper, was just published and the first one to catch my attention were these Icicle Ornament Cookies. It won in the 'Special' category and took third place overall. 


I thought the idea was charming and the melted white chocolate in the batter sounded interesting! So many fun ways to use these cookies came to mind.  They would be adorable hanging on a Foodie Christmas tree.


And what could be better than a cookie with a handle to keep your fingers from getting wet when dunking :-) These do tend to harden up a bit the next day which makes them sturdy as an ornament and perfect for dunking.


There is one more winner from the contest that I will be sharing soon!

Icicle Ornament Cookies
Adapted from Cookies for All Occasions Cookbook and Winner of Milwaukee Journal Sentinal 'Special Category' Cookie Contest 2011
Printable Recipe

2-1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 squares (2 ounces) white chocolate, melted
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sparkling sugar or edible glitter
Slender Ribbon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium bowl, combine flour and salt. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in the melted white chocolate, egg and extracts. Gradually add flour mixture untill well blended.

Shape dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm.

Place parchment paper or a silicone mat on a baking sheet.

Shape walnut-sized pieces of dough into a rope about 8 inches long. Fold rope in half and while holding the folded end of dough with one hand, wrap the loose ends around each other, leaving a hole at the top and taper the ends to make a point. Carefully roll in sugar or place on cookie sheet and sprinkle with edible glitter.

Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 11 minutes or until they just turn golden. Cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely.

Pull a piece of ribbon through the hole on the top and tie a knot. If necessary, you can use a round toothpick to poke the hole open again if it closed during baking.

51 comments:

  1. Sounds good - thanks for sharing the recipe. No baking going on here. Daughter is bringing desserts and I don't need extra around here - to tempting. :)
    Have a great week.

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  2. Delicious looking cookie! Looks so pretty on the tree and by the coffee cup.

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  3. I love them..you're so good at twisting..I will always remember your candy canes:) They are lovely Susan!

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  4. Those not only look pretty and festive, they sound wonderful. I'm snagging!

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  5. Beautiful cookies and they do sound special with the white chocolate. I copied the recipe! :)

    Thank you!

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  6. What a nice idea Susan...but I must confess that I will end up eating all the cookies from the tree :-)
    Hope you hare a wonderful week ahead!

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  7. I LOVE these! I am all about the "edible" tree, so I'm going to have to add these this year. Thanks for the great idea and recipe. I can't wait to try them! :-)

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  8. Those cookies are cute and something a little different than what I usually find on a cookie platter.
    We do share a love for the same plates, I see!

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  9. I don't know if I'll get to cookies this year since everyone is not big on them and, well, I'm not a big baker... if I do... this would be one to do. YOu've done a beautiful job with them... really impressive... shall I say perfect???

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  10. Very very nice. You always come up with the most wonderful ideas :)

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  11. They look like the perfect dipping cookie!!

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  12. Oh Susan, these cookies are so cute! As always, I adore your photos!

    Have a great week,
    Patricia

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  13. Susan, I hope there aren't any half eaten cookies on your tree! They look wonderful.

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  14. Susan,

    These are just too pretty to eat, white chocolate or not! I can't decide where I like your baked ornament better, hanging on your tree or posing on your tea cup!

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  15. Very very pretty. Love that crystal sugar - it is so beautiful on Winter cookies.
    :)
    V

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  16. These look so elegant and stylish and the sugar makes them perfect for Xmas! I have a little niece here (6), Marie, who is going to be helping me bake and she would love these.

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  17. Love this edible Icicle ornaments!

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  18. Your cookie does look delicious. I would love to try to make these cookies. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Have a great week and a very Merry Christmas!

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  19. These are beautiful and perfectly twisted! I bet they're delicious too!

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  20. Picture Perfect; you are a genious; I think these are the cutest tree ornaments ever. I have someone in mind who who would love to make these.
    Rita

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  21. What a fun idea! Can't wait to see the next one too... Happy Holidays Susan-enjoy:@)

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  22. These are so cute and I love that they're multi-purpose also. Although I think that if we hung them on our tree, there'd be grave danger htat our dog would attempt ot eat them all!

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  23. Those are really adorable and so festive hanging on the tree.

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  24. Oh these are beautiful Susan! I haven't seen such a beautiful cookie in a long time!Thanks for sharing them!
    ronelle

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  25. A really neat idea, a Christmas ornament that you can eat after Christmas. Or even before! Richard

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  26. Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe Susan, is a great idea for Christmas tree...A warm hug...

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  27. This looks lovely! The usage of white choc sounds yummy! It looks beautiful on the tree! Thanks for sharing!

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  28. What pretty cookies! They look beautiful hanging on your tree, Susan.

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  29. Those are adorable, Susan! Those contests are chock full of super recipes and ideas. Some of my favorite recipes have come from cooking contests. Looking forward to your next gem...
    Hope they package all the recipes in a booklet and publish it.

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  30. Un'idea splendida, con tutti i granelli di zucchero poi che danno brillantezza è davvero una meraviglia vederli appesi all'albero! Un abbraccio

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  31. Love these! So happy I found you on a fellow foodies blog, you've got yourself a new follower! xo Jessica @ Cajunlicious

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  32. These are so sweet!! I love this idea for my mom's tree, thanks for sharing. shared on FB and twitter..too cute for people not to see!!

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  33. The cookies are so cute. I would have to steal them off the tree. They just sparkle with holiday cheer.

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  34. So cute! I can see why they won 3rd overall. These are so fun, especially if you have kids (which I don't) but I can definitely picture my little cousins getting into it

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  35. The cookies are beautiful! Can't wait to see the next installment!

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  36. What a beautiful cookie. It looks in place on the tree. I bet it is better in the tummy.

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  37. That's a very pretty cookie. I imagine it tastes as good as it looks. Pat

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  38. The Icicle cookies are so pretty...would hate to eat them...but I would!!

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  39. These are so special! I love the idea.

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  40. What a fun holiday cookie, so clever and very festive. Happiest holiday best wishes to you and your family, Susan.

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  41. These are very fun and I've never seen anything like them before. I hope you don't mind but I'm so inspired I've included this post in my Friday Food Fetish roundup. Thanks for sharing and MOAR please :)

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  42. i love how pretty and festive this looks! thank you for sharing and have a great weekend.

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  43. Thanks very much for your blog visit, and i still think that those cookies are a great idea to decorate the tree with! Richard

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  44. The ornament cookies are so very pretty. I think it is a wonderfully creative way to share cookies.

    Merry Christmas to you and your family.

    Velva

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  45. Those look delicious and I may just have to break down and make them...somebody twist my arm. :)
    Love they way you photographed them.

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  46. This is such an incredible idea. The cookies are beautiful. So elegant and perfect with a cup of tea. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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  47. These are beautiful cookies....ornaments! I like them everywhere you used them. And Yum! What could be better?!!

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  48. What a fantastic idea! I love the icy crystal sugars, the elegant twist and the festive shape of these cookies. Great that they double as ornaments.

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  49. You know, your pretty tree is the perfect backdrop for these sparkly cookies.
    But I hope you made extras, to keep hungry reindeer and 'certain' cookie monsters off your tree.

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