Sugar...

I think the only 2 recipes I haven't shared with you are the sugar cookies and brown sugar bars (or blondies as some call them).

The sugar cookies?

-Not outrageously sweet, leaning more toward a shortbread type of sugar cookie. But they are superbly soft and beautifully complimented by simple white icing.

Super Soft Sugar Cookies:
(I halved the recipe)

• 1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 4 1/2 cups flour

Cream the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add in sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla and beat until well combined. Add the flour in a little at a time until it is all mixed in.

Again, this dough needs to be refrigerated for about 2 hours, and again I pre-rolled my dough between 2 sheets of wax paper. However, since this dough is kind of sticky, I did put just a tad bit of flour on the bottom sheet of wax paper to make cookie cutting easier.

Once chilled, bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes - just until it's barely beginning to turn gold. Cool, decorate, and devour!

As for these little gems?

A very rich blondie-brownie, also known as a brown sugar bar. These are baked in a jelly roll pan instead of a 13x9 so that they can easily be made into a chocolate sandwich. I also have an awesome, awesome nonstick jelly roll pan. Against my better judgement, I let a recipe persuade me into using wax paper. This is what happened:

Yeah, a mess when I tried to remove the bars from the wax paper. So my advice? -Use a good nonstick pan, or grease the bajeebers out of your jelly roll pan.

Brown Sugar Bars:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups brown sugar (I used half dark brown, half light brown)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla

Sift together the flour and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well combined. Slowly add in the flour mixture, mixing until it has just been blended.

Spread your batter in a well greased or nonstick jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, just until the edges begin to look done and the center is set. Remove and cool for 30 minutes.

You can stop right there and serve, or you can make this glaze and make brown sugar sandwiches.

To make the sandwiches, cut the bars in half right down the middle of the jelly roll pan. Spread the glaze on one half of the bars, and flip the other half right on top. There you have it: Brown sugar sandwiches.

Chocolate Glaze:

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp powdered sugar

Bring the butter and cream to a boil in a saucepan on the stove. Once boiling, remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Stir in powdered sugar until smooth.

Happy Christmas baking to you!