Circulation Blog presents: Holiday treat special!

As the library is only open for one more week in 2016, elves have prepared some treats for staff to enjoy at the Dana Porter and Davis Centre Libraries!

Cookies are out at the student staff sign-in sheets at Porter and Davis, so give them a try! If you’re looking for some last minute treats for your family and friends, see the recipes below, as well as some tips from our elf’s less successful cookie attempts…

Some hard-earned tips:

1. Know the nature of your oven’s temperature. Some ovens are finicky, particularly older models. Baking requires precise temperatures as a heat that is too high or low will result in burnt or underdone cookies.
2. Will this stick to a baking sheet? While you may have prepared your baking sheet with oil, that sometimes is not enough! Metal baking sheets usually require a parchment paper or silicone mat to help keep the cookies separate from the pan.
3. Is my floor level? If you are using a baking tray without walls, it is important to know that your floors are level! Otherwise, cookies may slide right off the tray while baking, fall on the heat element, and create an unpleasant smoky aroma in the baking.

With these tips in mind, enjoy the recipes below!

Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time:  10 mins
Total time: 20 mins
Serves: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 box cake mix
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 cups Cool Whip, thawed
• ½ to 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, egg, and Cool Whip. The batter will be sticky!
3. Form dough into tablespoonfuls and roll in powdered sugar.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges look crisp. Allow to cool 1 minute on baking sheet; then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Note
Try these cookies with your favourite cake mix flavour! Our elves experimented with two different cake mixes - confetti and chocolate. A touch of mint extract gives it that finishing touch.

From The Best of Mr. Food Cookbook. Recipe and image from the Kitchen meets Girl blog. These ones are lemon cake mix!

Gingerbread Cookies

Prep and Refrigeration time: 60 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Serves: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• ½ cup vegetable shortening or butter, at room temperature (125 ml)
• ½ cup sugar (125 ml)
• 1 egg
• ½ cup fancy molasses (125 ml)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (5 ml)
• ¼ cup grated fresh ginger (60 ml)
• 3 cup all purpose flour (750 ml)
• 1 tsp cinnamon (5 ml)
• ¾ tsp baking soda (3 ml)
• ¼ tsp cloves (1 ml)

Instructions

1. Cream shortening (or butter) and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in molasses and grated ginger until evenly blended.
2. In a separate bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients and add to molasses mixture, stirring just until dough comes together. Shape dough into 2 discs and chill for at least 2 hours before rolling.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disc to just over 1/8-inch thick. Cut out desired shapes and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (If using cookies as decoration, put a small hole where a string will go to tie it). Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until edges are firm to the touch. Cool completely before decorating.

Note
You can cut these cookies into whatever shape you'd like!

From Anna Olsen’s show, Sugar. Recipe and image from The Food Network. So pretty!

The elves at the Circulation Blog wish you a very happy and safe holiday season! Cheers!