Santa's Stockings

This recipe for stocking cookies is just what you need when you are looking to get festive. This sweet treat can be shaped as stockings, Christmas trees, candy canes, and more, perfect to celebrate the holidays with. Get extra festive and decorate these oatmeal cookies with the kids using fun holiday toppings.

Yield: 4 jumbo cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
• 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 2 1/2 cups Quaker Oats (Quick or Old Fashioned, uncooked)
• 1 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries
• 1 cup coarsely chopped almonds (optional)
• Decorating icing
• Semisweet chocolate pieces
• Candy-coated chocolate pieces

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets.
2. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add egg, milk and almond extract; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda and salt; mix well. Stir in oats, dried cherries and almonds; mix well. Divide dough into 4 equal portions. With moistened hands, pat dough onto prepared cookie sheets into 1/4 inch thick holiday shapes such as stockings, Christmas trees or candy canes.
3. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack with wide spatula or pancake turner.
4. Cool completely.
5. Decorate cookies as desired.

Notes

For gift giving: Wrap decorated cookies individually in plastic wrap. Pack each cookie in separate gift bag filled with crumpled tissue paper in holiday colors.

For easy drop cookies, heat oven to 375 degrees F. Follow recipe as directed above except drop dough by rounded measuring tablespoonsful onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

Attribution

Recipe and photo used with permission from: Quaker Oats