Ginger Molasses Cookies

Santa was supposed to get these cookies this year. Unfortunately I was so busy on Christmas Eve, by the time I got around to making the dough, it was late. The longer the dough is chilled, the better (IMHO) the cookies bake up. I LOVE LOVE LOVE using silicone liners on my cookie sheets. You don't have to grease them and NOTHING sticks to them. Silpat and Tupperware are the two that I use. I use a #20 scoop (it holds 1/4 C) to make these cookies and I fit 8 on a cookie sheet ( :-:-: in that pattern) This gives you nice big satisfying cookies! With my oven and with that size of cookie it takes the full 16 minutes to cook. Just don't leave an 18 year old in charge of taking the last batch out of the oven while you go see a movie.... you will come home to hockey pucks ;-)
BTW... Santa doesn't mind Oreos :-)

Ginger Molasses Cookies

1/2 C butter, softened
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 C molasses
2 C whole wheat pastry flour (you could use AP flour, but you can't tell these have wheat flour in them)
1 T ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Cream the butter, cream cheese and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and molasses. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Add all at once to creamed mixture and beat just until combined. Cover and chill dough at least 1 hour (overnight REALLY is best) Drop dough onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 350* for 12-16 minutes. Let rest on cookie sheet for several minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Today I had a WONDERFUL day. Started off with my kids NOT waking me up before I woke up on my own. We opened gifts, went to see Sherlock Holmes (can't say I would recommend this movie to anyone), then we went to my Mother In Laws house. It was a great evening filled with food and fun. I made several dishes I will post about in the next couple of days.
If you like Hot Wings, you will LOVE this dip! To me Franks Red Hot sauce is the epitome of Hot Wings... and this includes that ingredient! I plan on making this dip again for New Year's Eve. I can't rave enough about the Reynold's slow cooker liners. I used a smaller crock pot (but still bigger than the "Dipper" size) for this recipe that doesn't have a removable crock. I used the large Oven bag for this one. This crockpot doesn't have a keep warm setting, so some of the dip got a tad crusty and brown around the edges. After I put the leftovers away, it was just a matter of tossing the bag and doing a light wash on the inside of the crock! It also helps to transfer the leftovers!!!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 (10 oz) cans chunk chicken, drained (I used the Costco cans that were 12.5 oz)
2 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 C Ranch dressing
3/4 C Franks Red Hot sauce
1 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese (I used a preshredded mexican cheese blend)

Heat chicken and Franks until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook stirring until well blended and warm(I will admit I didn't pre soften my cream cheese. It may have taken a tad longer to heat, but it worked) Mix in half of cheddar cheese and transfer mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top, cover and cook on low setting until hot and bubbly. Serve with crackers and/or celery.