Marys Bell Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; blend into the creamed mixture. Cover and chill for at least two hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the dough into two parts. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece of the dough out to 3/16 inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets. Sprinkle cookies with plain or colored granulated sugar.
• Bake for 8 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Beat in corn syrup, egg and cream. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate dough for 2-4 hours or overnight. , On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a 2-1/2-in. cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. , In a bowl, combine the first three filling ingredients; mix well. Stir in pecans. Place 1/2 teaspoon of filling in the center of each cookie. Shape into a cone by folding edges of dough to meet over filling; pinch edges together. Place a piece of cherry at open end of each bell for clapper. , Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• Make filling:
• Stir together brown sugar, butter, and 3 tablespoons cherry juice until combined, then stir in pecans. Set cherries aside.
• Make cookies:
• Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Whisk together flour, ginger, baking soda, salt, and coffee.
• Beat together brown sugar and shortening in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 6 to 8 minutes. Add corn syrup, egg, and cream and beat until combined well.
• Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, then mix until combined.
• Roll out one third of dough between 2 sheets of wax paper to 1/8-inch thick (about 15 by 11 inches). Chill dough on wax paper on a baking sheet until slightly firm, about 10 minutes. Cut out as many cookies as possible with cutter and transfer with a metal spatula to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, spacing them 1/2 inch apart. Roll out, chill, and cut remaining dough in same manner. Reserve scraps.
• Center 1/2 teaspoon nut filling on lower half of each cookie, then, using spatula, fold sides in toward center to form a cone. (Dough may crack along fold; part of filling will be exposed.)
• Stem and quarter cherries. Place 1 cherry quarter over exposed filling on each cookie to make bell clapper.
• Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are pale golden, 12 to 16 minutes total. Transfer to racks to cool completely.
• Reroll scraps, then make more cookies in same manner (reroll only twice), baking them on cooled sheets.