Holiday cookie baking a cherished tradition

A cherished holiday tradition for many families is baking Christmas cookies.

Gathering family members and friends in the kitchen to bake or decorate cookies brings together the generations in a casual setting where stories are shared and memories created.

And the tins of beautiful cookies that are created during these sessions form the basis for so many holiday traditions.

Not only are they shared in holiday get-togethers and family meals, they are often given to others as gifts.

And, of course, at least some of these delicious treats are left out on Christmas Eve as an offering to the man of the hour — Santa.

For many families, cookies are also a way of connecting with their roots. The cookies of choice sometimes reflect their ethnic roots — springerle and pfeffernusse for Germans, macaroons and madeleines for the French, pignoli and pizzelles for Italians and janhagels for the Dutch, just to mention a few.

But no matter what country your family hails from, there are a few basic baking tips to remember when making cookies.

Baking requires exact measurements and temperatures. Keep the dough chilled between baking batches, and use cooled cookie sheets. To keep baked goods from sticking to the cookie sheets, place the dough on a sheet of parchment paper on the cookie sheet.

When making cut-out cookies, work with a small piece of dough at a time and keep the remaining dough refrigerated until needed. Roll the dough between two layers of lightly floured parchment or wax paper. Place the cut-out cookies on a baking sheet and refrigerate for about 30 minutes before baking to get crisp-looking cookie shapes.

Watch the cookies carefully when they’re in the oven to ensure they don’t get too brown. Place them on a wire rack to cool.

Store soft cookies, such as drop cookies, in a container with a tight lid and crisp cookies, such as Florentines, in a container with a loose lid.

Following are a few holiday cookie recipes from thepioneerwoman.com.

 

Grinch Cookies

2-1/2 cups flour

2-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed and softened

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Green gel food coloring

1/2 cup cornstarch

Red heart-shaped sprinkles or cinnamon candies

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, two cups powdered sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut butter into tablespoons and drop into the flour mixture. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined.

Add two drops food coloring and beat until well incorporated, making sure there are no white streaks in the dough.

In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch and the remaining powdered sugar.

Scoop dough into 1-1/2 tablespoon-sized balls. Roll between the palms of your hands to form a ball, then roll in the cornstarch mixture until well coated. Place balls about three inches apart on two parchment-lined baking sheets and slightly press down on the tops.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 12 minutes, until cookies start to crinkle and are lightly browned on the bottoms. Remove from the oven and immediately press a heart-shaped sprinkle or candy on each cookie. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Cookies may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature as long as one week.

 

 

Red Velvet Cream Cheese Thumbprint Cookies

For cookies:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons red liquid food coloring

2 teaspoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup sugar

For filling:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter, brown sugar, and one egg yolk in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add flour, food coloring and cocoa and mix until a soft dough forms. Roll dough into 36 balls.

Place egg whites in a shallow bowl and beat lightly with a fork. Place sugar in a separate shallow bowl. Roll each dough ball in the egg whites, then in the sugar. Place balls two inches apart on ungreased sheet pans. Make an indentation on the top of each cookie with your thumb.

To make filling, beat cream cheese, sugar, remaining egg yolk, salt and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Set aside.

Bake cookies in a 300-degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and use the handle of a wooden spoon to deepen the indentation. Fill each indentation with about one teaspoon filling, then return cookies to the oven and bake about 12 minutes, until cookies and fillings are set.

Cool two minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Store cookies in the refrigerator. Allow the cookies to come to room temperature before serving.

 

 

White Chocolate Macademia Cookies With Sea Salt

2-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

8 ounces white chocolate bar, chopped into 1/4 to 3/8 inch pieces

7 ounces macadamia nuts, roughly chopped

Flaky sea salt

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and kosher salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter, shortening, brown sugar and sugar until well combined. Add eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract and beat on medium high speed until just combined. Add flour mixture and beat on medium speed just until fully incorporated. Fold in six ounces chopped white chocolate and six ounces macadamia nuts, taking care to not over-mix. Place bowl in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Drop dough by compact spoonful onto baking sheets. Press a little chopped white chocolate and macadamia nuts into the tops of the cookie dough, then sprinkle sea salt generously over the tops. Bake in a 375-degree oven for nine minutes, until edges and tops are lightly browned.

Let cookies rest on pan for 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

 

Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

10 tablespoons salted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped

Crushed peppermint candies, for topping

Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed three minutes, until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix until combined.

Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in two batches, beating until just combined after each addition. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough and roll into smooth round balls. Place two inches apart on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate one hour to overnight, until firm.

Bake cookies in a 350-degree oven nine to 11 minutes, until just set. Don’t overbake. Let cool slightly, then press the handle of a wooden spoon into the center of each cookie to make a small indentation. Place cookies on a rack to cool completely.

Melt milk chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon melted chocolate into the center of each cookie and top with crushed peppermints. Let set.

 

 

Brandy Snaps

For cookie:

8 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup molasses

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon brandy

3/4 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

For filling:

2 cups heavy cream

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons brandy

Melt butter in a skillet with molasses, sugar and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Allow to bubble and cook one minute, then turn off heat.

Dump in flour, ginger and salt. Stir together quickly until just combined, then stir in brandy.

Use a tablespoon to spoon mixture onto parchment-lined cookie sheets, putting eight cookies on each sheet.

Bake in a 325-degree oven for 10 minutes, until bubbling. Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow to cool on the pan for two to three minutes. Lift circles, one at a time, and drape over a cannoli mold or a large metal handle of a whisk or potato masher. The cookies will naturally drape over the mold.

Slide cookies off the mold and set them on a cool plate. Repeat with remaining cookies. Be prepared to slightly reshape cookies as they cool.

Make filling by combining very cold cream, sugar, and brandy in a cold mixing bowl. Mix on high until cream is very stiff. Place cream in a piping bag fitted with a large tip and, when cookies are completely cool, fill them with the cream. Serve within a few hours.

 

 

 

Danish Butter Cookies

16 tablespoons salted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

White sparkling sugar

Place softened butter and sugar in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. With a hand mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment beat on medium-high speed three to four minutes, until very light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well to combine. Add flour, one cup at a time, mixing on low to combine completely between each addition. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.

Transfer dough to a piping bag fitted with a large, star tip. Pipe dough in a circle shape about two inches in diameter, overlapping about 1/2-inch at the edges. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 15 minutes, then bake in a 350-degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until edges are lightly golden.

Cool on the sheet five minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store at room temperature in a single layer in an air-tight container between pieces of parchment paper for as long as a week.

 

 

Pistachio Star Cookies

4-2/3 cups roasted, lightly salted pistachios

3-3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large egg whites

For meringue:

1 large egg white

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

In a food processor, grind pistachios until fine. Add 2-3⁄4 cups confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon and continue pulsing to make a fine powder. Add egg whites and process until the dough comes together.

Sprinkle a work surface with the remaining confectioners’ sugar. Knead dough on the surface to create a cohesive dough. Roll out dough until 1⁄4-inch thick, making sure the surface and rolling pin are coated with confectioners’ sugar to keep the dough from sticking. Cut out cookies with a two-inch star cookie cutter, dipping the cutter into the confectioners’ sugar occasionally to keep the dough from sticking. Gather dough scraps, reroll and cut out more stars.

Place cookies about 1⁄2 inch apart on two parchment-lined baking sheets.

For meringue, whisk egg white in a metal bowl until medium-stiff peaks form. Whisk in confectioners’ sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until thick and smooth. It’s OK if the meringue doesn’t hold a peak. Transfer to a piping bag or a zipper-top bag and snip off a small corner tip of the bag. Pipe meringue on top of the cookies or drop a teaspoon of it onto the middle of each cookie and use the back of a spoon to spread it.

Bake in a 300-degree oven for 15 to 17 minutes, until the edges of the meringue barely start to color. Let cool five minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

 

 

 

Hot Chocolate Cookies

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2-1/4 cups flour

3 envelopes hot cocoa mix without marshmallows (about 1.38 ounces each)

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup salted butter, room temperature

1-3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups white chocolate chips

24 marshmallows, halved crosswise with kitchen shears

Place a few inches of water in a saucepan and heat on low until simmering. Add chopped chocolate to a heatproof bowl and set over the saucepan. Let melt, three to four minutes, then stir until smooth. Remove bowl from the pan and let cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, hot cocoa mix, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine and get rid of any lumps.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed two to three minutes, until light and smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla. With the mixer on low, gradually add the melted chocolate. Increase speed to medium-high and beat about one minute, until smooth and light. With the mixer on low, add flour mixture and beat 30 seconds to one minute, until just combined. Stir in white chocolate chips. Cover dough and refrigerate 30 minutes, until it just begins to firm up.

Scoop dough by tablespoons into balls and place two inches apart on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake in a 350-degree oven nine to 10 minutes, until edges just begin to set.

Remove from the oven and place a marshmallow half on the center of each cookie, cut-side down. Continue baking two to three minutes, until edges of the cookies are set and marshmallows are stuck to the cookie. Let cool five minutes on the pans, then place on racks to cool completely.

 

 

Salted Caramel Cookies

1 cup salted butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-2/3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2/3 cup thick caramel sauce

Flaky sea salt

Melt 1/2 cup butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook three to four minutes, swirling the pan, until butter tums golden brown. Pour browned butter into a large heatproof bowl. Swirl bowl gently to stop the cooking, then let cool completely, about 45 minutes. Let remaining butter soften at room temperature.

Add softened butter, brown sugar and sugar to the cooled browned butter. Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed about two minutes, until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and beat one minute, until smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the butter mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Scrape down the bowl and beat a few more seconds.

Scoop and roll dough into 1-1/4-inch balls. Place two inches apart on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake nine to 12 minutes in the upper and lower third of a 375-degree oven, switching pans halfway through, until the cookies are golden.

Let cool two minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container for as long as three days.

Just before serving, drizzle cookies with caramel sauce and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

 

 

 

Chocolate Dipped Cherry Macaroons

2/3 cup small-chopped maraschino cherries

14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

3/4 cup sweetened, condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3 tablespoons flour

2 large egg whites, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate baking bar, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

Spread chopped cherries on a paper-towel-lined plate. Set aside.

In a large bowl, stir coconut, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and almond extract. Fold in chopped cherries until mixture is evenly colored. Sprinkle flour evenly over the mixture, then fold again to incorporate.

With a stand or hand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites and salt on high speed until it forms medium-firm peaks. Very gently fold egg whites into coconut mixture.

Pack the coconut mixture fairly tightly into medium-sized cookie scoops, and drop scoops onto two parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in a 325-degree oven for 30 to 33 minutes, until golden brown and set, alternating pans halfway through.

Remove pans from oven and let macaroons cool on the pan five minutes before placing them on a rack to cool completely.

Line a pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a very small microwave-safe bowl, gently melt chocolate in the microwave in 15 to 20-second intervals, stirring in between.

Dip the bottom of each macaroon into the melted chocolate, about 1/4 inch up the sides. Very gently scrape the bottom of the macaroon across the lip of the bowl to remove excess chocolate. Place cookies on parchment paper lined pan and let sit at room temperature until chocolate is set, or place in refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days or freeze in an airtight container with parchment paper separating layers of macaroons.

 

 

Cake Mix Cookies

1 15.25-ounce box white cake mix

1/2 cup melted butter, cooled

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs

3/4 cup colorful jimmy sprinkles, plus more to top

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, cinnamon and eggs. Beat with a mixer until well combined. Stir in the sprinkles.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls, two inches apart, on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Top cookies with additional sprinkles, if desired.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly brown on the bottom edges. Let cookies cool on the baking sheets for two minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

 

 

 

 

 

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

For cookies:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 cups sugar

16 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons buttermilk

5 teaspoons red food coloring

1 tablespoons vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 ounces white chocolate, chopped

For filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

White nonpareils

Put the unsweetened chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring, until melted. Let cool.

Beat sugar and butter in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed for two to three minutes, until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly drizzle in the cooled melted chocolate. Scrape the bowl and mix again. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, then the buttermilk, food coloring and vanilla.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. With the mixer on low speed, beat the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture in two batches. Scrape the bowl once and mix a final time until well combined. Fold in the chopped white chocolate.

Roll generous tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place them about two inches apart on two parchment-lined pans. Bake in a 350-degree oven about 12 minutes, until cookies are puffy and set.

Cool two minutes on the pans, then remove the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

For the filling, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer on high speed about four minutes, until smooth.

Spread or pipe a dollop of the filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies to make sandwiches. Roll the sides of the cookies in the nonpareils.

Refrigerate 15 minutes to set.