With Thanksgiving just behind us, many families now have their eyes on Christmas as the next big event on the horizon. Just like the huge turkey dinner we all have on Thanksgiving, we all look forward to eating a delicious meal on Christmas as well—though there’s the added bonus of presents too, of course. Still, when it comes to Christmas food, there’s the added emphasis on holiday treats and sweet desserts. Fortunately, we’ve scoured the net for a list of some of the best holiday cookie recipes that you can try out on your friends and family. With no further ado, here are 10 Christmas cookies that you have to try this year.
1. Vanilla Butter Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of softened butter
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of vanilla
4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of cream of tartar
Frosting:
1 1/2 cups of confectioner’s sugar
3 tablespoons of softened butter
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons of whole milk
food coloring (optional)
colored sugar (optional)
Steps:
2. Beat in your eggs and vanilla.
3. In a side bowl, whisk together your flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar.
4. Beat the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture before covering and refrigerating everything for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
6. Roll your dough out to a quarter-inch thickness on a floured surface.
7. Cut the dough into holiday-inspired shapes with whatever cutters you have.
8. Put them an inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
9. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes before letting them cool on wire racks.
10. Make your frosting by beating together confectioner’s sugar, butter, vanilla and milk until it reaches the right texture. Add food coloring if you wish.
11. Put your frosting in a piping bag and decorate your cookies! Sprinkle with colored sugar at the end.
2. Christmas Creme Sandwiches
Ingredients:
1 cup of softened butter
1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
2 cups of flour
sugar
Filling:
1/2 cup of softened butter
1 1/2 cups of confectioner’s sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
food coloring
Steps:
2. Cover and refrigerate it for two hours.
3. When it’s cool enough, separate your dough into thirds and leave one third of it out at room temperature for 15 minutes. Keep the rest in the fridge.
4. Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it’s an eighth-inch thick.
5. Cut into the dough with a one and a half inch round cutter.
6. Dunk the cutouts in a shallow dish with sugar to coat both sides.
7. Put the cookies on a baking sheet and prick each one with a fork several times.
8. When they’re ready, bake them for seven to nine minutes until they set. Cool them on wire racks.
9. To make the filling, cream the butter and sugar together in a small bowl.
10. Add vanilla and a little bit of food coloring as well, mixing it all up.
11. Spread about a teaspoon of the filling on top of half the cookies, topping them with the other cookies.
3. Pizzelles
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups of sugar
1 1/4 cups of canola oil
1 tablespoon of anise oil
6 1/2 cups of flour
pizelle iron
Steps:
2. Gradually add in your flour and mix everything together well.
3. To cook the pizelles properly, you’ll need to put the dough into a pizelle press (which are cheap online). If you don’t have one, put a golf ball sized amount of dough on a normal griddle and press a design into them yourself.
4. Cook until firm and crispy and let them cool on a rack.
4. Snickerdoodles
Ingredients:
1 cup of sugar (plus two tablespoons)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Steps:
2. Cream together your butter and a cup of sugar until it turns light and fluffy.
3. Get out another bowl and whisk together your flour, baking soda and cream of tartar.
4. Gradually add the dry mix into your creamed mixture.
5. Mix your cinnamon and leftover sugar together in a small side bowl.
6. Mold your dough into one inch balls before rolling them in the cinnamon sugar.
7. Put the dough on a baking sheet two inches apart and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
8. Transfer them to wire racks when they’re done to cool and enjoy!
5. Eggnog Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup of softened butter
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of eggnog
5 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
Icing:
1/4 cup of softened butter
3 cups of confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup of eggnog
Steps:
2. Beat in the eggnog as well.
3. Mix your flour, baking soda and nutmeg together in a side bowl and gradually add it to the creamed mix.
4. Shape the dough into 10-inch rolls, wrapping each one in plastic. Put them in the fridge overnight.
5. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees before unwrapping each of the rolls and slicing them into quarter-inch slices.
6. Put the slices an inch apart each on baking sheets.
7. Bake them for eight to 10 minutes before putting them on wire racks to cool.
8. In another bowl, make your icing by beating your butter and adding confectioners’ sugar and eggnog into it.
9. Beat it all together before frosting your cookies.
6. Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1 cup of cookie spread
1/2 cup of unsalted butter
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 cup of oats
Steps:
2. Get out another bowl and cream together the cookie spread, butter and sugars until they turn light and fluffy.
3. Beat in your egg and vanilla as well before gradually adding it to the flour mix. Stir in your oats and refrigerate it for three hours.
4. Preheat your oven to 350 and bring the dough up to room temperature.
5. Scoop out the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
6. Bake your cookies for 15 to 18 minutes, turning the pans halfway through the bake time.
7. Leave the cookies to cool on the warm pans for five minutes before moving them to wire racks.
7. Scottish Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup of brown sugar
4 1/2 cups of flour
Steps:
2. Cream together your butter and brown sugar until the mix is light and fluffy.
3. Add three and three-quarter cups of flour, mixing everything well.
4. Put the resulting dough on a floured surface and knead it for five minutes, adding more flour as necessary for a softer dough.
5. Roll the dough to a half-inch thick and cut it into three-by-one-inch strips.
6. Put the strips on a baking sheet and prick each one with a fork.
7. When the oven is ready, bake the strips for 20 to 25 minutes until they’re light brown.
8. Cool them when they’re done and enjoy!
8. Italian Christmas Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup of softened butter
2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
1 15-ounce carton of ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
Frosting:
1/2 cup of softened butter
3-4 cups of confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons of milk
colored sprinkles
Steps:
2. Add in the eggs one at a time and beat them in as well.
3. Beat in the ricotta and vanilla.
4. In another bowl, mix your flour, salt and baking soda before gradually adding it to the creamed mix.
5. Scoop the dough in teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet, each one two inches apart.
6. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees, cooling them on wire racks after.
7. To make the icing, cream together your butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and milk until it’s the right consistency.
8. Frost the cookies, add sprinkles and enjoy! Store the cookies in the fridge.
9. Snowball Cookies
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts
1/4 cup of sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of softened butter, chopped
2 cups of powdered sugar
Steps:
2. Mix together your flour, walnuts, sugar, salt and vanilla in a large bowl.
3. Add butter and knead the mix together until it becomes course meal.
4. Shape the dough into balls and put them on a cookie sheet, baking them for 15 minutes.
5. Roll the cookies in powdered sugar while they’re still warm before putting them on a cooling rack.
6. When they’re cool all the way, roll in sugar again and enjoy!
10. Citrus Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of honey
1/2 cup of molasses
1/2 cup of cubed, unsalted butter
1 egg
3 1/2 cups of flour
1/4 cup of ground almonds
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons of grated orange zest
1 teaspoon of cardamom
1 teaspoon of ginger
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of cloves
Glaze:
1/2 cup of honey
2 tablespoons of water
Steps:
2. Let the pan stand for 20 minutes before adding butter and stirring it in. Let it sit for another 20 minutes.
3. Beat in an egg.
4. In a side bowl, mix your flour, almonds, baking powder, lemon zest, orange zest and spices.
5. Gradually add these dry ingredients to the saucepan before refrigerating it all, covered, for at least eight hours.
6. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
7. Divide your dough into three pieces and roll each piece out to a quarter-inch thick on a floured surface.
8. Cut each one up with a tree-shaped cookie cutter (or whatever is available) and place them two inches apart each on a baking tray.
9. Bake everything for seven to eight minutes before cooling them on the trays for a minute. Transfer them to wire racks after that.
10. Finally, make your glaze by mixing all those ingredients together. Brush the glaze over the cookies and let it set.
As you can see, there are plenty of fun versions of cookie recipes that you probably already know and love. With the holidays almost here, it’s important to make sure we have everything ready to have a delicious feast with our families. At least when it comes to the dessert part of things, this list should provide some inspiration. Have you given any of these recipes a try yourself? Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.
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