Christmas Cookies
Tasty holiday treats
Nothing says Christmas quite like a plate of favorite Christmas cookies, whether you make them for yourself or your own family, or you make them to give away as gifts to the neighbors, friends or school staff.
Everyone has a favorite Christmas cookie recipe that they make every year.
For whatever reason, we may stick to chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies during the rest of the year, but Christmas cookies warrant some extra special effort.
One of the simplest, most traditional Christmas cookie ideas is to use Christmas cookie cutters to make sugar cookies in holiday shapes. Make a plate of cookies in the shape of angels, Christmas trees or snowflakes, and then decorate them with red and green sugar for a tasty treat that doubles as holiday decor.
A newer Christmas recipe is the peanut blossom, or kiss cookie. There are several slight variations on the recipe, but most have peanut butter cookie dough that is lightly baked. Then as quickly as it is removed from the oven, the cook places an unwrapped chocolate kiss in the center of the cookie. With all the new flavors of chocolate kisses available, like mint, caramel, raspberry and even pumpkin, these traditional favorite cookies can take a new twist. Try a shortbread cookie on the bottom with a raspberry kiss, a chocolate dough with a white chocolate/milk chocolate swirl, or a pecan shortbread cookie with a caramel kiss. Another variation uses a mini peanut butter cup in the center instead of a kiss.
Another favorite Christmas cookie is the seven-layer cookie bar. You may also see this called the Hello Dolly bar or the Magic Cookie bar. There are several variations on this recipe, but the basic makeup of the cookie is a layer of graham cracker crumbs, butter or margarine, a cup of chocolate chips, a cup of butterscotch chips, a cup of coconut, a cup of chopped nuts and one can of sweetened condensed milk. This makes a sweet bar with a tinge of toasted coconut that’s a real treat.
A classic Christmas cookie recipe is the snickerdoodle. This comfort cookie reminds many baby boomers of their school days, when the pale, chewy snickerdoodle covered in crackling cinnamon sugar was the dessert of choice. These days the snickerdoodle isn’t made as often, and it has become another Christmas treat.
Another traditional Christmas cookie recipe is the candy cane cookie. This simple but attractive cookie recipe is made with sugar cookie dough. Half the dough is colored with red food coloring. The baker rolls a rope of red dough and a rope of white dough. The two ropes are twisted together and placed on the cookie sheet in a hook shape.
The venerable fruit cake isn’t actually a Christmas cookie, but it’s certainly a Christmas recipe that gets a lot of talk. The fruit cake is the punch line for a lot of jokes, but there are actually wonderful Christmas recipes for fruit cakes that are soft, delicious and not at all like a doorstop.
Whatever cookies you choose, Merry Christmas and happy baking!
