Christmas Cookies
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
My super fun, super intimidating (to me) cookie press.
As you can tell from my other blog posts, I love baking. I love giving away my baking to others. So holiday baking is one of my favorite activities. I get to really experiment and bust out new recipes too. Some successful, some epic fails.
Finding great recipes is tricky. There are so many blogs out there, it can be overwhelming to know which are going to give you the best outcome. So this post is really designed to help you take the work out of it, because I’ve tried all these recipes with success. Keep in mind, I’m not a professional or semi-professional baker. I’m a home baker, with adequate skill to be able to follow a recipe. So these recipes have to all be:
Easy to follow - Baking is a hobby, I have never taken a baking class (although that is in the future for me and P for sure!). So if it’s not easy to follow, that recipe doesn’t make the cut.
Have a limited number of ingredients - I’m not interested, nor do I have time for recipes with more than 15 ingredients that you can easily find in a standard pantry.
Requires no special equipment - Again, I’m a hobby baker. I have a good sized kitchen, but beyond standard pans and basic piping equipment (read: 5 piping tips and disposable bags), I have the basic pans, mixer, rubber scrapers, etc.
Chocolate crinkle cookies. So fudgy and delish!
That said, here are my favorite cookie and dessert recipes that I’d like to share with you.
Chocolate crinkle cookies - I discovered these cookies last year. A super simple recipe from one of my favorite bakers, Bigger Bolder Baking. It’s chewy, fudgy goodness with the added sweetness of being rolled in powdered sugar. It became an instant family hit.
Pinwheels - I have seen these recipes so many times and I finally took the plunge last year to try these rolled cookies. They weren’t perfect, but I still think they looked great and so festive. The taste was a lovely, buttery cookie, perfect for the holidays.
Pretty pinwheel cookies! Hopefully this year’s will be even better with practice!
Gingerbread crinkle cookie - Similar to the recipe for chocolate crinkle cookies above, these gingerbread flavored versions from I AM BAKER are just delicious. My first batch, I accidentally put a half stick of butter more than I needed. Not going to lie, they were still delicious, though they spread a bit more than they should.
Peanut butter blossoms - I love these simple cookies. In a pinch, you can use the bagged cookie version from the grocery to save time. You can also put the dough in a mini muffin tin and instead of using a Hersey kiss, you can push a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup into the center. The result is super cute, compact, and delicious!
Chocolate chip cookies - Literally the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had. It’s soft in the middle, with a little crisp on the outside. What makes these the best though is the real bittersweet chocolate bars chopped up which counters the sweet perfectly. It’s another out of this world recipe from Bigger Bolder Baking!
Husband thought it would be funny if he ate part of my picture set up. Gingerbread crinkle cookies
Gingerbread cookies (for cutouts) - Apparently I can’t get enough of Bigger Bolder Baking. Another great recipe from BBB is this gingerbread cookie dough. It became my husband’s instant favorite and my son just loved cutting out and decorating all the fun Christmas shapes. I did have to engage my husband’s muscle to roll these out, but that might just be that because I use a wheelchair, I don’t have the leverage on the counter to manage the rolling pin. It was a workout, but worth it!
Monster cookies - I’ve been making monster cookies for more than 15 years. I love this cookie because it’s literally 3 cookies in one - Oatmeal, M&M and peanut butter. So stinking good! You can also use mason jars and put together all the dry ingredients and make cookie gift jars for people.
Monster cookies - all the dry ingredients layered in a mason jar. The instructions are on the printout. Great little gifts!
Spritz cookies (for cookie press) - This is a great recipe, and tastes so buttery and wonderful, but I did find I still had to chill the dough to get them off the press. When cookies press cookies work, they look great, but I’m still trying to work out the process. Wish me luck for this year!
What cookie recipes do you make during the holidays? What ones should I try this year?
