# Christmas cookies



## quiltertoo (Dec 14, 2015)

Do you bake Christmas cookies? What are you family's favorites? Some of our favorites are springerle, biscotti, shortbread cut outs, thumbprints, gingerbread men, oatmeal and of course chocolate chip. I usually make about 15 kinds and everyone gets a big container of cookies to take home on Christmas day. It's a tradition and I do love traditions.

Mary Lou


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## doriettefarm (Dec 14, 2015)

These nut strudel cookies are one of my favorites for Christmas.  Ingredients are basic, you can make the dough in advance and keep in the fridge until ready to make the filling.  Only downside is they are best refrigerated after baking but they are so delicious!

http://www.cooks.com/recipe/fu3p40mf/melt-in-your-mouth-nut-strudel.html


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## shunt2011 (Dec 14, 2015)

I make lots of goodies for the holidays. Thumbprint, sugar cookies, coconut macaroons, peanut brittle, toffee, pizzelles, kolachy, chocolate chip etc.......


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## kchaystack (Dec 14, 2015)

I really like to make lemon ricotta cookies with a lemon glaze.  Nice and bright on cold winter days.  But since it has not really been cold yet...  I have not bothered.  Hahah

Oh and last year I found a chocolate shortbread with chocolate ganache filling....   mmm


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## Arimara (Dec 14, 2015)

My grandmother and my mother are both good for making fruitcakes about now. Christmas cookie baking has never been a thing we do (even if the fruitcake makes up for it).


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## quiltertoo (Dec 14, 2015)

Arimara said:


> My grandmother and my mother are both good for making fruitcakes about now. Christmas cookie baking has never been a thing we do (even if the fruitcake makes up for it).



I love fruitcake. I never understood all the jokes about it. I have made it in the past but it was kind of like making soap. I made it around Thanksgiving, then wrapped it in cheesecloth soaked in rum and then left it to age until Christmas.

Mary Lou


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## doriettefarm (Dec 14, 2015)

kchaystack said:


> I really like to make lemon ricotta cookies with a lemon glaze.  Nice and bright on cold winter days.  But since it has not really been cold yet...  I have not bothered.  Hahah
> 
> Oh and last year I found a chocolate shortbread with chocolate ganache filling....   mmm



How dare you mention lemon ricotta cookies and not post a recipe link!  Forty lashes for you kc!  My mom is a lemon freak so I'm always looking for new ideas to share with her.  She's also a hardcore Martha Stewart fan so she makes martha's lemon-rosemary shortbread cookies almost every Christmas.  They're actually a nice change of pace from the usual sweets . . . this is coming from a straight-up chocoholic!


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## lsg (Dec 14, 2015)

I like to make cut out sugar cookies for the grandkids.  Our little guy helps to cut them out and decorate them.


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## Chefmom (Dec 14, 2015)

Oh my...I have so many different cookies that I make, but the most popular on the short list is my sugar cookies, clothespins, nut horns, chocolate fudge, divinity, peanut butter blossoms, almond spritz, russian teacakes (aka snowballs), snickerdoodles, honey pecan squares, walnut thins.  I also make monkey bread and the big nut rolls that are the sweet bread logs.


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## kchaystack (Dec 14, 2015)

doriettefarm said:


> How dare you mention lemon ricotta cookies and not post a recipe link!  Forty lashes for you kc!  My mom is a lemon freak so I'm always looking for new ideas to share with her.  She's also a hardcore Martha Stewart fan so she makes martha's lemon-rosemary shortbread cookies almost every Christmas.  They're actually a nice change of pace from the usual sweets . . . this is coming from a straight-up chocoholic!



Yikes, Ok here you go

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/...-ricotta-cookies-with-lemon-glaze-recipe.html

and the shortbreads are here

http://www.joyofbaking.com/shortbreads/ChocolateMintShortbreads.html


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## quiltertoo (Dec 14, 2015)

Clothespins??? I have never heard of them. More info please.

Mary Lou



doriettefarm said:


> These nut strudel cookies are one of my favorites for Christmas. Ingredients are basic, you can make the dough in advance and keep in the fridge until ready to make the filling. Only downside is they are best refrigerated after baking but they are so delicious!
> 
> http://www.cooks.com/recipe/fu3p40mf/melt-in-your-mouth-nut-strudel.html


 
Do you bake them? The recipe doesn't say.


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## doriettefarm (Dec 14, 2015)

quiltertoo said:


> Do you bake them? The recipe doesn't say.



Yes, definitely bake them . . . sorry for posting such a horrible link.  I was kinda freaking out because my Google-fu wasn't bringing up many hits and I don't think I have a hardcopy of that recipe!  Here's a better link with baking directions and everything 

ETA:  I usually bake mine on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet even though directions say unlined.  Sometimes the filling oozes out the ends and the parchment makes clean up so much easier.

http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/ubbs/archive/COOKIES/Rolled_Cookies_Melt-in-Your_Mouth_Nut_Strudel.html

kc - thanks for the links as well!  I may have to try both . . . lemon ricotta for mom and the chocolate ganache shortbreads for me & Dad


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## dibbles (Dec 14, 2015)

My mother in law bakes spritz, Russian teacakes, almond shortbread and butter cookies, so I don't make those. The cookies I make vary, but my grandmothers both made Christmas cookies every year. From their recipes I make peanut butter blossoms and (not every year because they are super putzy) peanut croquettes (one grandma); and then I make krumkaka and sugar cookies, lefse, and any other Norwegian cookies I have time for (usually none). My mom always made a chocolate toffee cookie that I now make every year. My daughter in law won a blue ribbon for her snickerdoodles at the state fair this year - I'm hoping some make their way here this Christmas! I LOVE COOKIES!!



kchaystack said:


> I really like to make lemon ricotta cookies with a lemon glaze. Nice and bright on cold winter days. But since it has not really been cold yet... I have not bothered. Hahah
> 
> Oh and last year I found a chocolate shortbread with chocolate ganache filling.... mmm


 
I might have to do those lemon ricotta cookies. Can they be put in the freezer?


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## snappyllama (Dec 14, 2015)

Yum, everyone' cookies sound fantastic. My husband makes Sand Tarts every year that disappear way too quickly. I think they are the same thing as Russian Teacakes. Thankfully, they are perfectly behaved at high altitude so we haven't needed to make adjustments.


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## Bamagirl (Dec 14, 2015)

I didn't make as much this year, as I am trying to control my sugar intake. Thankfully, I am making this to send to my husband's job and to my son's friends at school, so it won't be a temptation. I made peppermint bark, peanut butter squares (my most requested recipe/dessert), ritz crackers dipped in melted Ande's mint baking chips, vanilla and chocolate dipped pretzels, cinnamon and spearmint crack candy and potato candy (first time making this and I must say I am not impressed, way too sweet and I'm not sure I didn't mess something up). I love to bake and cook, so it was an enjoyable time!


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## IrishLass (Dec 14, 2015)

Triple chocolate chip cookies (an ATK/CI recipe) are on the top on my list: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/thick-and-chewy-triple-chocolate-cookies/, 

Next are my grandma's Butternut Ball cookies, which are a variation of all the snowball/butterball cookies recipes you see floating about the net. Instead of adding chopped nuts to the dough, though, my grandma would always enclose a pecan half inside each ball of dough. After they are baked, they are then rolled in powdered sugar. 

I'll be adding 2 new recipes to my list this year: 

1) Almond spritzgeback cookies- the kind that melt-in-your-mouth as opposed to the crispy kind. I was experimenting with these a few months ago, and now that they have been hubby and son-approved (besides just "me"-approved), I feel confident enough to foist them upon the rest of the family. lol 

and

2) Polish oreshki cookies, which are the cutest looking cookies I ever did see. They are shaped via a special mold to look just like real walnuts, and you can fill them with different fillings: http://search.kingarthurflour.com/s...e&method=or&af=type:recipes&sli_from_jump=yes ,and also http://letthebakingbeginblog.com/2014/12/walnut-shaped-cookies-with-dulce-de-leche-filling/ I bought a couple of sets of walnut cookie molds a few years back from King Arthur Flour when they were clearing them out for half-price or something, but I haven't even used them yet. Well, no more excuses- this year they are getting used!




			
				Bamagirl said:
			
		

> ritz crackers dipped in melted Ande's mint baking chips


 
Ooooh! I need to try my hand those!


IrishLass


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## Steve85569 (Dec 14, 2015)

I haven't started yet.
Lemon bars, cashew brittle, rocks, sugar cookies, roca bars, ginger snaps....
I know there's others but the short list is an idea of what's about to happen. DW is complaining about putting on a few pounds since I retired ( I cook) and she's been encouraging me to soap instead of bake.


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## Bamagirl (Dec 14, 2015)

Irishlass- they are  so good (they remind me of the Girl Scout Thin Mints).


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## quiltertoo (Dec 15, 2015)

Irish Lass would you share the recipe for the spritz cookies. I have been looking for a melt in the mouth recipe for years. When I was in high school many many years ago they served the best spritz cookie I have ever tasted and I have tried a lot of recipes but none were the melt in the mouth kind I was looking for.

Mary Lou


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## annalee2003 (Dec 15, 2015)

Love christmas cookies! I love cookies in general, haha.
My favorites to bake on these cool winter days though, would have to be: Sugar cookies (love decorating them!), ginger cookies (seriously have a love affair with ginger and molasses), Russian tea cakes (melt in your mouth goodness!), and your basic chocolate chip cookie (can't go wrong with chocolate!).


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## dixiedragon (Dec 15, 2015)

Can anybody recommend a recipe for sugar cookies for decorating? My sister wants us (me and mom) to get together with her and her son (age 5) to decorate cookies, but we've never made sugar cookies from scratch. We need something that is sturdy enough to stand being cut into shapes, then decorated and baked.

Here's a non-cookie recipe for low-carbers for the holiday season:
Buttery Ranch Mushrooms (aka crackpot mushrooms)
4 packages white capped mushrooms
2 sticks unsalted butter (lots of salt in the ranch dressing mix so you don't want salted butter)
2 packets ranch dressing mix

Put in crockpot on low for 2 hours or so.


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## shunt2011 (Dec 15, 2015)

I have a  recipe for Sugar Cookies, it's not traditional as it doesn't require chilling which was what grabbed my attention 20 years ago.  My family loves them.

1 C. Butter (unsalted)  I use salted and just add a 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C. Sugar
1 Egg
2 tsp vanilla
Mix well

Add: 2 3/4 C. Flour, 1 tsp. Baking Powder, 1 tsp Salt.

Roll out and use cookie cutters

Bake 400 degrees  6-7 minutes.


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## IrishLass (Dec 15, 2015)

quiltertoo said:


> Irish Lass would you share the recipe for the spritz cookies. I have been looking for a melt in the mouth recipe for years. When I was in high school many many years ago they served the best spritz cookie I have ever tasted and I have tried a lot of recipes but none were the melt in the mouth kind I was looking for.
> 
> Mary Lou


 
I don't mind at all.  Using confectioner's sugar (aka powdered sugar) in the dough is the secret to melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Here it is:

-245g (2 cups + 2 tsp.) King Arthur AP flour
-224g (1 cup) softened/room temperature butter
-80g (2/3 cup) confectioner’s sugar
-45g (2/3 cup) finely ground almond meal [ground from 45g of whole almonds. I use my pampered Chef manual rotary grater with the fine blade- it gives me a fine/fluffy grind with no solid bits. If you don't have something that can grind that fine- use finely ground almond flour/meal from the store].
-2 large egg yolks (for what it's worth, mine usually weigh between 32g and 34g)
-4g (3/4th tsp.) vanilla extract
-1g (1/4 tsp.) almond extract
-1/8 tsp. salt

1) Mix the flour, almond meal and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
2) In a separate bowl (or stand mixer), beat butter until fluffy.
3) Gradually beat in the confectioner’s sugar, and continue to beat until smooth.
4) Beat in the vanilla and egg yolks until combined and the mixture is fluffy.
5) Slowly add the flour mixture and mix on low (or hand-stir) until just combined. Don’t over beat.
6) Wrap dough and place in refrigerator for an hour or so to stiffen/firm up so that it can be fed through a cookie press without sticking too badly and to make well-shaped cookie forms. Alternatively, you can place it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so instead.
Dough can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Set it out on the counter to soften up a little first if you find it too hard to work with, but don't let it get too soft or the dough won't form a good shape.
7) Feed cookie dough through a cookie press using whichever shape disk you desire onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
8 ) Preheat oven to 350F/176C.
9) While the oven is heating, place cookie-laden sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up the raw cookies so that they hold their shape through baking.
10) Bake @ 350F/176C for 8 to 10 minutes, or just until the very outer edges start to turn a faint, golden color. Don’t over bake, or the cookies will be tough instead of melt-in-your-mouth.
11) Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minute, and then place on a cooling rack to completely cool.
12) Once cool, you can either store the cookies in an airtight tin right away, or you can be fancy like me and dip half of each of the cookies in melted chocolate. Or you can dust with confectioner's sugar.
13) If you decide to dip them in chocolate, pre-chill a parchment-lined cookie sheet first. As you dip each cookie, place them on the chilled cookie sheet so that the chocolate will set up quicker.
14) Store in an airtight tin on the counter, or refrigerate. For what it's worth, they last nicely in a tin on my counter for at least 3 weeks at a time.

Makes about 3 or 4 dozen cookies or so, depending on how big you make the shapes. 

For what it's worth, I like to press the dough through my stand mixer with the cookie-press attachment using the star shape die. It pushes my cold dough out effortlessly into a long, star shape strip that I can cut into 4" lengths, and then shape into whatever shape I desire. 

The first time I made these just this early autumn, I didn't have a cookie press of any kind, but used a piping bag instead. Yikes! Let's just say that that was no picnic. Maybe if I had Arnold Swarzenegger around to press all that cold/firm dough out, it would have gone much better for me and with much less muscle ache. What a pain in the biceps that was! lol I had tried letting my dough get soft enough out on the counter to be able to pipe them out of the bag easier, but the softened dough did not form a good cookie shape. It was the last of the deciding factors in us finally purchasing the cookie/mincer attachment for my mixer. It was a very good purchase indeed!


IrishLass


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## Relle (Dec 15, 2015)

I don't make cookies (not an Aussie term), but I do make biscuits, that's bunny biscuits.


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## DeeAnna (Dec 15, 2015)

DH is whining for pumpkin pie bars. It's like pumpkin pie but on a sugar cookie crust and baked in a pan. One of his favorites.

KC -- Thanks for the chocolate shortbread recipe. My hands are shaking -- need a chocolate fix bad -- and I think this recipe is going to be my drug of choice. 

Pumpkin Pie Bars
9x13 or 11x15 pan

Cookie Base:

1/2 cup butter at cool room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour

Mix butter, sugar, egg yolk, salt, and vanilla until smooth. Mix in flour with a food processor or by hand with a fork until mixture is well mixed but crumbly. Lightly pat into a pan. Bake 10 minutes at 350 F (175 C). Remove from oven, pour filling over the top, and finish baking as directed below. Note: Can also use this base topped with your favorite pecan pie or rhubarb custard pie filling.

Pumpkin Pie Filling (can substitute your own favorite recipe)

1-28 ounce can plain pumpkin
2-14 ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
4 eggs plus the egg white left over from the cookie base
1-2 Tbl cinnamon (to taste)
1 tsp ginger
scant 1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt

Mix well. Pour over the partly baked "cookie base". Bake 45 to 55 minutes at 350 F (175 C) until center is barely set but still looks slightly moist (temperature in the center should be 180-185 F (85 C)). Don't overbake! Can also put into 2 pie crusts, bake 15 minutes at 425 F (220 C), then 35-45 minutes at 350 F (175 C).


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## Steve85569 (Dec 16, 2015)

I forgot triple chocolate chip cookie bars and oatmeal crispies in my earlier post. Went shopping today so ladies and gentlemen .... start your ovens!Let the holiday baking begin!

For those down under or across the pond: those are triple chocolate biscuits. Either way they are terrible! ( for my cholesterol)The crispie are still just that. Brown sugar molasses oatmeal and homegrown walnuts in a fridge  slice off the dough edges crisp center soft delish! (Doc hates them too)


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## KristaY (Dec 16, 2015)

Oh my....COOKIES...(said in my Cookie Monster voice, lol) Whether it's cookies or biscuits, it's a MUST at our house for the holidays. 

DeeAnna, I'm definitely going to try your Pumpkin Pie Bars. I make fresh pumpkin puree every fall just for holiday baking as it's my oldest son's favorite. It took us 3 years to perfect my pumpkin cheesecake, lol. With him happily tasting all experiments along the way! (He's such a good boy, hehe)

Along with all the cookies I also make gingerbread scones with lemon curd. Scones and Lemon Curd are my personal carb demons!

I make all the usual (sugar, chocolate chip, peanut butter, snickerdooles, etc) but my family and friends FAVORITES hands down are White Chocolate Raspberry Slices and Very Lemon Cookies. I'm NOT a white chocolate fan but the raspberry slices are melt-in-your-mouth yummy. It's from the Challenge Butter recipe files and I wish there was a pic on the site as it really shows how elegant they are.

http://challengedairy.com/recipes/cookies/white-chocolate-raspberry-slices

Here's the Very Lemon Cookies recipe if anyone's interested:

Cookie Dough:
Makes approx 4 dozen cookies

1 cup butter flavored shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
3 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat shortening and sugar at medium speed with electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add zest and salt; beating until combined. Beat in yolks one at a time. Gradually add flour, beating at low speed, until mixture is combined. Add cream & extracts; beat for 1 minute. (I usually add a bit more cream at this point to bring dough completely together. Maybe a Tbsp or 2? The dough will still be a bit crumbly)
Shape dough into a 2" x 14" log, wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap, refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line baking sheets. Slice dough into 1/4" thick cookies, place on baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. Cool on pan for 5 minutes, remove and cool completely on wire racks. Top with lemon glaze.

Lemon Glaze:

1 1/2 Tbsp meringue powder
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 drops yellow food color (if desired)

Whisk together meringue powder and lemon juice until combined. Whisk in sugar until smooth. Add food color if desired.

You can add candied lemon zest or colored sprinkles to decorate the tops if you like. For Christmas I usually use red/green colored sugar over uncolored glaze.


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