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This year I decided to wait until the week of Christmas to start my baking. For some reason, I prefer enjoying them fresh rather than freezing them. However, my Grandma always froze hers and would sometimes even freeze her dough. These are the Christmas cookie recipes I’ve been making over and over for a few years now.
Snickerdoodles
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine together 1/2c softened butter 1/2c shortening, 1 1/2c white sugar, 2 eggs, 2t vanilla. Next, put together 2 3/4c flour, 2t cream of tartar, 1t baking soda, 1/4t salt. Add that to the creamed mixture. Mix together 2T of sugar and 1 1/2t cinnamon to roll dough balls in before baking. Place on sheet and bake about 9 minutes. Cookies will still look a little wet, but go ahead and remove them and place on a cooling rack. Voila, you’re done!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
These were pretty big, so I doubled the recipe. You know how sometimes with chocolate chip cookies you end up grabbing 2 or 3 because one just isn’t enough? Well, these are so thick and big one is definitely enough!
Ingredients-
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter- room temperature
- ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips
What to Do
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda and salt together.
Use an electric mixer and beat together the butter, and sugars until smooth and mixed together well. Add the egg and vanilla and mix on low speed until mixed in.
Gradually add the flour mixture and mix in until just incorporated. Don’t over mix.
Add chocolate chips and stir with a wooden spoon.
Chill dough if dough is warm.
I like to use a small ice cream scoop or heaping tablespoon. Drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, 6 to 8 per pan, depending on size you are making.
Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned and the tops feel firm when lightly touched,
Small cookies bake 8-10 minutes. Large cookies bake 10-13 minutes.
Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Makes 18 -30 cookies depending on size.
Chocolate Kiss Cookies
Up until last year Jayden was allergic to peanut butter so I started making him chocolate kiss cookies. However, even though he can now have peanut butter, he requests these still.
Ingredients-
- 3/4 C unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 C granulated sugar divided
- 1/2 C light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate melted
- 2 C all purpose flour
- Milk chocolate Kisses unwrapped
What to Do
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar to a small bowl, set aside.
In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate in 30 second intervals and stir between until melted.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla, followed by salt and baking powder. Scrape bowl as needed. Mix in cocoa powder, followed by melted chocolate. Add flour one cup at a time, increasing after each addition. Mix until fully mixed. If dough is too sticky chill in the refrigerator.
Using a small cookie scoop, or teaspoon scoop and shape dough into smooth balls. Roll in granulated sugar and place sugar coated dough balls on prepared baking sheet, spaced 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Immediately press an unwrapped chocolate kiss into each cookie and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely and allow chocolate to set.
Once chocolate has completely set, cookies may be stored in an airtight container.
Drop Sugar Cookies
I’m not a fan of the hard work of rolling and cutting out sugar cookies. I have my Grandma’s Recipe found HERE but I swear they’re never the same. This year I tried a different drop cookie recipe and they came out great (soft and chewy) just the way we like them! I skipped the almond extract though.
Ingredients-
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
What to Do
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl with a standing mixer or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract; beat until combined.
Add in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl every now and again.
Roll dough into 1″ balls, and roll in sugar.
Place on baking sheet, about 2″ apart. Bake for 10-11 minutes, or until cookies have set.
And… Parker will be making another batch of the sugar cookies because Dozer enjoyed a taste this afternoon. Obviously it doesn’t take much for him to reach the countertop. Merry Christmas 😉
