Holiday Cookies
This year I had the crazy and slightly ambitious idea to make Christmas cookies for everyone on my holiday list! I usually give out homemade candy but this year I wanted to do Christmas cookies. So I found my 10 favorite cookies recipes and created an epic holiday cookie box for my friends, people I work with, and colleagues.
Below are the recipes. Some of the recipes are not mine so I have linked them to the appropriate owner. Happy Holidays!
1. Grab the recipe for Peppermint Patty Stuffed Brownies below.
2. Spritz cookies - I piped mine into an "S" shape but feel free to pipe yours out into any shape imaginable
3. Rosemary olive oil shortbread (I added in 1 Tbs. orange zest to the dough)
4. Strawberry Rugelach - used Mindy Segal's cream cheese dough from this recipe then filled it with store bought strawberry jam. Topped with egg wash and turbinado sugar
5. Ginger Molasses Cookies - It is an adapted Joy of Cooking recipe. You can find it below . I made the dough, chilled then scooped it onto a sheet tray. I froze it from there then when I went to bake went directly from the freezer to the oven and added about 2 minutes to the total cook time.
6. Madelines - I used this recipe from Williams Sonoma. Only two things to note on the recipe, first I used a whisk attachment to beat the sugar and egg and also use melted and cooled butter instead of softened butter
7. Coconut Macaroons - this is another Mindy Segal recipe. You can snag a copy of it here
8. Peppermint Meringue Kisses - grab the recipe below.
9. Peppermint oreos
10. Potato chip cookies - This was my Grandma Dorothy's recipe. It is old school and totally kitchy and I love it! Grab the recipe below.
Peppermint Patty Stuffed Brownies
- 1 cup plus 2 Tbs. flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3 sticks butter, at room temperature
- 12 oz. semi sweet chocolate ( or bittersweet if you don't like your brownies too sweet)
- 4.5 oz. unsweetened chocolate
- 4 eggs
- 2 Tbs. vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 bag mini peppermint patties, about 24 patties
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x13" baking pan with parchment paper, allowing a 2" overhang on each side.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a double boiler melt the butter, and both chocolates. Let cool slightly.
In a separate large bowl, mix together the eggs, vanilla, and sugar. Add the cooled butter and chocolate mixture and mix until well combined. Fold in flour and mix until just combined.
Pour half of the brownie mixture into the prepared pan. Top with peppermint patties, about 24 of them. Pour remaining batter on top of peppermint patties and gently smooth into an even layer.
Bake brownies for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out just barely clean.
Let cool completely then cut into squares.
Ginger Molasses Cookies
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground cloves
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- Turbinado sugar (optional)
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the egg and molasses and continue beating until well combined.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and baking soda. Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat on low until just barely combined.
Let the dough chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours.
Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Line two sheet trays with parchment paper. Using two spoons or an small ice cream scoop, scoop out dough form into a ball then roll in turbinado sugar. Place on sheet trays leaving at least 2" in between cookies.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool before serving.
Peppermint Meringue Kisses
- 3 egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 to 2 drops of red food coloring
- 1 tsp. peppermint extract
- 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted
- Crusted candy canes for garnish
Pre-heat oven to 225°F. (or the lowest temperature on your oven) Line two sheet trays with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted the whisk attachment mix on medium low the egg whites and cream of tartar until little bubbles form along the edge of the mixture. Increase speed to high and whisk until soft peaks form. Add the salt and slowly drizzle in sugar. Continue beating until meringue is glossy white with stiff peaks. Fold in peppermint extract and red food coloring if using.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star tip with the meringue. Pipe out meringue into kisses with about 1" space between them.
Bake meringues for 45 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Kisses should be dry to the touch. Turn off oven, prop oven door open with a wooden spoon and let meringues cool in the oven as the oven cools.
When cool dip the bottom of the meringues into melted chocolate and into a bowl of crushed candy canes. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet to dry.
Potato Chip Cookies
- 2 sticks butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup crushed potato chips, plus more for the top of the cookies
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two sheet trays with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla. With the mixer on low add the flour and salt. Fold in the potato chips. Using two spoons or a small ice cream scoop, scoop out the dough and place on the prepared baking sheet, with about 2" in between cookies. Top with more potato chips if desired.
Bake cookies for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let cookies cool before serving.