Christmas Cookies!

[kitchensqueen]

What are your go-to favorites each year? At our house we always have to make Russian teacakes (husband's favorite), spritz (one of my favorites), snickerdoodles, chocolate chip (not really Christmasy but too good not to make), and soft gingerbread drop cookies. 

They're all quick and easy to make, so I can churn out a lot in afternoon or two. When my son gets older, we're going to add in rolled sugar cookies so he can cut fun shapes and decorate them. With just us before now, it was a little too much effort for my taste. I would love to do some marbled ornaments, edible ink image cookies and glittered cookies (though there is some debate about just how edible the edible glitter is...)

I also saw these cute peanut butter reindeer cookies on Pinterest, so I might try them also.

[sewchris2642]

We do about 5 different kinds of cookies every year.  Rolled sugar cookies with powdered sugar frosting, snickerdoodles some with cinnamon sugar and some with red or green sugar crystals, Russian tea cakes (the girls used to call them snowballs when they were little), chocolate cookies, brown-eyed Susans (shortbread cookie recipe I got from my mom; we have had them for Christmas ever since I can remember). Plus the pumpkin and cranberry/orange breads.  When the girls were little, we all gathered at my mom's house for a marathon baking day on the Sunday closest to my brother's birthday (Dec. 11th).  We did more than 5 kinds of cookies then and did several batches of date bread and fudge then.  Mom had 2 ovens which made the baking go faster and she would start the day before with the sugar cookies so all we had to do was to roll them out, bake and frost them.

Now that I have grandchildren, we are starting the baking with the next generation.  It's a lot of work but also a lot of fun.  And I spread it out more.  I

[catnip]

I think my favorite is chocolate marmalade cookies, but plain old sugar cookies will always have a special place in my heart.

[mouseion]

Mmm, marmalade and chocolate, my favorites.  Would you please post that cookie recipe?

[catnip]

I use this recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/chewy-chocolate-raspberry-cookies-323753 substituting marmalade for the raspberry preserves (though they are amazing both ways), and adding a handful of chocolate chips. You can use any neutral-tasting liquid oil in place of the canola, and they work great with Isa and Terry's gluten Frida Mix (http://books.google.com/books?id=RwzHzbB78PEC&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dq=gluten+frida+mix&source=bl&ots=kGZsoNJ4Iq&sig=Xg55XvMlrRGvw0yWyR1RYEJYfOY&hl=en&ei=zyXVTqGmEfLKiALmh9m0Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CD8Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=gluten%20frida%20mix&f=false) in place of the wheat flour if you need a gluten free cookie.

[mouseion]

Thanks, catnip!

[kitchensqueen]

All of these cookies sound great! I'm kind of shopping around for a new sugar cookie recipe - one that makes soft cookie, but will hold up to being rolled out and cut. Any suggestions?

[skreader]

The Usual...

Sugar cookies through a press & decorated

Sugar cookies rolled out & cut w/ cookie-cutters & decorated

Cream-cheese fold-overs (or triangles)  cooked w/ jam- sometimes called Lekvar. cookies; some variations might also be called Rugelach.

The less usual

 Chocolate & vanilla sugar cookie piwhweels. Make chococalte cookie dough & then make vanilla (or plain sugar cookie dough). Roll them out into rectangles. Put one on top of the other and roll up like a jelly-roll. Then slice the cylinder to get the pinwheel effect.

[CookiePie]

Typically we do:

Italian Anise,

Italian ricotta,

chocolate chip,

molasses nut,

hershey kiss blossoms,

brownie reece's cup surprises (made in a mini cupcake pan)

sometimes gingerbread men, but I prefer the gingerbread that is like a cake with whipped cream on top :)  If we do make men they get packaged seperate otherwise all the cookies taste like gingerbread men!

[Mom2SammyJoe]

skreader-the Lekvar sounds delicious. I will have to look for a recipe. I put up tons of jam this year, and that would be a fun way to use it.

I always do rolled sugar cookies, though they are a lot of work, especially with little helpers. Ginger snaps are a must, and my recipe bakes up soft. and chewy. Sometimes we do the peanut butter blossoms, and I think this will be one of the years thanks to all of my WIC peanut butter!

DH's favorite is a pecan finger. It is a bar cookie with a shortbread crust and a pecan pie-like filling. I like to make these, but now DD is allergic to pecans and gets into everything. Maybe I will just have to make them and hide them...  He also likes butterscotch brownies, so those may show up.

[askew]

I always make a few kinds of French Macaron. They are my speciality. Here is my favorite. 

http://www.plantfoodfabulous.com/2010/12/pistachio-macaron-with-lemon-curd.html

These Lemon Pistachio Trees are usually the first ones gone at my holiday party. 

http://www.plantfoodfabulous.com/2010/12/lemon-pistachio-trees.html

These Ischler Krapfen are my grandmother's recipe, they are my favorite from childhood. 

http://www.plantfoodfabulous.com/2010/12/ischler-krapfen.html

[MarneyLee419]

We always make chocolate crinkles (my husband devours these) cut-outs for the kids, these amazing lemon sandwich cookies, chocolate and butterscotch crispix cookies (addicting).

This year I found a recipe for some spicy lebkuchen in a library book and am going to try them. orange and lemon zest, ginger, honey, molasses, nutmeg and ground almonds... they sound smashing! We're also going to make the PB cookies that look like reindeer (a friend shared them on pintrest). As well as these great chocolate dipped smores. yummo!!

[kitchensqueen]

Originally Posted by MarneyLee419 

We always make chocolate crinkles (my husband devours these) cut-outs for the kids, these amazing lemon sandwich cookies, chocolate and butterscotch crispix cookies (addicting).

I keep seeing recipes for chocolate crinkles everywhere; I may have to do up a batch or two as well. I positively love soft drop cookies - they're so easy to make and so tasty. 

[Storm Bride]

Several of my Christmas recipes aren't technically cookies, but my standbys are:

Nanaimo bars

Pfefferneusse

Mincemeat tarts

Sugar cookies with icing (going to do a few with crushed hard candies in the middle, for a stained glass effect, this year)

Shortbread

Some years, I do gingerbread, but I think I'm going to skip it this year, and wait until dd2 is a bit older.

This year, I'm also adding:

Sugarplums, because I never knew what they were, and now I have a recipe, and "sugarplum" just screams Christmas to me.

Candy cane cookies. These ones are done as twists, of red and white dough, with peppermint extract and crushed candy canes in the red part.

I may do some rumballs, but I haven't decided for sure. If I do, I may use Kahlua instead of rum.

We love the baking here, and we also pass out trays to about 6-8 of our neighbours (friends of the kids, for the most part) and I sometimes take some up to my mom's for her Boxing Day open house, so I do quite a bit...usually three batches of each recipe, and sometimes four of the shortbread. I need to get on it, because I'm way behind...have only made one batch of sugarplums (and they're gone).

[kitchensqueen]

Originally Posted by Storm Bride 

Several of my Christmas recipes aren't technically cookies, but my standbys are:

Nanaimo bars

Pfefferneusse

Mincemeat tarts

Sugar cookies with icing (going to do a few with crushed hard candies in the middle, for a stained glass effect, this year)

Shortbread

Some years, I do gingerbread, but I think I'm going to skip it this year, and wait until dd2 is a bit older.

This year, I'm also adding:

Sugarplums, because I never knew what they were, and now I have a recipe, and "sugarplum" just screams Christmas to me.

Candy cane cookies. These ones are done as twists, of red and white dough, with peppermint extract and crushed candy canes in the red part.

I may do some rumballs, but I haven't decided for sure. If I do, I may use Kahlua instead of rum.

We love the baking here, and we also pass out trays to about 6-8 of our neighbours (friends of the kids, for the most part) and I sometimes take some up to my mom's for her Boxing Day open house, so I do quite a bit...usually three batches of each recipe, and sometimes four of the shortbread. I need to get on it, because I'm way behind...have only made one batch of sugarplums (and they're gone).

For your mincement, do you do the modern fruit only version, or the old traditional one with actual meat in it?

And what are sugarplums? I don't think I've ever known either - I guess I always figured they were literally sugared plums - but that seems to simple...

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by kitchensqueen 

For your mincement, do you do the modern fruit only version, or the old traditional one with actual meat in it?

And what are sugarplums? I don't think I've ever known either - I guess I always figured they were literally sugared plums - but that seems to simple...

I use an old mincemeat recipe, but it doesn't have any actual meat in it. It does have suet, though.

Sugarplums are chopped dried fruit, and some chopped nuts, with a litlte bit of liquid (I'm using OJ, but there are "adult" versions with rum or liqueurs, as well). My recipe calls for 1/4 cup each of finely chopped figs, dates, prunes, dried cherries, golden raisins, and unsweetened flaked coconut, plus 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, and 2 Tbsp. of OJ. I mix everything together, then smoosh it into balls about 1" across, and roll in a topping (granulated sugar, icing sugar, cocoa, flaked coconut, finely chopped nuts - whatever). They're really good, and really easy...just a bit time consuming. Of course, that's probably because I'm the slowest chopper in the universe. I need to find my food processor attachment, but I haven't used it in...four years?

[DandelionWine]

I love spritz, but I'm on the search for a recipe that uses butter rather than shortening. Anyone have a good one? The other favorites are sand tarts, hermits, and ginger snaps.

[treemom2]

We usually do a sugar cut out cookie, molasses ginger cookies, spritz cookies (with orange zest cause they're yummy that way), snowballs (ie:  wedding cake cookies), homemade thin mints (a huge hit with people. . .lol, they're ritz crackers dipped in minty chocolate--super easy, super bad, and always a hit).  I'll look for my spritz recipe, I know it doesn't use shortening. . .

edited to add recipe:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon orange zest

[kitchensqueen]

Originally Posted by DandelionWine 

I love spritz, but I'm on the search for a recipe that uses butter rather than shortening. Anyone have a good one? The other favorites are sand tarts, hermits, and ginger snaps.

You can just use butter instead of the shortening, and they should turn out the same. "Shortening" is actually a term that is encompasses vegetable shortening (aka Crisco), butter, lard, margarine etc. 

[Chicky2]

This year we will make:

acorn cookies (shortbread cookies shaped like a hershey's kiss, then the bottom dipped in chocolate and rolled in finely chopped pecans. 

Sugar cookies to decorate.

Gingerbread men and women (for some reason we like to decorate some as Hula dancers--we've done that since I was a kid).

oreo truffles

I'm not sure what else!  Oh, spritz for sure.  I have 2 presses so I can get my kids to use one while I use one.