Christmas, the sweetest time of year. For a gift that expresses that you took the time to show you are, how about a gift of homemade cookies, make a few batches and gift a variety your friends and family will love them and you won’t break the bank. They are truly a gift you can sink your teeth into. Merry Christmas.
Melt in Your Mouth Shortbread
½ cup Cornstarch
½ cup icing sugar
1 cup sifted plain flour
¾ cup butter
Method:
Sift cornstarch, flour, icing sugar together. Using either your fingers or two forks, mix in the butter, until a soft dough is formed.
Shape into 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Flatten with a lightly floured fork.
Bake the cookies at 300 F/ 150 C for 15 – 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. These will be soft when they come out, so make sure you let them cool before you take them off the cookie sheet.
You can decorate them with bits of candied fruit or nuts, before baking. Alternately roll out ¼” thick and cut into shapes.
Sugar Cookies
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Candied sprinkles for garnish
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and place onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets.
Decorate with candied sprinkles or dusting sugars. Bake 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.
Gingerbread Cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup unsulfured molasses
1 large egg
Royal Icing (recipe follows)
Directions
Position the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, salt and pepper through a wire sieve into a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer at high speed, beat the butter and vegetable shortening until well-combined, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat until the mixture is light in texture and color, about 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses and egg. Using a wooden spoon, gradually mix in the flour mixture to make a stiff dough. Divide the dough into two thick disks and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature until just warm enough to roll out without cracking, about 10 minutes. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with flour. Roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick, being sure that the dough isn’t sticking to the work surface. For softer cookies, roll out slightly thicker. Using cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and transfer to nonstick cookie sheets, placing the cookies 1 inch apart. Gently knead the scraps together and form into another disk. Wrap and chill for 5 minutes before rolling out again to cut out more cookies.
Bake, switching the positions of the cookies from top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking, until the edges of the cookies are set and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire cake racks to cool completely. Decorate with Royal Icing.
ROYAL ICING
1 pound (4 1/2 cups) confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons dried egg-white powder (Meringue powder)
6 tablespoons water
Make ahead: The icing can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, stored in an airtight container with a moist paper towel pressed directly on the icing surface, and refrigerated.
This icing hardens into shiny white lines and is used for piping decorations on gingerbread people or other cookies. Traditional royal icing uses raw egg whites, but I prefer dried egg-white powder, available at most supermarkets, to avoid any concern about uncooked egg whites.
When using a pastry bag, practice your decorating skills before you ice the cookies. Just do a few trial runs to get the feel of the icing and the bag, piping the icing onto aluminum foil or wax paper. If you work quickly, you can use a metal spatula to scrape the test icing back into the batch.
In a medium bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer at low speed, beat the confectioners’ sugar, egg-white powder and water until combined. Increase the speed to high and beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, until very stiff, shiny and thick enough to pipe; 3 to 5 minutes.
To pipe decorations, use a pastry bag fitted with a tube with a small writing tip about 1/8-inch wide, such as Ateco No. 7; it may be too difficult to squeeze the icing out of smaller tips. If necessary, thin the icing with a little warm water. To fill the pastry bag, fit it with the tube. Fold the top of the bag back to form a cuff and hold it in one hand. (Or, place the bag in a tall glass and fold the top back to form a cuff.) Using a rubber spatula, scoop the icing into the bag. Unfold the cuff and twist the top of the bag closed. Squeeze the icing down to fill the tube. Always practice first on a sheet of wax paper or aluminum foil to check the flow and consistency of the icing.
Linzer Cookies
ingredients
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup almond flour
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt*
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1 large egg
zest of 1 lemon or orange
powdered sugar, for dusting
any flavor of jam, for filling
Iinstructions
Combine the dry ingredients. combine the all-purpose flour, almond flour, salt, and cinnamon (if using) in a medium mixing bowl, and stir until evenly combined.
Combine the wet ingredients. add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer (or you can use a hand mixer with a large mixing bowl) and beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. add the vanilla extract, almond extract (if using), egg and zest to the butter mixture and beat on low speed for 30 seconds until combined.
Add in the dry ingredients. add the dry ingredient mixture and beat at a low speed for 1 minute or so until combined, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl at any point if needed.
Chill the dough. shape the dough into a disk about 1-inch thick, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes or until chilled.
Heat the oven 350°f and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Roll out the dough. transfer the dough to a floured surface using a rolling pin to roll it out until it is about 1/4-inch thick. cut out your desired shapes with your cookie cutters (half solid shapes, half with cut-out “windows”) and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Re-roll out any dough scraps that remain and repeat the process to make use of all of the dough. If the remaining cookie dough seems to soft, it’s best to place it in the fridge for 10 minutes to re-chill the dough.
Bake the cookies for about 9-10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges. Different sizes/shapes of cookies may require different amounts of cooking time to be sure that they do not overcook.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookies rest for a few minutes. then transfer the cookies to a wire rack until they have cooled completely to room temperature.
To assemble the cookies. transfer the cut-out window cookies back to the baking sheet and use a fine mesh strainer to dust them with powdered sugar. Spread a dollop of jam on a solid cookie and gently place a window cookie on top to form a cute little cookie sandwich. Enjoy!
Christmas Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
1 1/4 C. firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 C. creamy or crunchy peanut butter
1/2 C. Butter Flavored-Vegetable Shortening
1 large egg
3 Tbsps. milk
1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
1 3/4 C. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Mixed sunflower, pumpkin seeds for garnish
Directions
HEAT oven to 375°F.
Beat the brown sugar, peanut butter, shortening, egg, milk and vanilla in large bowl with mixer on high speed until smooth.
STIR flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl until blended. Gradually add to creamed mixture, beating just until blended. Roll into 36 (1 1/2-inch) balls. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Flatten slightly with fork in a criss-cross pattern for plain or sprinkle with the seed mixture.
BAKE 10 to 11 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Classic Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup butter flavoured shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, well beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon water
1 cup raisins, optional
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (use 1/2 cup if using raisins)
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (we use Quaker Quick or Old Fashioned. Do NOT use instant.)
Method
Preheat the oven:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Make the cookie dough:
Beat together the shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and beat well.
Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add to sugar and egg mixture and mix well. Add a tablespoon of water. Add raisins (if using) and nuts. Add oats last.
Bake:
Spoon out by heaping tablespoonfuls on to greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350°F. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack.
White Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter
¾ cup brown sugar
1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
¼ cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (6 ounce) package white chocolate chips
½ (6 ounce) package dried cranberries
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two baking sheets.
Combine flour and baking soda in a bowl; set aside. Beat butter, brown sugar, pudding mix, and white sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly blended, beating in vanilla extract with second egg. Add flour mixture; beat until just incorporated. Fold in white chocolate chips and cranberries until evenly distributed.
Drop spoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake in the preheated oven until edges become golden brown, 9 to 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions
Gather your ingredients, making sure your butter is softened, and your eggs are room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Beat butter, white sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla.
Dissolve baking soda in hot water; add to batter along with salt and mix until combined.
Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and walnuts until a soft dough forms.
Drop rounded spoonfuls of cookie dough 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake in the preheated oven until edges are lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Cool on the baking sheets briefly before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.