COOKIE CRAVINGS

10 Essential Holiday Cookie Recipes

Holiday

COOKIE CRAVINGS

10 Favorite Holiday Cookie Recipes

Holiday

recipes by Maria Lichty of Two Peas and Their Pod.com

photography, food styling and design by Heidi Larsen of FoodieCrush.com

Copyright Two Peas and Their Pod, Inc., 2012

Cookie Exchange Party Tips

Ask guests to RSVP early so you can let everyone know how many cookies to bring. Ask each guest to bring a half dozen cookies per guest plus a dozen to taste test at the party.

Have guests bring rec-ipes, or better yet get recipes ahead of time, and create a simple printout of them or

load the file on a USB drive for each guest to take home.

Provide a light lunch, appetizers, coffee, tea or hot chocolate for guests to munch on with their cookies as they mingle.

Set up a separate table to display the cookies with various platters and cake stands.

Provide folding cards in front of each of the cookie platters with the name of the cookie and the bak-er. Creating a cookie menu to display at the table is also a fun cookie tour guide.

Great ideas for take-home containers:

* Mason jars tied with colored ribbon or string affixed with

a holiday tag.

* Holiday shirt box-es lined with tissue paper.

* Pringles chip con-tainer tube wrapped with contact paper or holiday gift wrap.

* Sturdy paper plates wrapped in holiday themed cellophane.

* Brown paper bags decorated with pre-printed holiday stickers.

Bring some cheer to you and your friends by hosting a Holiday cookie exchange then take homethe rewards to share with your friends and neighbors.10 Favorite Holiday Cookie Recipes

Chocolate Covered PretzelCookies

Soft Gingersnaps

with White Chocolate Cream Cheese

Frosting

Chocolate Peppermint

BarkCookies

GlazedEggnogCookies

Dark Chocolate Orange

Shortbread

Coconut Snowballs

Chocolate Dipped Andes Cookies

Almond Spritz

Cookies

Cranberry Orange Almond Biscotti

Cranberryand Pistachio

OatmealCookies

2 cups all-purpose flour1 ½ teaspoons baking

powder¼ teaspoon salt¾ cup granulated sugarZest of 1 orange½ cup unsalted butter,

room temperature2 large eggs¼ teaspoon almond

extract¾ cup chopped

almonds²/³ cup dried cranber-

ries

Cranberry Orange Almond BiscottiMAKES 15 BISCOTTI // BAKE TIME: 55 MINUTES

These twice-baked cookies are dotted with dried cranberries and almonds. They are perfect for dunking into your cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and orange zest. Rub together until fragrant.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar mixture together until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the almond extract and mix until combined.

4. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the almonds and cranberries. Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until pale golden or about 35-40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes on the baking sheet.

5. Place the log on a large cutting board. Using a sharp, serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into ¾-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are lightly gold-en, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.

2 ²/³ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda1 t easpoon baking

powder½ teaspoon salt½ cup unsalted butter,

at room temperature½ cup granulated sugar¾ cup dark brown

sugar2 large eggs2 t easpoons vanilla

extract1 ½ cups chopped

Andes Mints ½ cup mint chocolate

chips1 ½ cups mint chocolate

chips, melted-for dip-ping cookies

Chocolate Dipped Andes CookiesMAKES 2 DOZEN COOKIES // BAKE TIME: 10 MINUTES

My dad used to put Andes Mints and an orange in our stocking every Christmas. These Chocolate Dipped Andes Cookies have become a family tradition as well. We make them every holiday season and they always remind me of my dad.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

2. In the bowl of stand mixer, beat butter and sugars together until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.

3. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients. Stir in Andes Mints and mint choco-late chips. Chill the cookie dough for at least one hour.

4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Drop tablespoon-sized dough balls onto a prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Slightly flatten the balls with a spatula or the palm of your hand.

5. Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are set but still soft in the center. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

6. Dip the bottoms of the cookies into the melted mint chocolate chips. Place cookies on wax paper and let cool until chocolate is set.

2 cups all-purpose flour²/³ cup dutch processed

cocoa powder½ teaspoon salt½ cup plus 2 table-

spoons granulated sugar

Zest of 1 large orange2 sticks unsalted butter,

at room temperature1 t easpoon vanilla

extract¹/8 teaspoon orange

extractD ecorative sanding

sugar, optional

Dark Chocolate Orange ShortbreadMAKES 40 COOKIES // BAKE TIME: 18 MINUTES

Dark chocolate and orange are a match made in heaven, especially during the holiday season. I combined the two flavors to create a buttery Dark Chocolate Orange Shortbread. These crisp little cookies are perfect for nibbling during December.

1. Sift the flour, cocoa and salt to-gether.  Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and orange zest. Rub together with your fingers until orange is fragrant.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar mixture until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla and orange extracts. Slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until combined. Between two sheets of waxed paper, roll the dough ¼-inch thick as evenly as pos-sible.  Chill for 30 minutes. 

3. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper.

4. Cut out the cookies with a 2-inch cookie cutter.  Sprinkle each cookie with decorative sanding sugar.  Lightly press the top of each cookie in the sugar, so that the sugar clings to the dough.  Arrange the cookies, sugar side up, on the prepared sheets.

5. Bake the cookies for 18 minutes, or until crisp and firm. Let the cook-ies cool on the baking sheet for two minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

for the cookies2 ½ cups all-purpose

flour¾ cup superfine sugar¼ teaspoon salt1 6 tablespoons unsalt-

ed butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, at room temperature

1 t easpoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon coconut extract

2 t ablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature

for the glaze1 ½ cups powdered

sugar3 tablespoons milk1 t ablespoon cream

cheese, at room temperature

¼ teaspoon coconut extract

1 ½ cups toasted coconut

Coconut SnowballsMAKES 40 COOKIES // BAKE TIME: 12 MINUTES

When it comes to the snow, Josh and I disagree. Josh loves the snow and wishes it would snow every day during the winter. I wish it would only snow on Christmas day. But we do agree on these Coconut Snowballs. The cute little coconut cookies get dipped in a coconut glaze and toasted coconut and look just like snowballs. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...Coconut Snowballs, that is.

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.

2. For the cookies: In bowl of stand mixer fitted with a flat beater, mix flour, sugar and salt on low speed until combined, about 5 seconds. With mixer running on low, add butter one piece at a time; continue to mix until mixture looks crumbly and slightly wet, about 1 minute longer. Add vanilla extract, coconut extract, and cream cheese and mix on low until dough just begins to form large clumps, about 30 seconds.

3. Use hands to roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place on prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 ½ inches apart. Bake one batch at a time until lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

4. While the cookies are cooling, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, cream cheese, and coconut extract.

5. Dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze and then dip into the toasted coconut. Set cookies on a wire cool-ing rack and let sit until glaze hardens.

Note To toast the coconut: Line a baking sheet with parch-ment paper and arrange coconut in a single layer on the pan. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until coconut is lightly toasted, stirring once. Set coconut aside to cool.

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar1 large egg½ teaspoon almond

extract2 ¼ cups all-purpose

flour¼ teaspoon saltD ecorative sugar,

optional

Almond Spritz CookiesMAKES 4 DOZEN COOKIES // BAKE TIME: 6-8 MINUTES

Josh loves making Spritz cookies because he gets to use the cookie press, a fun kitchen tool that creates beautiful buttery cookies. These Almond Spritz Cookies are the perfect addition to every holiday cookie tray.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and almond extract and beat until incorporated.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredi-ents. Mix until combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

4. Scrape some of the dough into your cookie press that has been fitted with a decorative plate, following manufacturer’s instructions. Hold the cookie press perpendicular to the prepared baking sheet, with the tip almost touching the sheet, and squeeze the trigger. Continue to press out the cookies, spacing about 1 inch apart. If desired, sprinkle deco-rative sugar onto the cookies.

5. Bake cookies for about 6-8 min-utes or just until the edges are barely tinged with brown. Remove from the oven and gently transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note We like to make the Spritz cookies into tree shapes for the holidays, but feel free to use whatever shape you like. You can also use red or green decorative sugar to create a festive cookie.

for the gingersnaps2 ¹/³ cups all-purpose

flour1 teaspoon baking

powder¼ teaspoon salt1 teaspoon ground ginger1 teaspoon ground

cinnamon½ teaspoon ground

cloves¹/8 teaspoon ground

nutmeg¾ cup unsalted butter,

at room temperature1 cup light brown sugar1 large egg1 teaspoon vanilla extract¼ cup molasses

for the frosting4 ounces cream cheese,

at room temperature4 tablespoons unsalted

butter, at room temperature

3 ounces white chocolate, chopped and melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract3 cups powdered sugarDecorative sugar, optional

Soft Gingersnaps with White Chocolate Cream Cheese FrostingMAKES 16 COOKIES // BAKE TIME: 10-12 MINUTES

The holidays aren’t the holidays without gingersnap cookies. These ginger-snaps are super soft and topped with a sweet white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Make sure you eat one, two or three of these Soft Gingersnaps with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting to celebrate the holidays this year.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined. Add in the molasses and mix until combined.

4. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture. Mix until flour disap-pears.

5. Form the dough into tablespoon sized balls. Place the cookie dough balls on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set, but centers are still soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for two minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

7. While the cookies are cooling, make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the melted white chocolate and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar until smooth.

8. Using a knife, frost the gingersnaps with frosting and sprinkle with deco-rative sugar if desired.

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda¼ teaspoon salt ¾ cup Dutch processed

cocoa 1 c up unsalted butter,

at room temperature1 cup granulated sugar1 cup light brown sugar2 large eggs1 t easpoon vanilla

extract¼ teaspoon pepper-

mint extract2 cups chopped

peppermint bark

Chocolate Peppermint Bark CookiesMAKES 30 COOKIES // BAKE TIME: 8-10 MINUTES

I make a big batch of peppermint bark every holiday season to give away as gifts. One year, I was wrapping up packages of peppermint bark and thought that the peppermint bark would make a fantastic holiday cookie. I set some of it aside to bake with and came up with Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies. Now, I make an extra batch of peppermint bark every year just to make these cookies.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat baking mat. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa. Set aside.

3. With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time. Next, add in vanilla and peppermint extracts. Mix until blended.

4. Gradually add flour mixture and beat until flour disappears. Stir in pep-permint bark. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.

5. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are set, but still soft in the center. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool com-pletely.

Note You can make your own peppermint bark or use store-bought peppermint bark.

for the cookies1 ¾ cups unbleached

all-purpose flour¼ teaspoon baking

soda¼ teaspoon salt¼ teaspoon ground

cinnamon¼ teaspoon ground

nutmeg6 tablespoons unsalted

butter, at room tem-perature

¾ cup granulated sugar1 large egg½ teaspoon vanilla

extract¹/³ cup eggnog

for the glaze2 tablespoons butter,

melted1 ½ cups powdered

sugar½ cup eggnog½ teaspoon vanilla

extract¹/8 teaspoon ground

cinnamon¹/8 teaspoon ground

nutmeg

Glazed Eggnog CookiesMAKES 18 COOKIES // BAKE TIME: 10-12 MINUTES

My brother and dad drink eggnog by the gallon during the holidays. I created this Eggnog cookie for them. The cookies are soft, tender, and finished with a spiced eggnog glaze. If you are an eggnog lover—like my brother and dad—you will want a glass of cold eggnog to wash these cookies down!

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter briefly, until creamy. Add the sugar, and beat until pale and fluffy. Add the egg, and beat well to mix. Add the vanilla, and beat briefly again. Mix in the flour mixture and the eggnog in batches at low speed, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

4. Drop the dough by level table-spoons onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 ½ inches between each cookie.

5. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are slightly golden brown around the edges. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 2 minutes then transfer them to a wire cooling rack.

6. While the cookies are cooling, make the glaze. Combine butter, sugar, eggnog, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies and let the cook-ies sit on the wire cooling rack until the glaze is set.

2 ¹/³ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon baking

powder½ teaspoon salt½ cup unsalted butter,

at room temperature½ cup granulated sugar¾ cup dark brown

sugar2 large eggs2 teaspoons vanilla

extract2 cups chopped white

chocolate covered pretzels

1 cup white chocolate chips

¹/³ cup holiday sprinkles

Chocolate Covered Pretzel CookiesMAKES 2 DOZEN COOKIES // BAKE TIME: 10 MINUTES

These cookies are loaded with chocolate covered pretzels, white chocolate chips, and holiday sprinkles. They remind me of the chocolate covered pretzels we make every holiday season. I love the sweet and salty combo!

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

3. In the bowl of stand mixer, beat butter and sugars together until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.

4. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients. Stir in the chocolate covered pretzels and chocolate chips. Gently stir in the sprinkles.

5. Drop tablespoon-sized dough balls onto prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.

6. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cook-ies are set but still soft in the center. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

Note If you don’t like white chocolate, feel free to use milk or dark chocolate covered pretzels and milk or dark chocolate chips.

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon ground

cinnamon½ cup unsalted butter,

at room temperature½ cup brown sugar½ cup granulated sugar1 large egg 1 t easpoon vanilla

extract1 ¼ cups old-fashioned

oats1 cup dried cranberries1 c up chopped

pistachios, shells removed

Cranberry and Pistachio Oatmeal CookiesMAKES 20 COOKIES // BAKE TIME: 10 MINUTES

These oatmeal cookies are crisp around the edges and soft in the middle. The pop of red and green from the dried cranberries and pistachios make them perfect for the holiday season.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parch-ment paper or a Silpat. Set aside.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinna-mon in a medium bowl and set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Stir in the oats, dried cranberries, and pistachios. Drop tablespoon-sized dough balls onto prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until cook-ies are slightly golden brown. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Note These cookies are also great with white chocolate chips. Add ¾cup white chocolate chips when you stir in the dried cranberries and pistachios.

get more recipes at foodiecrush.com& twopeasandtheirpod.com

Happy Holidays