Cookies at Christmas help create lasting family traditions
I am the official Christmas baker in my family.
I’m not sure when or how it happened, but my role is very
clearly defined
– at Thanksgiving, I cook the meal; at Christmas, I bake the
cookies.
Cookies at Christmas help create lasting family traditions
I am the official Christmas baker in my family.
I’m not sure when or how it happened, but my role is very clearly defined – at Thanksgiving, I cook the meal; at Christmas, I bake the cookies.
Cookies didn’t play a big role in my early Christmases. My mom doesn’t particularly enjoy baking. We made sugar cookies – I remember rolling dough with a huge wooden rolling pin and cutting out angels and Santas with copper cookie cutters.
But as my sisters and I got older, we started experimenting. Lisa became the queen of the chocolate chip cookie – she is so good that I only bake chocolate chip cookies for my kids, never for the Christmas table. I became pretty good at peanut butter cookies and oatmeal cookies, which were some of my dad’s favorites.
I soon made a discovery – I like cooking, especially baking. I like trying new recipes, or tweaking older ones. I love reading cookbooks, and enjoy learning the food traditions of various regions and countries, as well as the history behind a particular food.
The first Christmas cookie is believed to be Lebkuchen (gingerbread), a soft cookie most likely created by medieval 13th century German monks, according to the Christmas Carnivals Web site. By the 1500s, the baking of cookies had spread throughout Europe, especially at Christmas. Traditional cookies from this period include Papparkakor (a spicy ginger and pepper cookie that originated in Sweden), Krumkake (thin lemon and cardamom cookies created by the Norwegians) and Koeptie, a buttery cookie first made by citizens of the Persian Empire in the 1600s and later brought to America by the Dutch.
Today, my own cookie traditions are a mixed bag of family recipes and ones I’ve discovered on my own. I used to ask my brothers and sisters which cookies they wanted me to make, but somewhere along the line I lost the recipe to these almond Teddy Bear cookies my youngest sister really liked and she still asks for them each year, so now I just make what I want.
When I decide to try a recipe, I keep my family’s tastes in mind and I also choose recipes my children can help with, because each December, we spend a weekend in the kitchen baking. Some of my favorite photos are of my kids and my niece, Courtney, covered in flour as we cut out sugar cookies.
Sugar cookies are a must, and my children always have fun cutting out different shapes. I’ve added a few cookie cutters over the years, but I still have the cutters my mom used when I was a kid. And while I’ve tried various sugar cookie recipes over the years, my mom’s recipe is the best.
Other musts are peanut butter milk chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles and an oatmeal cranberry white chip cookie my husband likes. And while it’s not a cookie, I always make a few pounds of fudge for Courtney (who still owes me a baking day).
Some of our newer cookies include Candy Cane Snowballs, a recipe I found in “Taste of Home” magazine several years ago. It’s a buttery cookie, dipped in melted white chocolate and topped with crushed candy canes. I’ve had several people ask me for the recipe since I started making them. Another “Taste of Home” favorite are Cookie Dough Truffles. These no-bake treats are not only delicious, but easy enough to assemble that my 10-year old can make them with little supervision.
Below are the recipes of several of my family’s favorite Christmas cookies. I chose ones that freeze and/or travel well (except for the truffles, but they are really yummy) and tend to be kid-friendly. From my family to yours, may you have a truly Blessed Christmas filled with joy, and maybe just a few cookies.
Mom’s Sugar Cookies
1 c. butter (no substitutes)
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. real vanilla extract
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3-1/2 unbleached all-purpose flour
Cream together first five ingredients in large mixing bowl. In another bowl, sift together remaining ingredients. Add dry ingredients into creamed mixture; chill dough overnight. On floured surface, roll out dough and cut into shapes. Bake at 350 degrees on ungreased cookie sheets for 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden on bottom. Decorate with frostings and sprinkles. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Candy Cane Snowballs
(recipe courtesy of “Taste of Home”)
2 c. butter, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3-1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 c. chopped pecans
8 ounces white candy coating
1/3 to 1/2 c. crushed candy canes
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and powdered sugar. Stir in vanilla.
Gradually add flour. Stir in pecans. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until easy to handle.
Roll into 1-inch balls. Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip the top of each cookie into the candy coating, then into crushed candy canes. Makes approximately 5 dozen cookies.
Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. shortening
1 c. creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
2 ½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Dash salt
12-ounce bag milk chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugars, shortening, peanut butter and eggs. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture. Add chips. Shape dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Use a fork dipped in sugar to create a criss-cross pattern on cookie. Bake 10-11 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Snickerdoodles
1 c. shortening
1 ½ c. sugar
2 eggs
2 ¾ c. flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. soda
½ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
Cream together shortening, sugar and eggs in a large bowl. Combine flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Chill dough for 30 minutes. Mix remaining sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Roll dough into balls; roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.
Kaelie’s Dipped Pretzels
(Adapted from a recipe from Pillsbury)
10 large pretzel rods
1 ½ lbs. white candy coating
Six to eight candy canes, crushed
Melt white candy coating in a microwave safe bowl according to package directions. Using large spoon, cover approximately ¾ of the pretzel rod in melted white chocolate then sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Makes 10 dipped pretzels.
Cookie Dough Truffles
(recipe courtesy of “Taste of Home”)
½ c. butter, softened
¾ c. packed brown sugar
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ c. miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ c. chopped walnuts
1 ½ lbs. semisweet candy coating, chopped
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, milk and vanilla; mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Shape into 1 inch balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating, stirring often until smooth. Dip balls in coating; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Store candies in the refrigerator. Makes 5-1/2 dozen.
Cream Cheese Swirled Brownies
(recipe courtesy of “Cooking Light”)
1 ½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour
2 c. sugar, divided
½ c. unsweetened cocoa
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
¼ c. butter
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
¾ c. 2-percent reduced-fat milk
¾ tsp. vanilla, divided
2 large eggs
Cooking spray
½ c. 1/3-less fat cream cheese, softened
1 large egg white
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with knife. Combine flour, 1-3/4 c. sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Place butter and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl; microwave on high for 45 seconds or until melted, stirring once. Combine milk, ½ tsp. vanilla and eggs, stirring well with whisk. Add chocolate mixture and milk mixture to flour mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until blended. Spoon batter evenly into a13″x9″ baking pan coated with cooking spray.
Place remaining ¼ c. sugar, remaining ¼ tsp. vanilla, cream cheese and egg white into medium bowl beat at medium speed until well blended. Drizzle cheese mixture evenly over chocolate mixture; swirl batters together using the tip of a knife. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until batter begins to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Makes 28 brownies.
Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
(recipe courtesy of Ocean Spray)
2/3 c. butter or margarine, softened
2/3 c. brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ c. old-fashioned oats
1 ½ c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 6-ounce package Ocean Spray® Craisins® Original Sweetened Dried Cranberries
2/3 c. white chocolate chunks or chips
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in sweetened dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Makes approximately 2 to 3 dozen cookies.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 c. sugar
2 c. canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 c. shortening
4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ginger
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. salt
1 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, mix together sugar, pumpkin and shortening. Gradually stir in flour, powder, soda and spices. Add chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
