December 2017 - Christmas Cookies

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The pine scent of the
Christmas tree, and the smell of
Warm chocolate cookies

​​I have been baking Christmas Cookies every December for decades. I have a repertoire of classics that I make every year because each one is the favorite of someone in my family. Also, my old tried and true recipes never fail me. My husband loves simple Almond Butter Cookies, my sister-in-law Joyce likes Spritz, made in my elderly hand-cranked cookie press, my brother-in-law Rudy always appreciates my Orange Ginger Cookies, and the list goes on. Nevertheless, every year I get lured into trying a new cookie recipe by the tantalizing photographs in one of the magazines I read every month. Some of these neophytes have made it into my list of perennial favorites, but even more have caused nothing but bitter frustration, embarrassment and failure.
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After all, Christmas baking is an emotional business. The holiday baker takes pride in her creations and wants to please her friends and relatives. She eagerly anticipates their delight when she offers her little gifts of holiday cheer made with her own hands. But nothing is more heartbreaking than soggy Lemon Bars, Chocolate Chip Cookies that are too hard and crunchy or Peanut Butter Cookies that fall apart into crumbles. A baker’s delicate spirit also crumbles with every culinary failure. For that very reason, I have learned to be wary of potential disasters lying in wait.

Admittedly, a cookie baker must have the gift of patience, as cookie making is a meticulous and time consuming process than cannot be rushed. Even so, some of the “new and improved” recipes I have tried recently were just too complicated and tediously over-produced. I have trained myself to scan a recipe to discern if the writer has gotten carried away with a procedure that could be simplified. Also, I am wise to the fact that magazine editors feel pressured to re-invent Christmas every year. Sometimes these “innovative” Christmas cookies are simply overly complex or garishly decorated versions of old and reliable favorites. Shortbread doesn’t have to contain roasted chestnuts just because it’s Christmas, and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies don’t have to have red and green M&M’s in them just to create holiday color.

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​This year, I intend to bake only Christmas cookies that I have made successfully in years past and that I know my loved ones will like. Of course, I can’t promise that I won’t be dazzled by a photo of Gingerbread Men decorated like Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Santa Hats. Okay, I can promise not to go down that road, but I will at least stay open to the possibility of finding the best Christmas cookie recipe ever just this year. Short of that miracle, here is my baker’s dozen list of old faithful Christmas cookies from the past. I have loved making each one of these, and my loved ones have thanked me for them. The recipes for several of these favorites can be found on myteaplanner.com. I am happy to provide the recipe for Christmas Sugar Cookies, which I found in a magazine, with a gorgeous photograph, of course.

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1. Spritz
2. Almond Butter Cookies
3. Shortbread
4. Orange Ginger Cookies
5. Mexican Wedding Cookies
6. Christmas Sugar Cookies
7. Cinnamon Sugar Pie Crust Pinwheels
8. Mexican Chocolate Cookies with Chili
9. Apricot and Plum Jam Bars
10. Cherry Thumbprint Cookies
11. Best Friend Lemon Bars
12. Iced Chocolate Brownies
13. Chocolate Chip Cookies

 
When compiling my yearly Christmas cookie list, I like to picture a huge tray on Christmas Eve with several of each of the cookies arranged in a pleasing display. I look for visual contrast, color, and variety in shapes, flavors, textures and appearance. A few days before Christmas, I like to assemble individual trays or boxes for special friends.
 

​If you plan to bake Christmas cookies this year, don’t forget to follow a few simple rules. Bring the butter and eggs to room temperature before making the cookie dough, and pre-heat your oven. If the recipe tells you to chill the dough after you have mixed it, don’t skip that step. And line your cookie sheets with parchment. This will not only make cleanup easier, but it will help prevent the cookies from sticking and burning. Also, while one batch is in the oven, you can prepare the next batch on a sheet of parchment and have it ready to pop in the oven. Then the newly- baked cookies can cool right on the parchment on which they were baked.
 
I will leave you with a few tips about each of my favorite Christmas cookies in case you would like to try making them yourself.
 

Spritz:  myteaplanner.com: December: A Christmas Tea I make these pretty Swedish butter cookies into wreath shapes with a cookie press. You can tint half of the dough green with a few drops of food coloring if you wish. I like to sprinkle my Spritz with red or green colored sugar for a festive presentation.

Almond Butter Cookies: myteaplanner.com: A World of Tea Parties: A California Tea The dough for this basic butter cookie with toasted almonds added is rolled into logs and chilled, then sliced into rounds before baking. I leave these elegant little cookies undecorated because even at Christmas, they speak for themselves.

Shortbread: myteaplanner.com: A World of Tea Parties: A Classic British Afternoon Tea This ancient classic can be formed into a circle on the cookie sheet, then cut into wedges, or cut into squares or rectangles before baking. I leave some of my shortbread cookies undecorated for purists like my nephew Peter, and I sprinkle others with red or green sugar crystals.

Orange Ginger Cookies: myteaplanner.com: December: A Christmas Tea These spicy gems contain finely chopped candied orange peel, candied ginger and toasted almonds. It’s a snap to grind all of these ingredients together in the food processor and mix them in to the molasses-rich batter. These cookies keep well and can be mailed to friends far away.

Mexican Wedding Cookies: myteaplanner.com: October: A Tea to Honor Our Ancestors These luscious, nut –filled butter balls are also known as Russian Tea Cakes. Most recipes call for toasted chopped pecans, but I like to use almonds.

Christmas Sugar Cookies: I am sharing my recipe for these old-time Christmas cut-out cookies below. If there are children in your household, they can help you cut the dough with traditional Christmas themed cookie cutters and decorate them with icing, sprinkles and colored sugars.

Cinnamon Sugar Pie Crust Pinwheels: My grandmother used to make these addictive little morsels with left over pie dough. These are for people who think they don’t know how to make cookies, and you don’t even need a recipe. Buy a package of Pillsbury refrigerated pie dough and roll out the two logs of dough on the kitchen counter. Cover them with little bits of cold butter; then sprinkle the entire tops with sugar and cinnamon. Roll the logs up again tightly and slice them into thin circles, about ¼ inch wide. Carefully place each pinwheel flat on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake them at a high temperature for a few minutes, following the package directions for baking a one-crust pie shell. Watch them carefully, and remove them when they just start to brown lightly.

Mexican Chocolate Cookies with Chili: myteaplanner.com: October: A Tea to Honor Our Ancestors These are for the adventurous chocolate lovers who are not afraid of a little heat. These easy to make drop cookies are dark chocolate, spicy, chewy and wonderful.

Apricot and Plum Jam Bars: myteaplanner.com: July: A Picnic Tea Kathleen developed this wonderful, trustworthy recipe. She makes homemade apricot and plum jams in the summer and uses her pantry supplies to make these festive holiday bars. Bake them in a large pan and cover one half of the batter with apricot jam and the other half with plum to create two Christmas cookies in one baking. Or you can add a little cinnamon to the dough and spread the top with apple butter.

Cherry Thumbprint Cookies: myteaplanner.com: June: A Wedding Reception Tea These little round butter cookies with a dent in the middle can be filled with anything you like: whole almonds, a candied cherry, chocolate ganache, or your favorite jam. I like to use Bonne Maman cherry preserves.

Best Friend Lemon Bars: myteaplanner.com: November: A Post-Thanksgiving Tea These classic favorites should be among the last cookies you bake before Christmas, as the bottoms can become soggy if they sit for too long. Take the time to hand squeeze fresh lemon juice.

Iced Chocolate Brownies: myteaplanner.com: A World of Tea Parties: An American Southern Tea I like moist, fudgy brownies with a thick layer fudge icing, cut into very small squares. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies: myteaplanner.com: August: A North American Family Reunion Tea Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies are American inventions, and it wouldn’t be Christmas without them. Chocolate Chip should be the last cookies you bake before Christmas. You might want to bake them on Christmas Eve and share them while they are still warm. Use the recipe on the Nestle’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips bag and add half a teaspoon of cinnamon to the dough. Chocolate Chip Cookies need no decoration.

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​On Christmas night, the
Full moon glows on the horses,
Feeding in the field.

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​Christmas Sugar Cookies
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​These are the traditional iced and decorated Christmas Cookies that add such a festive air to this most popular of holidays. They take a while to make, as the chilled dough must be rolled out on the kitchen counter with a rolling pin and cut into holiday shapes with cookie cutters such as stars, bells or angels. Then the cookies must be cooled before decorating. I adapted this recipe from an advertisement I found in the November, 1976 edition of Woman’s Day magazine.
 
For the Cookies:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 ½ cups flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup toasted sliced almonds, crushed
 
For the Icing and Decoration
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
red and green food coloring, optional
red and green sugar crystals
white, silver or multi-colored sprinkles
 
Preheat oven to 375° F (After the dough has chilled)
 
Makes: about 4 dozen
 
Special equipment: Large mixing bowl, medium sized mixing bowl, sieve or flour sifter, electric mixer, plastic wrap, 2 large baking sheets, parchment paper, rolling pin, Christmas-themed cookie cutters, such as stars, bells, Christmas trees, angels, etc., one or more small bowls, teaspoon
 

1. Bring the butter and egg to room temperature and toast the sliced almonds on a foil or parchment-lined cookie sheet at 350° F for five to ten minutes until they are lightly golden brown. Let the almonds cool, then crush them and set aside.
2. Sift the 2 ½ cups flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium sized bowl using a sieve or flour sifter. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and 1 ½ cups powdered sugar together until fluffy. Add the egg and beat until well incorporated. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts.
3. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat just until the flour disappears into the dough. Stir in the toasted almonds. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for three hours. Preheat the oven to 375° F and divide the dough in half. Continue to chill one half, and roll the other half out on a lightly floured flat surface with a rolling pin to a thickness of about ¼ inch.
4. Carefully cut the dough into Christmas shapes with cookie cutters and transfer the cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets. Gather up the scraps of dough into a ball and re-roll to cut out more cookies. Sprinkle the cookies with red or green sugar crystals, or wait to sprinkle the cookies until after they are baked, cooled and iced.
5. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 7-8 minutes, or just until the edges start to turn a light golden brown. These sugar cookies should be very light in color. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet, still on the parchment paper, and cool on a flat surface. Remove the remaining dough from the refrigerator and follow the same procedure using a fresh sheet of parchment for each batch of cookies.
6. Decorate the cookies when they have cooled completely. For the icing, mix the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a medium sized bowl until smooth. Leave the icing white in color, or place it in smaller bowls and tint with a few drops of red and or green food coloring.
7. Spread icing over each cookie with a teaspoon, using the back of the spoon to make sure the icing is evenly distributed. Sprinkle immediately with red and green sugar crystals, white, silver or multi-colored sprinkles for a festive appearance. Let the cookies sit on the parchment until the icing has dried. Carefully transfer to airtight containers, separating layers with sheets to parchment.