One of my all time favorite things to do around this time of year is to bake SO many cookies! It has been a tradition for me and my grams for as long as I can remember, and when she passed away 2 years ago I made a promise I would keep the tradition alive. She used to make so many yummy cookies and I was lucky enough to get most of her recipes so that I could replicate them year after year. I added a few other cookies that she normally didn’t make but it is always good to add some new modern favorites every once in a while. I have decided to share all the cookies I made this year as well as the recipes so you all can make them yourselves, so keep reading and let me know what your favorite cookies recipe is.
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Cookies #1:
The first cookie that I am going to tell you about are my Grams famous Butter cookies. These are pretty much just sugar cookies but so much better! I pre-made the dough a few days in advance and just kept them in the fridge until I baked them. This helps makes the process a little less chaotic and you can space out all the work. Take a look at the recipe for the cookies below:
Old Fashioned Butter Cookies
Ingredients:
3 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Butter or Margarine
3/4 cup Sugar
1 Egg
2 tbls Milk
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
Directions:
Sift together Flour, Baking Powder and Salt
In a separate bowl cream together the Butter and Sugar
Add the Egg (unbeaten), Milk and Vanilla. Beat well.
Blend in dry ingredients gradually - or else you will end up with a floury mess!
Chill for 1 hour - or make dough in advance a few days before baking cookies.
Once ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Then roll dough on floured surface, 1/3 at a time, to 1/8" thickness. Cut out desired shapes and bake for 5-8 minutes.
After baking the cookies and letting them cool its now time to decorate! This year I baked the cookies one day and then decorated another day. Again, it makes the process less chaotic and makes you take your time and make them extra perfect! I normally just use Almond Bark that you can get at any grocery store as the icing for my cookies. I just melt it in the Microwave and then dip each cookie in the melted mixture and use sprinkles to make them look extra pretty! I usually get really into it and decorate the snowmen cookies to look like snowmen and the Christmas trees to look like actual Christmas trees. Im not going to lie you can blame my grams for my Christmas cookie perfectionism. Once all decorated let them set up and they are ready to eat!!
Cookie #2:
The second cookie I made was another one of my grams infamous recipes, her wafer sandwich cookies. Well they are actually my Aunt Myrtle’s recipe but I really only remember eating my grams version. These cookies are so easy to make and are so delicious. Just thinking about them is making my mouth water. I made this dough in advance as well and made the cookies a few days after. Again, this makes the baking and decorating process less excruciating. These cookies are 2 round soft cookies that are sprinkled with sugar that have this amazing yet simple frosting between them. The recipe for this cookie is below:
Aunt Myrtle's Sandwhich Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup Butter
1/3 cup Heavy Cream
2 cups Flour
Directions
Mix Butter, Cream & Flour
Chill dough for 1 hour - or make advance a few days before baking
Once chilled, heat oven to 375 degrees and use 1/3 dough at a time. Roll dough 1/8" think and cut 1 1/2" circles. Place each cutout on heavily sugared wax paper. Poke holes with fork - I normally do 3 pokes at each cookie. Then you want to back your cookies for 7-9 minutes.
Once you bake the cookies you can make the filling, the recipe is below:
Filling
Ingredients:
1/4 cup softened Butter
3/4 cup Powdered Sugar
1 Egg Yolk
1 tsp Vanilla
Directions:
Mix Butter, Powdered Sugar, Egg Yolk, & Vanilla in a small bowl
I normally split this mixture into 2 halves and dye one half red and the other green. I then begin to assemble my sandwiches and then they are ready to be eaten. So easy and so tasty!
Cookies #3:
My third cookie was my grams Pecan Snowballs which also happen to be my dads all time favorite cookie. These are also super simple to make and just so yummy! This would be a great cookie for those that love Pecan Sandies Cookies. They are very similar with a little sugary twist. I also made this dough the day before baking just to give myself a break. Check out the recipe below:
Pecan Snowballs
Ingredients:
1 cup Unsalted Butter Softened
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour measured correctly - Spoon & Sweep method
3/4 - 1 cup Finely Chopped Pecans
More Powdered Sugar for rolling cookies - about 1/2 cup
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. Set aside.
In a stand mixer or using your hand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add Vanilla and slowly add Flour and mix until just combined. Fold in Chopped Pecans. Beating at low speed, scanning bowl as necessary, until well mixed.
Roll dough into 2 tablespoon sized balls. Place on prepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Repeat until all the dough is used up *I recommend chilling the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge so the cookies stay round but you can choose to bake them right away if desired*
Bake cookies for 14-15 minutes until bottoms are just slightly brown. Be careful not to over-bake!
Once out of the oven let them sit for a few minutes until you can actually touch them without burning yourself. Once they are cooled just roll them in some powdered sugar while they are still warm so the sugar sticks and then let them sit and cool. Once complete then they are ready to be devoured.
Cookie #4:
This next cookie is not really a cookie but my grams used to make these every year and they were always my favorite. These pretzels with Hershey kisses are perfect for those chocolate lovers who love a little sweet and salty treat. If that sounds like you then check out the recipe below:
Pretzel Treats
Ingredients:
Pretzels - the round or the square grid ones work the best
Hershey Kisses - any flavor works
M&Ms
Directions:
Place the Pretzels on a baking sheet, and top each one with an unwrapped Hershey Kiss
Cook for 3 minutes in a 200 degree oven
Press an M&M in the center of each Hershey Kiss. Refrigerate for apron. 15-20 minutes or until cool.
See, I told you they were super easy to make! :)
Cookie #5:
For anyone that LOVES peanut butter and chocolate then this is the cookie for you! These peanut butter cookies are similar to the ones that my grams used to make but I put a little spin to it. I add a mini peanut butter cup in the middle! This is actually the first year that I have made these and they came out so yummy! If this seems like the perfect cookie for you, check out the recipe here:
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup Peanut Butter , not natural
1 cup Sugar
1 Large Egg
Mini Peanut Butter Cups (Unwrapped)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
In a medium bowl beat together the Peanut Butter, Sugar and Egg
Form the dough into balls about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons in size. Place on a lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart
Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops look almost set. Remove from oven and gently press an unwrapped peanut butter cup into the top of each cookie.
The peanut butter cup will melt slightly from the warmth of the cookies, but they will eventually harden back up once cooled. I promise these cookies are so soft and taste just like a peanut butter cup!
Cookie #6:
This next cookie has recently been an all time favorite of mine and I found this recipe on Pinterest about 2 years ago. These are called White Chocolate Cranberry cookies. They are soft and just amazing cookies for those who love white chocolate as well as cranberries. I too made this batter the day before. I recommend doing this to as many cookies as possible just to make it easier on yourself. The recipe for this cookie is below:
The BEST Soft 7 Chewy Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup White Sugar
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 tsp Cornstarch
1 tsp Baking Soda
Pinch of Salt
1 cup Dried Cranberries
1 cup White Chocolate Chips
Instructions:
In a medium sized bowl, beat together the Butter, Brown Sugar & White Sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the Vanilla and Egg to combine. Lastly, beat in the Flour, Cornstarch, Baking Soda and Pinch of Salt until a soft dough has formed. Stir in the cranberries and white chips by hand (make sure to wash your hands before doing this step).
Chill the dough for AT LEAST 1 hour (or you can make the dough days in advance to help with the process). Chilling your cookie dough prevents cookies from spreading and to create that light, soft and chewy texture.
Once you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with silicone liners or mist slightly with cooking spray to prevent them from sticking. Remove chilled dough from fridge and roll into tablespoon sized balls. Place on the cookie sheets about 1-2” apart from one another.
Bake for approx. 8-10 minutes.Cookies may appear slightly undone, but do not over-bake them! They will continue to set up more as they cool! Allow cookies to set up for about 10 minutes or so before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
I hope you guys love this cookie as much as I have! I have been wanting to experiment with this recipe a little but maybe I will try that next year instead.
Cookie #7:
Going into the Christmas cookie planning, I knew I wanted to make a chocolate chip cookie because they are Mitchell’s favorite, but I wanted to make them extra special. With that mindset I went to pinterest hoping that I could find the perfect recipe and I did just that! The title reads, “The Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookes”. I LOVE the soft and chewy Chips Ahoy cookies so that title made me want to make them right then and there. If you also love soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies then take a look at the recipe below:
The Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie
Ingredients:
8 tbs Salted Butter
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup packed Light Brown Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Egg
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Chocolate Chips ( You can use a combination of chocolate chips and chocolate chunks, but I just stuck to chocolate chips this go around. Just depends on how chocolaty you want them to be!)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Microwave the butter for about 40 seconds to just barely melt it. It shouldn’t be hot - but it should be almost entirely in liquid form.
Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, beat the butter with sugars (Brown & White) until creamy. Add the Vanilla and the Egg; beat on low speed until just incorporated ( 10-15 seconds or so - if you beat the egg for too long, the cookies will be stiff)
Add the Flour, Baking Soda, and Salt. Mix until crumbles form. Use your hands to press the crumbles together into a dough. It should form one large ball that is easy to handle ( right at the stage between “wet” dough and “dry” dough). Add the Chocolate Chips and incorporate with your hands - remember to wash your hands before doing this step!
Roll the dough into 12 large balls (or 9 for HUGELY awesome cookies) and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes until the cookies look puffy and dry and just barely golden! Take them out even if they look like they’re not down yet. They’ll be pale and puffy.
Let them cool for a good 30 minutes or so. They will sink down and turn into these dense, buttery, soft cookies that are the best in al the land.
This is my first time making these and they turned out AMAZING!! I mean me and Mitchell devoured these bad boys in days they were that good. I can’t wait for y’all to try them as well to experience the goodness that I just experienced.
Cookie #8:
For my 8th and final cookie I saved the best for last! Everyone loves a Snickerdoodle, am I right, or am I right!? I know i sure do so I decided to add it to my Christmas Cookie list this year. I again found this recipe on pinterest because it is the BEST place to find the best recipes! Make sure to check out the recipe here:
Snickerdoodles
Ingredients:
1 cup Unsalted Butter
2 cups Sugar
2 large Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Cream of Tarter
For the Coating:
1/3 cup Sugar
1 tbs Cinnamon
Direction:
In your stand mixer or with your hand mixer, combine the Butter with the Sugar and beat on medium speed until well creamed together.
Add the Eggs and Vanilla extract, Mix into the Butter and Sugar until the eggs are well beaten.
In a separate bowl. combine the dry ingredients: Flour, Baking Soda and Cream of Tarter. Slowly add into the batter and beat on a medium low speed until well combined and dough starts to form.
In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar and stir to combine. Use a large cookie scoop (3 tsp) and scoop cookie dough into the sugar mixture. Roll around to coat the cookie.
Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. If your cookies have been refrigerated longer that 2 hours, allow them to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before baking.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for several minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Again, this was the first time using this recipe and they also turned out so well. If you love Snickerdoodles as much as I do then this is the recipe for you!
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This was quite the successful year of christmas cookie baking and I am so glad that I got to share it all with you guys! This time of year has such a special place in my heart because it was the time that I got to spend quality time with my grams baking cookies that we both loved. It for sure is not the same with my grams gone, but I know that she is looking down on me and smiling for keeping her tradition alive. I also think that she would be even more excited that I am sharing them all with you!
Make sure to write in the comments what your favorite cookie recipe is and if you end up making one of these cookies be sure to send them to me or tag me in them on social media (handles below)! I can’t wait to see what all your favorite cookies are!
Merry Christmas!
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