Four Christmas Cookie Recipes - Perfect for Homemade Gifts
I’ve always loved the idea of gifting an assortment of homemade cookies for the holidays. I love baking, but I never seemed to make time to make more than one type of cookie at once so I’ve never actually done it. But this year, with a lot less (if any) holiday activities happening, I’ve had nothing but time and decided this is the year. I scrolled through my Pinterest boards knowing I wanted the assortment to vary in type, but also be bound to include something for everyone. I also knew if I was going to make four types (that’s the number that I thought seemed good for an assortment, but achievable) I didn’t want to test out any new recipes in case any flopped. I ended up deciding I’d make the molasses cookies I made last year, peppermint cream thumbprint cookies that I make every year for Christmas, the shortbread cookies that I’m obsessed with and a classic chocolate chip recipe Emily Schuman shared years ago that I’ve dubbed my “high maintenance chocolate chip recipe” due to the fact that the dough has to chill for 36 hours before baking.
It took up a decent amount of my day, but I will say that it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be to make them all. I had a good routine going, an audiobook on and my favorite kitchen appliance, my KitchenAid mixer. We got one from my sister as a wedding present and I know they are pricey, but it is SO worth it and I would happily have purchased it on my own had we not been gifted one. I swear somehow it makes everything taste better, the baking process run smoother and even the clean up seems easier. I started out with the chocolate chip dough since that was going directly into the fridge to chill – I wasn’t planning on waiting the full 36 hours, but thought I’d do 24 hours and make them the following morning before packing everything up and delivering them. For each recipe I took out the ingredients I needed and then put them back away in the pantry as I used each. This may seem silly since I was obviously going to be using many of the same ingredients for the next recipe, but something about this process really helped move things along and kept me organized. For one, it allowed me to somewhat clean my baking station after each round and it also kept me in check to make sure that I wasn’t forgetting an ingredient because I was distracted listening to my book; if the ingredient was still out I hadn’t used it yet.
Williams Sonoma Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
4 sticks (1 lb./500 g) cool but not cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch (12-mm) cubes
1 cup plus 2 Tbs. (8 oz./250 g) superfine sugar, or 1 cup (4 oz./125 g) confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (17 1/2 oz./545 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (3 oz./90 g) rice flour
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoons fleur de sel
Instructions
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on high speed until smooth. Add the sugar and salt and beat again just until incorporated, about 2 minutes. In 2 additions, using a wooden spoon or the lowest speed on your mixer, stir in 3 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour and all of the rice flour just until incorporated.
Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and stir just until combined. If the dough looks too wet, fold in the remaining 2 Tbs. flour.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it is uniform. Do not overwork it. Split the dough into two balls and wrap them in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
Preheat an oven to 325°F (165°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Dust a work surface with flour. Working with 1 piece of chilled dough at a time while leaving the others in the refrigerator, roll a disk into a round slightly less than 1/2 inch (12 mm) thick. Cut the round into wedges like a pizza (I used star cookie cutters instead).
Sprinkle a bit of fleur de sel over the surface. Transfer the cookies to a prepared baking sheet. Bake the shortbreads just until they begin to brown, 17 to 22 minutes.
Peppermint Cream Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
Dough
1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup Sifted confectionary sugar
1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup Sifted all-purpose flour
1 package (3.4oz) White chocolate instant pudding mix
Filling
1/2 cup Crushed peppermint candy cane
1/2 cup Sifted confectionary sugar
1 oz (2 tablespoon) Cream cheese
1–2 teaspoon Milk
Red food color optional
Additional crushed peppermint candy cane for topping
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Allow butter to come to room temperature or microwave cold butter for 10-15 seconds to soften.
Sift confectionary sugar into mixing bowl and add softened butter and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until well combined.
Sift flour into a separate bowl and combine with instant white chocolate pudding mix. Slowly add the flour into the butter and sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until dough begins to form. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.
Filling
Sift confectionary sugar and then added crushed peppermint candy canes.
In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese with milk and stir vigorously with a whisk until well blended.
Combine blended confectionary sugar with cream cheese mixture and stir to combine. Mixture will become thicker. Add red food coloring if desired. I skipped this step.
Remove dough from fridge and shape the chilled dough into tablespoon size balls and press your thumb into the middle of the cookie.
Spoon about one teaspoon of the peppermint cream cheese onto the top of the cookies.
Bake at 350° F for 10-12 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Sprinkle with additional crushed peppermint candy cane and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
(There are lots of tips included in the full recipe linked!)
Ingredients
2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. cake flour (8 1/2 oz)*
1 2/3 cups bread flour (8 1/2 oz)*
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon. baking powder
1 ½ teaspoon coarse salt, such as kosher
2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups; 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as Ghirardelli
Sea salt or kosher salt for garnishing
Instructions
Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside.
Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.
Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
Using a standard-size ice cream scoop – mine holds about 3 fluid ounces, or about 1/3 cup – scoop six mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 20 minutes.
I wrote a whole post for the molasses cookies you can read here — Molasses Cookie Recipe Post.