Virtual Holiday Cookie Swap!

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

ChefJune

Master Chef
Joined
Jul 16, 2006
Messages
8,763
Location
Metro New York
It's getting to be "THAT" time of year again, when visions of sugarplums start dancing in our heads -- not to mention the taste buds.

So I was thinking we could have a virtual cookie swap this year. Everyone post a favorite holiday cookie recipe (or three) here in this thread, and we can all come here, then, for new ideas for our holiday dessert platters!

Here's a favorite from Feastivals to start us off!

FROSTED COFFEE FINGERS

makes 1 13 x 17-inch jelly roll pan full

1 cup golden brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 extra large egg
1/2 cup hot black coffee
1-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. Rumfords baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. sea salt


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease (or Pam) a 13 x 17-inch jelly roll pan. Have all ingredients at room temperature.

2. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg.

3. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add to the egg mixture alternately with the hot coffee. Mix well.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 13 minutes.

5. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

6. Frost with the following icing:

1 TBS. unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sifted Confectioners sugar
enough orange juice to spread smoothly.

Mix butter and sugar, Add orange juice to make a thin but spreadable frosting. Sprinkle red and green sugars on the wet frosting.

[The frosting will look almost translucent on the cookies.]

7. Cut into bars of the size you desire.
 
I stuck this til after the holidays so we can all find it easily. I'm off to get my favourite recipes.
 
Oh, June, what a great idea. I'm always looking for new cookies for the holidays.

Many, many moons ago I used to host a cookie open house, where I served nothing but different cookies, bars and candies.

I would start baking in October, making the ones that froze well first and, then, baking the rest as close to the party as I could.

I usually made at least 6 to 8 dozen of over 35 different kinds of goodies. I served a big bowl of raspberry punch at the party and always gave my guests a "goodie" bag to take home with them. Boy, that was fun!

I'll look for some of my favorite recipes to post.
 
Whoops! Sorry June. Here's one of our standards for Christmas. These are the ones we decorate.

Can't Fail Cookies

1 cup shortening (NOT butter)
2/3 cup white sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup eggs (1 or 2 depending on size add water if necessary)
3 cups sifted flour
2 tsp vanilla

Make the dough (cream shortening, add sugar, then eggs and finally flour), and CHILL FOR 2 OR MORE HOURS. That is a crucial step. You must work only with the chilled dough or it will be too sticky to manage. Use a small amount at a time and roll out to about 1/3 - 1/4 inch thickness. Flour your cookie cutters and cut out cookies.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Watch closely to see that they don't brown.

Decorate cookies with coloured sugar or coloured glazes.

We save these for Christmas, but they work well for any holiday with themed cookie cutters.
 
Brown Sugar Shortbread - its not Christmas in my house without these.

1 lb butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 cups flour

Blend well together until pasty consistency. Spread on a cookie sheet. Bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes until just turning golden around the edges and center is starting to look dry. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, let soften and smear around as an icing.

If you want to be fancy, and you want to keep your kids occupied for a while, take a fork and (before you bake the shortbread) prick the dough so that it has domino sized tiles on it. Then take chocolate chips and use them for the dots on the dominos. Don't shove them into the dough too far. Just til they stick. This takes a long time but it looks really neat, and the kids love it. Then just bake as usual.
 
Brown Sugar Shortbread - its not Christmas in my house without these.

1 lb butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 cups flour

Blend well together until pasty consistency. Spread on a cookie sheet. Bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes until just turning golden around the edges and center is starting to look dry. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, let soften and smear around as an icing.

If you want to be fancy, and you want to keep your kids occupied for a while, take a fork and (before you bake the shortbread) prick the dough so that it has domino sized tiles on it. Then take chocolate chips and use them for the dots on the dominos. Don't shove them into the dough too far. Just til they stick. This takes a long time but it looks really neat, and the kids love it. Then just bake as usual.

YUM! :rolleyes: Brown Sugar Shortbread is my all-time favorite. It also makes an interesting tart crust.....
 
Or as the bottom to a nice square...put meringue on top, stir some brown sugar into the meringue and maybe some nuts and then bake it again for 5-10 minutes...YUM.
 
Or as the bottom to a nice square...put meringue on top, stir some brown sugar into the meringue and maybe some nuts and then bake it again for 5-10 minutes...YUM.

or topped with pecans, drizzled with maple syrup and baked off for another 10 minutes... :chef:
 
My cousin Brenda's Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups granulated sugar
4 Tablespoons cocoa or nestle quick powder (whichever works)
1/2 cup cream
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups oats
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all the ingredients up to the butter ina saucepan and bring to a boil. Continue to let it boil for one minute stirring so it doesn't stick or burn. Remove the pan from the heat then stir in the peanut butter, oats and vanilla. Drop by spoonfuls onto a plate sprayed with cooking spray. Chill for about 2 hours.
 
Last edited:
EGGNOG COOKIES are my favorite during the holidays. Soon, I'll post the seven different cookies we bake here for the holidays. Great thread June.
  • 1 1/4 cups white sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup eggnog
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).





  1. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  2. Cream sugar and butter until light. Add eggnog, vanilla, and egg yolks; beat at medium speed with mixer until smooth. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.
  3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. Bake 20 to 23 minutes until bottoms turn light brown.
 
My favorite Chocolate chip recipe

2/3 cups shortening
2/3 cups softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour ( I use a.p.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts ( I sometimes use 1 1/2)
1 package semi-sweet choco chips

Heat oven to 375. Mix together the shortening, butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Then blend in the remaining ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake about 8-10 minutes. I like mine chewy so I only bake them for 7. Then I let them cool a minute or 2 before removing them from the cookie sheet.
 
Last edited:
White sugar is granulated Katie. Should have specified.

Here's another one of my favorites.

Snickerdoodle Cookies
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup shortening
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
In a shallow bowl, combine 1 tablespoon sugar and cinnamon; set aside. Cream shortening; gradually add 1 1/2 cups sugar, beating well. Add eggs; beat well. Stir in vanilla.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, soda, salt and cream of tartar. Add sifted ingredients to creamed mixture; stir until well blended. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place snickerdoodles 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets.

Bake snickerdoodles at 400° for 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Makes about 4 dozen snickerdoodles.
 
Last edited:
here is my contrabution to the holiday cookie forum

Master Sugar Cookie Recipe
4 cups all purpose flour
1 TBL Baking powder
1/2tsp salt
3/4cup butter
2/3 cup shortening
1 1/2cups sugar
2 Eggs
2 TBL milk
2 tsp Vanilla
You may want to add Anis flavor to cookies 1/2 tsp

sift the flour, baking powder and salt twice to mix well in the bowl of a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. Beat the butter and shortening for thirty seconds
add sugar and beat well until fluffy. Add eggs, milk, and Vanilla. Beat well. Add the dry ingredients and beat well

Divide the dough into fourths, cover and chill for 3 hours. Working with one portion of dough at a time on a lightly floured board roll out the dough
To 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out cookies. Place on a ungreased cookie sheet pan Bake at 375*F oven for 7-8 minutes or till cookies are done remove cookies to wire rack to cool makes 75-95 cookies.

Chefs note if you half to re roll left over dough. Sprinkle board with
1/2flour and 1/2Powdered sugar. This keeps the cookies tender
Also you may want to roll some of the cookies in a sugar and cinnamon
Mixture before you bake I use a three inch can for a cutter and it works just fine
Line cookie pans with Parchment paper saves on clean up
You might want to take one portion of dough and mix in some coconut flakes for variety

FMF
 
I'm going to make cookies for October - Dec with all your recipes!

I’m not much of a cookie baker but this is one I tried last Christmas and it was very pleasant indeed.

Honey Cookies (Medianyky) (Inspired by Marta Pisetska Farley’s Festive Ukrainian Cooking with the instructions rewritten as I would make them.)

Ingredients (these enclosed remarks are my additions for clarity)

4 cups flour (all purpose flour)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (ground)
½ teaspoon cloves (ground)
½ teaspoon ginger (ground)
½ teaspoon nutmeg (ground)
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 extra large eggs (note extra large)
1 cup honey
2 tablespoons chopped (minced or grated) orange peel
1 egg beaten with a little water (three or four teaspoons) for glaze
20 blanched almonds
coarse sugar crystal (regular granulated will work in a pinch)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Sift together the first seven ingredients – I always sift and then mix with a fork until I’m sure they are consistently mixed.
Mix in eggs, honey, and orange peel, adding all ingredients together, to make a stiff, even colored dough. I gently beat the eggs before adding.
Roll dough on your favorite floured work surface to about ½ inch thickness.
Cut small cookies with your favorite shapes for the season.
Put on a nonstick baking sheet, parchment for lining is good.
Put half an almond in the middle of each, sprinkle with sugar.
Bake in preheated oven for about fifteen minutes.
Cool on racks.
Store in tightly covered tins.

I think you will enjoy them – family did last year and I will remake this year.

Another of our favorites are small crescent shaped, somewhat flakey, nut rolls. These are said to be highly favored in southern Ukraine. Be glad to share the recipe if anyone wants. This was our favorite of about six regional variations I tried.:chef: Enjoy!
 
This recipe is for those toothsome little white drops (Italian) that have milk frosting and jimmies on top. Mrs. Christofi, my first landlady in Boston (actually W. Medford) taught me how to make them. She said they have no name! I call them:

BACI D'ARANCIA
(Orange Kisses)

makes about 5 pounds of cookies
To come out the right size, the balls of dough should be the diameter of a nickel.

1-1/2 cups Crisco
1-1/2 cups cane sugar
8 extra large eggs
4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. Boyajian Orange Oil
6-8 cups unbleached flour, sifted with 3 TBS. + 1 tsp. Rumford's baking powder and 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Melt Crisco. Add sugar, then eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flavorings. Add flour mixture, starting with 6 cups, then add the rest gradually. Sometimes you will not use it all. Mix thoroughly until dough is soft and still a little sticky.

2. Now, with floured fingers, break off small pieces of dough a little smaller than a walnut. Make small balls. Place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes. The cookies must not brown on top. Cool on racks. Frost as follows:

Frosting

3. Mix 1 cup sifted confectioners sugar, 1/2 tsp. lemon or orange extract, and enough milk to make the right consistency to spread. Mixture will be runny. In fact, you should be able to dip cookies in the mixture. Sprinkle wet (with frosting) cookies with multicolored nonpareils.
 
Back
Top Bottom