2024 Chistmas Cookies - it's that time again!

[pepperhead212]

I'm a little late this year, probably because of being outside longer this year. But I've got everything set up, all the ingredients in place, I lightly toasted the sesame seeds, and some of the nuts I'll be using, and wrote up the list of recipes I'll be making. I'll be starting tonight!

Early today, I went to lidl, to get some things for my pantry; they have some sales on sugars, and other things for baking, and even though I didn't need any more, I would have used most of what I had. And I had eggs? on the list, and was pleasantly surprised that they were down to $2.15/lb, so I definitely got those! They have been almost $4 at Aldi (you don't want to know what the supermarkets area!) and I have figured I was going to have to bite the bullet, and buy some for the cookies.

And if anyone has a lidl they shop from, here's something I recently got there - their brand of unsweetened cocoa, Dutch processed, which I only know from the ingredients stating that it is "processed with cocoa". And today, I refilled the cocoa container with a lb of Guittard Rouge Dutch cocoa (always a favorite), and opened this 12 oz lidl box, to compare, and it looks, and smells promising! Darker than the Guitard, and, though the smell of the Guttard is better, it is darker, and still has a great smell! I'll be making some of those cocoa cookies with both, to compare them. Here are those two cocoas - I put a pinch of the lidl in with the Guittard, showing the darkness:
Refilling the cocoa container, the light colored cocoa is the Guittard Dutch, and the dark one the new one I got at lidl. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Maybe I'll start with those tonight! I also bought 4 lbs of oranges, for zesting a few, to add to chocolate!

 

[msmofet]

May make a few recipes. If DD is around to help. I can't do the bending and lifting out of oven so easy anymore.

 

[bethzaring]

I made these yesterday and took them out of the freezer for the photo op. These are sugar cookies and will be brought out in a few days to make and apply the colored powdered sugar icing. It is too much effort to make and ice in one day. Obviously I don't care anymore how the cookies look! Misshapen cookies are fine by me.

 

[Kathleen]

I'm really hoping to make cookies this year!!!

 

[pepperhead212]

Here are the ones I have on my list to make, the first list the "icebox cookies" - the ones I make into logs, and store in the freezer.

Cocoa Sables
Wienerstube
Chocolate Coconut Nut
Tennessee Icebox, reg and brown butter
Oatmeal IB, and Barley IB
Sesame IB
French Vanilla Sables

And these are the ones I make in the mixer, making softer dough, before chilling:

Snickerdoodles
CC Oatmeal Snickerdoodles, which I will also try the rolled barley in, instead of oats
Star Anise Snickerdoodles
And the last one, I got the recipe for from @msmofet - Cream Cheese Snickerdoodles! I have it written in my "Blue Book" as
msmofet's Cream Cheese Snickerdoodles.

Oh, and how silly of me - I almost left out the Habanero Gingersnaps! Probably the most asked for cookie every year!

 

[msmofet]

And the last one, I got the recipe for from @msmofet - Cream Cheese Snickerdoodles! I have it written in my "Blue Book" as
msmofet's Cream Cheese Snickerdoodles.

I feel honored. Glad you like them.

 

[pepperhead212]

Today I browned 1½ lbs of the butter, and did what I always do, to make it so I can use it just like I use regular butter in a cookie recipe - I add milk to the butter, to bring the weight back up to 24 oz, and whisk it, until almost cooled, then pour it into some containers, in 4 or 8 oz amounts, then chill it. I'm thinking of using some of the buttermilk I have, to add that 20% back into the browned butter, to see if it might add some of that "cured" flavor, like in European butter. I'll only try it on one stick, just to see.

I got 6 logs of cookies made today - 3 of the cocoa based recipes, using the two cocoas, to see how they compare.
6 of the cocoa based cookies, 3 types, testing the two cocoas, in otherwise identical recipes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[taxlady]

May make a few recipes. If DD is around to help. I can't do the bending and lifting out of oven so easy anymore.

Sounds like you need a decent sized counter top oven.

 

[taxlady]

I was thinking of making some Toll House cookies. But, then I remembered that I can make decent cookie dough that makes yummy cookies but, I almost always burn them. I used to let Stirling deal with the baking part. He was more motivated by cookies than me and he never let them burn.

 

[medtran49]

I bought stuff to make pecan tassies and my snowballs. They will be Christmas dinner dessert so I won't make them for a few more days since Craig will eat them all.

 

[blissful]

What a fantastic list of cookies and I enjoy the pictures too.

I baked for others hot snickerdoodles, spicy ginger snaps, and plain shortbread cookies.
I still have some for us to bake--monster cookies and spicy ginger pepper nuts. Maybe between Christmas and new years.

 

[pepperhead212]

I haven't made them for many years, but I used to make snowballs with my sister, some pecan snowballs, and a few with black walnuts. Those with the black walnuts we would make slightly elongated, sort of egg shaped, to identity them. We also made chocolate crinkles, since they were another cookie that was rolled in powdered sugar, so we wanted to prepare them all on the same day, since it was quite messy, with all that 10x sugar!

 

[pepperhead212]

I got 8 more recipes of cookies in the freezer today. Maybe 5 more tomorrow, before I start the snickerdoodles.
The 3 logs of habanero gingersnaps, ready to go into the freezer. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

One regular and two browned butter Tennessee icebox, and two sesame icebox logs. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[caseydog]

Here are the ones I have on my list to make, the first list the "icebox cookies" - the ones I make into logs, and store in the freezer.

Cocoa Sables
Wienerstube
Chocolate Coconut Nut
Tennessee Icebox, reg and brown butter
Oatmeal IB, and Barley IB
Sesame IB
French Vanilla Sables

And these are the ones I make in the mixer, making softer dough, before chilling:

Snickerdoodles
CC Oatmeal Snickerdoodles, which I will also try the rolled barley in, instead of oats
Star Anise Snickerdoodles
And the last one, I got the recipe for from @msmofet - Cream Cheese Snickerdoodles! I have it written in my "Blue Book" as
msmofet's Cream Cheese Snickerdoodles.

Oh, and how silly of me - I almost left out the Habanero Gingersnaps! Probably the most asked for cookie every year!

I can't remember the last time I had snikerdoodles. I've never made them. I don't have a recipe. But, I rarely back anything. Chocolate chip and pecan cookies, and cornbread is my baking repertoire.

CD

 

[pepperhead212]

6 more recipes in the freezer today (I don't know where any more could be fit in!). I made one of those oatmeal icebox cookies, and two of the same recipe, but using rolled barley, and browned butter. The other 3 those French Vanilla Sables - a recipe I've been using for several years, in place of shortbread, as the proportions are almost the same. Something I changed, to use an idea from the best Scottish shortbread recipe I always used, was the sugar to powdered sugar, and used tapioca starch in place of some of the flour. This made the texture of the shortbread even finer, so I assume this will be the same.
3 French vanilla sable recipes, and an oatmeal, and 2 barley icebox logs, made with browned butter. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[Aunt Bea]

No cookie baking here.

I may melt some chocolate to coat nuts, and other snacks or make spiced pecans if the spirit moves me.

On Christmas morning I’ll mix up a small batch of muffins to warm up the kitchen.

I miss the old fruitcake tins lined with wax paper and filled with Christmas treats.

 

[blissful]

I made 3 kinds of cookies this year, the favorites for each of my 3 children. Done. Now I just have 2 kinds of cookies for us, that being mr bliss and myself. One is a very super high antioxidant (lots of spices) ginger cookie. The other is the monster cookie with mini M&M's and shredded coconut.

In those I replaced the:
butter with ground walnut butter or peanut butter
oil with olive oil or apple sauce
sugar with honey or kept the sugar
egg with a flax egg
liquid with almond milk
AP flour with WW flour
Now they are imperfectly perfect for us as a treat.
(they aren't 'tender', they might be brick like, they aren't perfect)
It's christmas and they are a treat!
To us.

 

[msmofet]

I've had a migraine for four days now. But I'm going to try to make cookie dough today.

 

[LPBeier]

May make a few recipes. If DD is around to help. I can't do the bending and lifting out of oven so easy anymore.

I totally understand, MsM. My niece is helping me.

We are making a few of her recipes and a few of mine and then will split them.

 

[Kathleen]

@Aunt Bea I miss my grandmother's fruitcake! She would start them in September. Like her mac-n-cheese recipe, she took the fruitcake recipe with her. For both, I have a list of ingredients without measurements or instructions.