Holiday Cookie Recipe Roundup
I have been getting a lot of requests this month for holiday cookie recipe recommendations for parties and cookie swaps. I’ve rounded up 7 of my favorite holiday cookie recipes that are simple to make and are definite crowd pleasers that don’t require you to blow up your kitchen in the process. These also come in handy if you’re teetering on the fence of the naughty/nice list and need to leave Santa a little somethin’ somethin’ to sway him in your favor. So without further adieu, here are my some of my faves!
(from top left to bottom right) 1. Browned Butter Andes Mint Cookies 2. Peppermint Magic Cookie Bars 3. Peppermint Pinwheels 4. Browned Butter Crinkle Cookies 5. The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies 6. Gingerdoodles 7. Chocolate Dipped Mint Shortbread Cookies
Double the pleasure, double the fun – double Mint cookies!
- Whether you’re preference is peppermint or creme de menthe, there’s no question that most people associate mint flavor with the holidays. Andes Mints and Peppermint Candy Canes are two very distinct flavors that instantly bring me into the Christmas spirit. For the Andes mint lover, these Browned Butter Andes Mint Cookies are a simple twist on a classic chocolate chip cookie, incorporating both the nutty flavor of browned butter with the refreshing creme de menthe from the Andes baking bits. More recently, I came up with these Chocolate Dipped Mint Shortbread Cookies – a minty take on classic chocolate dipped shortbread cookies, with both Andes baking bits inside the cookies as well as being dipped in melted Andes mints.
- If you’re more of a peppermint lover, I’ve got two great go-to recipes. Peppermint Magic Cookie Bars are a minty take on classic seven-layer bar. The classic graham cracker crust is replaced with ground up gingersnaps and topped with milk chocolate, white chocolate, coconut, pecans, and chopped Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark Squares. These stay for days and are easy to transport. If you’re looking to win the Pinterest award at your cookie swap, try these Peppermint Pinwheels. They have the best curb appeal of any of my holiday cookies, and are packed with delicious peppermint flavor to boot. These are a bit of a time investment because of the chilling required in between steps to work with the multiple layers of dough and your floor will be covered with sprinkles by the end, but I guarantee it’s well worth it!
Christmas Classics
- Snickerdoodles are a favorite cookie of mine, but during the holdiays I’m a big fan of this lovechild of the classic Snickerdoodle and Gingersnap – Gingerdoodles. It’s truly the best of both worlds. A soft sugary cookie, just exploding with all the flavors of the holiday. Another durable cookie that will last at least a week for your cookie trays and swaps galore.
- And you can NEVER go wrong with a classic chocolate chip cookie. Of course, I’m not going to give you the recipe for just ANY chocolate chip cookie. This recipe for The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies is truly that – THE BEST. You don’t even need to bust out your mixer for these. Use browned butter and quality chocolate chips, combined with a wooden spoon and some elbow grease and you’ll never look at a chocolate chip cookie the same way again.
Oh, you fancy huh?
- Now, if you want to wow your friends and family this year, that doesn’t mean you need to spend days in the kitchen whipping up stiff peaks Julia Child style or break the bank buying wicked expensive ingredients. All you need is to bake a cookie that TASTES like it took you days slaving over a hot stove. Browned Butter is my secret tool to upping the ante on all cookies. I guess it’s not actually a secret anymore since I have repeatedly told you that, but I’m telling you – you can be a pro with this simple trick. These Browned Butter Crinkle Cookies are some of the easiest cookies I’ve ever made, and are packed with crazy browned butter flavor, rolled in powdered sugar and baked to a soft, chewy perfection. Plus they have giant cracks in them on purpose, so you can’t botch this recipe. And when someone says WHAT’S IN THIS?! You respond non-chalantly with “browned butter … oh you haven’t heard? It’s on fleek AF, bae.” – or whatever kids say these days. Honestly, I can’t keep up.
For the hostess with the mostess
- And if you happen to be hostessing dinners, parties, soirees or other fancy get-togethers this holiday season, check out my holiday hostessing guides from Christmases past. Basically, as long as you have a trusty Excel spreadsheet, you can Martha Stewart the shit out of any holiday bash. Happy hostessing!
Hopefully this was helpful to get you organized with your baking needs amidst the craziness of the holidays. If all else fails, just get one of those tiny Santa hats for wine bottles and call it a day. If there are holiday cookie recipes not included on the blog yet that you’d like to see, make sure to comment below!
