MK Life Tips: Five Fantastic Holiday Cookie Recipes
/It’s the holiday season, and there’s not much better than home baked goods around this time. Whether you have a Christmas cookie party to attend, need to bring a fantastic dessert to holiday dinner or just like to do some baking around the holidays, these five cookies are perfect for any occasion. Check the recipes out below:
Peanut Butter Blossom
INGREDIENTS
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
½ cup smooth peanut butter (or other creamy nut butter)
½ cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
½ cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk, half-and-half, oat milk or nut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Nonstick spray or vegetable oil for cookie sheet (optional)
5 dozen (one 11-ounce package) Hershey’s Kisses, foil removed
PREPARATION
Sift together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, peanut butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and light brown sugar. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat until well blended. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing thoroughly. If the dough is very soft, refrigerate for about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray, oil or line a cookie sheet with nonstick liner and set aside. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. (For a precise number of cookies, divide the dough into 5 pieces, and shape each piece into 12 balls.)
Roll cookies in sugar and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake until very light brown and puffed, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and lightly press a candy kiss into center of each cookie, allowing it to crack slightly. Return to oven until light golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oven, cool completely and store in an airtight containe
Linzer Cookie
INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 vanilla bean* (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 cup almond flour, spooned and leveled
½ cup jam of your choice
OPTIONAL powdered sugar for decoration
PREPARATION
In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, mix butter on medium speed until creamy for about 1-2 minutes. Add sugar and mix to combine. Stir in egg yolks until combined. Add salt, cinnamon, vanilla*, and lemon juice and mix just until incorporated. Stir in flour and almond flour on low speed to combine. Divide the dough into two and form into 1 inch thick discs. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
On a lightly floured surface roll out dough discs into a ¼ inch thickness. Cut out cookies with a 2-inch cookie cutter of your choice and place on the prepared baking sheets with about 1-2 inch space in-between. You should end up with about 64 cookies. Bake one sheet after another for 9-10 minutes until they look dry on the surface. Allow cooling on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Fill cooled cookies with jam by spreading jam on the bottom of one cookie and place another on top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookie
INGREDIENTS
1 cup all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup mini or regular size semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar, for rolling
1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar, for rolling
PREPARATION
Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium high speed until fluffy and creamed, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla on high speed. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.'
On low speed, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined, then beat in the chocolate chips. The cookie dough will be thick and sticky. Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough. I always chill mine overnight.
Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. You can preheat the oven during this time.
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
Scoop and roll balls of dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each, into balls. Roll each ball very lightly in granulated sugar, then generously in the confectioners’ sugar. Place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. If the cookies aren’t really spreading by minute 9, remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2-3x. This helps initiate that spread. Return to the oven for a couple more minutes. The cookies will be thick regardless, though– they deflate a little as they cool!
Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Shortbread Cookie
INGREDIENTS
3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
PREPARATION
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.
Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it.
Pecan Snowball Cookie
INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
½ cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 + ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup pecans, finely chopped
1 cup confectioners' sugar, for rolling
PREPARATION
Cream the butter and sugar together using a stand mixer or hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add vanilla and beat on medium until incorporated. Gradually add the flour and beat on low speed until combined. Add pecans and beat until incorporated. Turn the mixer to high speed and beat for 2 minutes until dough becomes more breadcrumb like and less dry (You should be able to easily shape the dough into a ball using your hands).
Line two half sheet baking pans with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Scoop out a tablespoon of dough and roll into a 1-inch ball with your hands and place an inch apart on the baking sheet. Once the baking sheet is full, transfer to the refrigerator and chill for one hour.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes, until they are golden brown on the bottom edges.
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then roll them in a bowl of confectioners' sugar while still warm, until completely coated. Transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. The sugar at this stage will melt and be slightly sticky. Roll them again in confectioners' sugar once completely cooled.
