Christmas Cookies

December 9th, 2007 at 07:54pm Cathryn Vaulman

One of our Christmas traditions is having a group of friends over to bake Christmas cookies and watch Christmas movies.  We’re really excited to continue that this year, and we thought we would share a few recipes in case you feel the urge to bake some of your own Christmas goodness. 

To prepare for our cooking, we usually pick our favorite recipes online. It’s an easy way to find a wide selection of recipes without wasting much time. We usually end up going with recipes from Cooks.com, like we did for these cookie recipes.  Foodnetwork.com works, too, but we’re kind of bitter towards them after a Rachel Ray recipe gone awry.   

One of our favorites is almond crescents.  For these, you need: 2 sticks of unsalted butter, 2/3 c. sifted powdered sugar (additional powdered sugar needed for rolling), 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp. almond extract, 1 c. coarsely chopped almonds, and 2 ½ c. sifted all-purpose flour. 

For these cookies, start by preheating the oven to 350°.  Then, you want to blend the butter and powdered sugar until it’s fluffy.  Add the two extracts and the almonds.  Next, mix in the flour and beat together.  When everything is mixed, divide into two 1”- thick rolls.  Divide the rolls into ¾ “pieces and roll those pieces into 2” cylinders.  Place in crescent form on the baking sheets.  Bake for 15-20 minutes and cover them in powdered sugar once they’re cool.  Now enjoy, but check your shirt for loose powdered sugar before you leave the house.  That would be embarrassing.   

Thumbprints are another holiday classic.  This time, you need: 1/4 c. butter (softened), 1/4 c. shortening, 1/4 c. brown sugar (packed), 1 egg (separated) 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1 c. all purpose flour, 1/4 tsp. salt, 3/4 c. finely chopped nuts, and tinted confectioners sugar icing. 

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Mix everything except the nuts, eggs, and icing and separate into 1” balls.  Then, dip the dough into the egg whites and roll into the nuts. Put them on a non-greased baking sheet and make a thumbprint in the center of each one.  Bake for 10 minutes or until they’re a little brown, and then let them cool.  Finally, fill the thumbprints with colored icing.  You can also use jelly, but icing is better so we recommend that. 

For those of you cooking-challenged readers, peppermint bark is delicious and simple to make.  The grocery list is much shorter: 1 lb. white chocolate, 1 c. peppermint crunch (you can also use crunched peppermints). 

First, melt the white chocolate.   You can do this in increments (stir in between) in the microwave, or just stir in a pot on the stove.  Then, when it’s all melted, add in the peppermint.  From experience, try to find peppermint crunch.  You can buy peppermints, but you have to unwrap a ton of them and then find something to mash them all up.  It ends up being loud and messy; find them already smashed up! 

If you don’t have the skills or time necessary for these treats, there is no shame in buying them pre-made.  Cannoli Caffe on Bell School has a great selection of fresh cookies.  They’re all really good, and you can get 3 of them for $1. They’d be a hit at any cookie exchange.  People will think that you slaved over a hot stove for weeks to make them!    

We’re planning on having our cookie extravaganza as soon as we go on Christmas break, so we have a few (endless) days to go.  Let us know if there are any other cookies we should make so our celebration is a success! 

Entry Filed under: Uncategorized